RUSSIAN POPULATION AND THIRD WORLD WAR

 CURRANT POPULATION OF RUSSIA

• The current population of the Russian Federation is 144,234,749 as of Monday, March 17, 2025, based on Worldometer's elaboration of the latest United Nations data1.
• Russia 2025 population is estimated at 143,997,393 people at mid year.
• Russia population is equivalent to 1.75% of the total world population.
• Russia ranks number 9 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
• The population density in Russia is 9 per Km2 (23 people per mi2).
• The total land area is 16,376,870 Km2 (6,323,142 sq. miles).
• 75.0 % of the population is urban (108,062,384 people in 2025).
• The median age in Russia is 40.3 years.

NOTICE 75 PERCENT IS URBAN!

FOR DONALD TRUMP TO SAY TO PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE WATCH IT YOU STAND ON THIRD WORLD WAR. 

FIRST TRUMP HAS NO CLUE ABOUT BIBLE PROPHECY.  HIS HOT BOMBASTIC AND NARCISSISTIC  MIND-SET  IS ONLY OVERBLOWN BY HIS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON ALL KINDS OF ISSUES INCLUDING TRADE AND TARIFFS.

IN AN ALL OUT WAR OF NUCLEAR MARMS RUSSIA WITH ITS URBAN 75 PERCENT OF PEOPLE, THE RUSSIAN CITIES WOULD BE WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH IN ONE OR TWO DAYS.

RUSSIA WOULD BE NO MORE, AND  NARCISSISTIC PUTIN DEAD UNDER THE RUBBLE OF MOSCOW.

PUTIN KNOWS THIS AND SO WILL NEVER BEFORE THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE EVER COME CLOSE TO STEPPING OVER THE LINE TO USHER IN THE THIRD WORLD WAR. AND THE CHANCES ARE HE WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE.

O YES A THIRD WORLD WAR IS COMING BUT RUSSIA IS NOT THE ONE TO START IT.

EUROPE— RE-ARMS ITSELF AND WITH….

 THE NEW PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA WAS OVER TO VISIT EUROPE, IN PARTICULAR FRANCE AND BRITAIN, AS CANADA IS HISTORICALLY TIED TO THOSE TWO NATIONS.

HE'S HOPING TO BUILD TRADE RELATIONS WITH EUROPE, AND PULL AWAY FROM THE USA, WELL AT LEAST WHILE TRUMP IS HERE.

DURING  THE CBC NEWS PIECE ABOUT THIS THERE WAS A SHORT BUT VERY IMPORTANT  NEWS NUGET.

THEY MENTIONED WITH ARMS VIDEO THAT EUROPE IS ON A RE-ARMMENANT  LIKE NO TOMORROW.

AND ALSO THE THOUGHT OF NUCLEAR ARMS.

WELL I'VE TOLD YOU FOR YEARS EUROPE IN BIBLE PROPHECY WILL BECOME THE GREATEST TRADING POWER IN END TIME PROPHECY.

I'VE TOLD YOU FOR YEARS THIS EUROPE BEAST WILL EVENTUALLY BE GOVERNED BY  A GREAT  CHURCH, THE LARGEST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE WORLD. SO MAKING THIS EUROPE THE 7TH AND LAST RESURRECTED HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.

AND SHE WILL INDEED HAVE ARMS EQUAL TO ANY NATION IN THE WORLD, AND IN TIME WILL USE IT TO CONQUER AND RULE THE WESTERN WORLD.

HOW LONG ALL THIS WILL TAKE IS NOT TOLD TO US, EXCEPT THE ULTIMATE RISE TO POWER WILL BE SWIFT, JUST AS ITS DOWNFALL WILL BE MIGHTY AND SWIFT.

EUROPE'S RISE TO ECONOMICAL AND MILITARY POWER COULD RISE IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 

KEEP YOUR EYES ON EUROPE.

NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE STORY— PAUL WRITES PHILEMON #1,

 

  

Chapter Eighty-one:

Paul writes to Philemon - Part one

THE BASIC OUTLINE FROM THE NKJ PERSONAL STUDY BIBLE: Nelson Publications, 1990, 1995 Quote: Philemon, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians are called the Prison Epistles because Paul wrote them while in prison. Unlike the other prison letters which are addressed to churches, Philemon is addressed to an individual. AUTHOR AND DATE Philemon and Colossians were probably written by Paul at the same time, about A.D. 62, during his imprisonment at Rome recorded in Acts 28:16-31. References to being a prisoner (verses. 1,9,23) and to being aged (v.9) support this conclusion. Many of the same people are mentioned in both letters: Archippus (Philem.2; Col. 4:17), Onesimus (Philem.10: Col.4:9), Epaphras (Philem.23; Col. 1:7; 4:12), Mark (Philem.24; Col.4:10), Aristarchus (Philem.24; Col.4:10), Demos (Philem.24; Col.4:14), and Luke (Philem.24; Col. 4:14). Onesimus and Tychicus (Col.4:7-9) were the bearers of these letters. BACKGROUND Philemon probably lived in the Lycus Valley where Colosse and Laodicea were located (see Col.4:15). He was a close friend of Paul, indebted to him spiritually and a helper in his ministry (vv.l,19). A church met in Philemon's house (v.2). Onesimus ... had run away and been converted by Paul in Rome (v.10). Slavery was part of everyday life in the Roman Empire. Prior to Christ's birth, almost a third of Rome's one million people were slaves. Regarded only as possessions, they were bought and sold; their conditions varied depending on then skills and owners. Christian teaching improved their let by concentrating on inward moral transformation which naturally produced outward changes (see 2 Cor.5:17). Masters and slaves were both exhorted to live worthy of Christ (see Col.3:22-4:1). Moreover, by placing an emphasis on the common brotherhood of Christian believers (v. 16), Christ and His followers struck at the very foundation of slavery. As Paul says, "There is neither ... slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all" (Col.3:11). When captured, runaway slaves were treated cruelly, sometimes branded on the arm or forehead, and sometimes put to death.... CONTENT AND PURPOSE Paul states two reasons for the letter: (1) an appeal for Onesimus to be received as a brother in Christ by Philemon (vv. 8-21), and (2) a request for Philemon to prepare a guest room for Paul's coming visit (v.22). Paul supports the principle of restitution for past wrongs.... However, he bases the appeal to Philemon on their relationship (vv.17-19), and on the common Christian fellowship of Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul (vv.10,16). What happened to Onesimus? No doubt Philemon obeyed Paul and forgave Onesimus. Otherwise he probably would have destroyed this letter... End Quote ............. While there is much merit in the above, and correct in the main, it is the Bible Commentary by ALBERT BARNES that I believes gives the truth of the matter on the epistle of Paul to Philemon. This letter from Paul to Philemon has been often greatly misunderstood and perverted by many a Christian leader and whole sects, to claim that God and the Bible endorse and teach the rightful practice of "slavery." While the Bible does address the subject of slavery and even lays out laws and rules to govern that practice, doing so is NOT the same as saying that God and the Bible endorse and encourage and justify and make righteous the practice of slavery. God often under the Old Testament ALLOWED many things, for as Jesus put it to the Pharisees, "because of the HARDNESS of the heart." The practice of slavery in Israel was one of those allowences because of the hardness of the heart. And in allowing it, God gave certain laws to regulate it, to make it humane and somewhat "respectable." But slavery was NEVER the ideal of the Lord. I believe ALBERT BARNES gives the correct understanding of this letter of Paul to Philemon, and gives enough evidence that there is no way of proving Paul or this letter he wrote, endorses in any way the practice of slavery or that Paul was sending Onesimus back to Philemon as a slave, albeit as a "Christian" slave. I shall give you much of what Albert Barnes has to say. For all of his words on the matter of the book of Philemon, the reader can ascertain for themselves from "Barnes' Notes on the New Testament." But first in my own words, with some amplification I will render in modern English Paul's letter to Philemon: This letter is from Paul, who is in prison for preaching the Gospel about Christ Jesus, and also from our brother Timothy. I am writing to you Philemon, our much loved co-helper, and to our sister Apphia and to Archippus, a fellow soldier in the work of the cross of Christ. I am also writing to the congregation that meets in your home. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus christ give you all grace and peace. I always thank God when I pray for you all. Philemon, I keep hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's children. You are generous because of your faith. And I am praying that you will always put your generosity to work, for in so doing you will come to understand all the good things we can do in Christ's work. I myself have gained much joy from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often helped the hearts and lives of God's people. And so, because of all this, I feel bold in asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ, for it is indeed the correct and right thing to do, but because of your love and service, I prefer to just ask you as a favor. Please take this then as a request from your friend Paul, an old man now, in confinement for doing the work of Christ Jesus. My request, even my plea, is that you show kindness to Onesimus. I hold him in my mind as my very own son, because he became a believer as a result of my ministry here in this confinement. Onesimus (which means "useful") has been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. Whom sending him back again to you, also comes my own heart and feelings. I really did want to keep him here with me to serve me, for a while, being in these chains for the Gospel's sake. But I do not want to do this without your consent and approval. And I do not want you to help in this matter because you are forced to do it, but because you willingly want to do it. Perhaps you can think of it this way: Onesimus ran away for a little while so you could have him back for good. He is no longer just a servant; he is a beloved brother, and especially to me. Now he will mean so much more to you, both as a servant and as a brother in Christ. So, if you consider that I am your partner in god's work, give him the same welcome as you would give me if I were coming to you. If he has harmed you in any way, or stolen anything from you, then charge it to me, send me the bill for it. I Paul, write this in my very own hand-writing "I will repay it." But I will not mention that you owe me your very own life. Yes, my dear brother, please do this favor for the Lord's sake. Give me encouragement in Christ. I am very confident as I write this letter to you that you will do what I ask, and even more. Please keep a guest room ready for me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and soon let me return to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, send you his greetings. So does Mark, Aritarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow co-workers. The favor and love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. FROM "BARNES' NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT" 1. THE HISTORY OF PHILEMON OF PHILEMON, to whom this epistle was addressed, almost nothing more is known than can be ascertained from the epistle itself. It is short, and of a private character; but it is a bright and beautiful gem in the volume of inspiration. From Col.4:9, it may be inferred that the person to whom it was addressed, was an inhabitant of Colosse, since Onesimus, concerning whom this epistle was written, is there mentioned as "one of them." ... He is said by Calmet and Michaelis to have been wealthy; but this cannot be determined with certainty, though it is not improbable. The only circumstances which seem to indicate this, are, that Onesimus had been his "servant," from which it has been inferred, that he was an owner of slaves; and that he appears to have been accustomed to show hospitality to strangers, or, as Michaelis expresses it, "travelling Christians." See ver.22 of the epistle. But these circumstances are not sufficient to determine that he was a man of property. There is no evidence, as we shall see, that he was a slave-holder; and Christians in moderate circumstances were accustomed to show hospitality to their brethren. Besides, it is not said in ver.22, that he was accustomed to show general hospitality; but Paul merely asks him to provide for him a lodging. It is probable that he had been accustomed to remain with him when he was in Colosse. It is quite clear that he had been converted under the ministry of the apostle himself. This appears from what is said in ver.19: "I do not say to thee, how thou owest unto me even thin, own self." This cannot be understood otherwise than as implying that he bad been converted under his preaching, unless the apostle, on some former occasion, had been the means of saving his life, of which there is no evidence. Indeed, it is manifest, from the general tone of the epistle, that Philemon had been converted by the labours of the author. It is just such a letter as it would be natural and proper to write on such a supposition; it is not one which the apostle would have been likely to write to any one who did not sustain such a relation to him. But where and when he was converted is unknown. It is possible that Paul may have met with him at Ephesus; but it is much more probable that he had himself been at Colosse, and that Philemon was one of his converts there... It is evident from the epistle, that Paul regarded him as a sincere Christian; as a man of strict integrity; as one who could be depended on to do right. Thus (vers.5-7) he says, that he had heard of his "love and faith toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;" thus he confidently asks him to provide for him a lodging when he should come, (ver.22) and thus he expresses the assured belief, that he would do what was right towards one who had been his servant, who, having been formerly unfaithful, was now converted, and, in the estimation of the apostle, was worthy of the confidence and affection of his former master. In regard to his rank in the Christian church, nothing whatever is known. Paul calls him (ver.1) his "fellowlabourer;" but this appellation is so general, that it determines nothing in regard to the manner in which be co-operated with him in promoting religion. It is a term which might be applied to any active Christian, whether a preacher, an elder, a deacon, or a private member of the church. It would seem clear, however, that he was not a travelling preacher, for he had a home in Colosse, (vers.2,22) and the presumption is, that he was an active and benevolent member of the church, who did not sustain any office. There are many private members of the churches, to whom all that is said of Philemon in the epistle would apply... Nothing is known of his age, his profession, or of the time and circumstances of his death. Neither is it certainly known what effect this epistle had on him, or whether he again received Onesimus under his roof. It may be presumed, however, that such a letter, addressed to such a man, would not fail of its object. 2. THE OCCASION ON WHICH THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN This can be learned only from the epistle itself, and there the circumstances are so marked as to make a mistake impossible. (1) Philemon had had a servant of the name of Onesimus. Of the character of this servant, before Paul became acquainted with him, nothing more is known than that he head been "unprofitable" to Philemon, (ver.11) and that he had probably done him some wrong, either by taking his property, or by the fact that he had escaped from him, ver.18. It is not necessary to suppose that he was a SLAVE; for all that is implied of necessity in the word which is employed to designate his condition in ver.16, (doulos,) and all that is stated of him in the epistle, would be met by the supposition that he was bound to Philemon, either by his parents or guardians, or that he had bound himself to render voluntary service. See Notes on ver.16. (2) For some cause, this servant had fled from his master, and had gone to Rome. The cause of his escaping is unknown. It may be, that he had purloined the property of his master, and dreaded detection; or that he had, by his base conduct in some other way, exposed himself to punishment; or that he merely desired freedom from oppression; or that he disregarded the bonds into which he himself, or his parents or guardians, had entered, and had therefore escaped. Nothing can be inferred about his condition, or his relation to Philemon, from the fact that he ran away. It is, perhaps, quite as common for apprentices to run away, as it is for slaves; and they who enter into voluntary bonds to render service to another, do not always regard them. (3) In some way, when at Rome, this servant had found out the apostle Paul, and had been converted by his instrumentality. Paul says, (ver.10) that he had "begotten him in his bonds" - which seems to imply that Onesimus had come to him, and not that Paul had searched him out. It does not appear that Paul, when a prisoner at Rome, was allowed to go at large, (comp. Acts 28:30) though he was permitted to receive all who came to him. Why Onesimus came to the apostle is not known. It may have been because he was in want, and Paul was the only one in Rome whom he had ever seen; or it may have been because his mind had become distressed on account of sin, and he sought him out to obtain spiritual counsel. Conjecture on these points is useless, where there is not even a hint that can serve as a clew to find out the truth. (4) From some cause, equally unknown, Onesimus, when converted, was desirous of returning to his former master. It is commonly ASSUMED, that his returning again was at the instigation of the apostle, and that this furnishes an instance of this belief, that runaway slaves should be sent back to their masters. But, besides that there is NO CERTAIN evidence that he EVER was a slave, there is as little proof that he returned at the instigation of Paul, or that his return was not wholly voluntary on his part. For the only expression which the apostle uses on this subject, (ver.12) "whom I have sent again" - does not necessarily imply that he even proposed it to him, still less that he commanded it. It is a word of such general import, that it would be employed on the supposition that Onesimus desired to return; and that Paul, who had a strong wish to retain him, to aid him in the same way that Philemon himseLf would do if he were with him, (comp.ver.13) had, on the whole, concluded to part with him, and to send him again, with a letter, to his friend Philemon. It is just such language as he would have used of Timothy, Titus, or Epaphroditus, if employed on an important embassy at the request of the apostle. Comp. Luke 7:6,10,19; 20:13; Acts10:5; 15:22; 1Cor.4:17; 2Cor.9:3; Eph.6:22; Phil.2:19,23,25,28; 1 Thess.3:2,5; Titus 3:12, for a similar use of the word "send." There is nothing in the statement which forbids us to suppose that Onesimus was himself disposed to return to Philemon, and that Paul "sent" him at his own request. To this, Onesimus might have been inclined from many causes. He may have repented that he left his master, and had forsaken the comforts which he had enjoyed under his roof. It is no uncommon thing for a runaway apprentice, or servant, when he has seen and felt the misery of being among strangers and in want, to wish himself well back again in the house of his master. Or he may have felt that he had wronged his master in some way, (comp. Notes on ver.18) and, being now converted, was desirous of repairing the wrong. Or he may have had friends and kindred in Colosse whom he was desirous of see again. Since any one of these, or of many other supposable causes, may have induced him to desire to return to his master, it should not be assumed that Paul sent him against his will, and thence be inferred that he was in favour of sending back runaway slaves to their masters AGAINST their will. There are many points to be proved, which CANNOT be proved, to make that a legitimate inference. (5) Whatever were the reasons why Onesimus desired to return to Philemon, it is clear that he was apprehensive of some trouble if he went back. What those reasons were, it is impossible now to determine with absolute certainty; but it is not difficult to conjecture what they may have been, and any of the following will account for his apprehensions - either (a) that he had done his master wrong by the mere act of leaving him, depriving him of valuable services which he was bound to render; or (b) that he may have felt that the mere act of running away had injured the character of his master, for such an act always implies that there is something in the dealings of a master which makes it desirable to leave him; or (c) that he had in some way injured him in respect to property, by taking that which did not belong to him, ver.18; or (d) that he owed his master, and he may have inferred from his leaving him that he meant to defraud him, ver.18; or (e) that the laws of Phrygia were such, that Onesimus apprehended that if he returned, even penitent, it would be judged by his master necessary to punish him, in order to deter others from committing a similar offence. The laws of Phrygia, it is said, allowed the master to punish a slave without applying to a magistrate. It should be said also that the Phrygians were a severe people, (Curtius, Lib.v.c.1) and it is not improbable that, from the customs there, Onesimus may have apprehended harsh treatment if he returned. It is not proper to assume that any one of these was certainly the reason why he feared to return, for this cannot be absolutely determined. We should not take it for granted that he had defrauded his master - for that is not necessarily implied in what is said in ver.18, and we should not impute crimes to men without proof; or should we take it for granted, that he feared to be punished as a runaway slave - for that CANNOT be proved; but some one or more of these reasons, doubtless, operated to make him apprehensive, that if he returned he would meet with, at least, a cold reception. (6) To induce his master to receive him kindly again, was the main object of this courteous and kind epistle. For a view of the arguments on which be urges this, see the Analysis of the epistle. The arguments are such, that we should suppose they could not be resisted; and we may presume, without impropriety, that they had the desired effect on the mind of Philemon; but of that we have no certain evidence. 3. THE TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING THE EPISTLE THERE can be no doubt that this letter was written from Rome about the time when the epistle to the Colossians was written. The circumstances which conduct to this conclusion are such as the following: (1) Paul at the time when it was written was a prisoner. "Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ;" ver.1. "Whom I have begotten in my bonds," ver.10. Comp. ver.23, "Epaphras my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus." (2.) It was written when he had hopes of obtaining his liberty, or when he had such a prospect of it that he could ask Philemon, with confidence, to "prepare him a lodging," ver.22. (3) Timothy was with him at the time when it was written, (ver.1) and we know that Paul desired him to came to him to Rome, when he was a prisoner there, as soon as possible, 2 Tim.4:9: "Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me." (4) We know that Onesimus was actually sent by Paul to Colosse while he was a prisoner at Rome, and it would be morally certain that, under the circumstances of the case, he would send the letter to his master at that time. No other instance is mentioned in which he sent him to Colosse, and the evidence is as certain as the nature of the case admits, that that was the time when the epistle was written. See Col.4:9. (5) The same persons are mentioned in the salutations, in the two epistles; at least, they are so far the same as to make it probable that the epistles were written at the same time; for it is not very probable that the same persons would, in another place, and on another occasion, have been with the apostle. Thus Aristarchus, Mark, Epaphras, Luke, and Demos, join in the salutations both to the church at Colosse and to Philemon. Probably at no other time in the life of Paul were all these persons with him, than when he was a prisoner at Rome. These considerations make it clear that the epistle was written while Paul was a prisoner at Rome, and at about the same time with the epistle to the Colossians. If so, it was about A.D.62. 4. THE CHARACTER OF THIS EPISTLE THIS letter is almost wholly of a private character; and yet there is scarcely any portion of the New Testament of equal length which is of more value. It is exquisitely beautiful and delicate. It is a model of courtesy and politeness. It presents the character of the author in a most amiable light, and shows what true religion will produce in causing genuine refinement of thought and language. It is gentle and persuasive, and yet the argument is one that we should suppose would have been, and probably was, irresistible. It is very easy to conceive, that the task which the apostle undertook to perform, was one which it would be difficult to accomplish - that of reconciling an offended master to a runaway servant. And yet it is done with so much kindness, persuasiveness, gentleness, and true affection, that, as the letter was read, it is easy to imagine that all the hostility of the master was disarmed, and we can almost see him desiring to embrace him who bore it, not now as a servant, but as a Christian brother, ver.16. "It is impossible," says Doddridge, "to read over this admirable epistle without being touched with the delicacy of sentiment, and the masterly address, that appear in every part of it. We see here, in a most striking light, how perfectly consistent true politeness is - not only with all the warmth and sincerity of a friend, but even with the dignity of the Christian and the Apostle. And if this letter were to be considered in no other view than as a were human composition, it must be allowed to be a master-piece in its kind. As an illustration of this remark, it may not he improper to compare it with an epistle of Pliny, that seems to have been written on a similar occasion, (Lib. ix. Let. 21;) which, though penned by one that was reckoned to excel in the epistolary style, though it has undoubtedly many beauties, yet must be acknowledged by every impartial reader vastly inferior to this animated composition of the apostle." As a specimen of the courtesy and politeness which the Christian ought to practise at all times, as well as furnishing many valuable lessons on Christian duty, (see the remarks at the close,) it deserves a place in the volume of inspiration ... ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE The epistle embrace, the following subjects: 1. The salutation, ver.1-3. 2. A mention of the excellent account which the apostle had heard of Philemon, and the occasion which he had for thankfulness on his behalf, ver.4-7. (a) He always remembered him in his prayers, ver.4. (b) He had heard of his faith and love, and of his kindness towards those who bore the Christian name, ver.5. (c) He desired that his goodness in making others, in common with him, partaken of the expression of his faith, might be even more effectual in securing the proper acknowledgment of it wherever it might be known, ver.8. (d) He says that he had great joy and consolation from the happiness which he had conferred on Christians who needed his aid, ver.7. 3. The main subject of the epistle - the desire that he would receive his servant Onesimus again, and the arguments to persuade him to do it, vers.8-21. (l.) He places it on the ground of entreaty, not of command. He might, in virtue of his apostolic office, enjoin many things on him, and possibly this, yet he chooses to place it wholly on other grounds, and to make it a matter of personal friendship, ver.8. (2.) Particular reasons why he should do it (a) For love's sake - love to Paul - now an old man, and in prison on account of their common religion, ver.9. (b) Paul regarded Onesimus as his own son, and asked that he might be received and treated as such, ver.10. (c) He assures Philemon that, whatever he might have been formerly, he would now find him to be profitable to himself, ver. 11. (d) He assures him that Onesimus was especially dear to him, and that he would have been very useful to him in his circumstances, but that he did not think it proper to retain him with him without the consent of Philemon. Onesimus, therefore, was not sent back as a worthless vagabond, and Philemon, in receiving him, might be sure that he was receiving one whom Paul believed was fitted to be eminently useful, vers.12-14. (e) He suggests to Philemon that probably it was so arranged by divine Providence, that Onesimus should depart in order that he might receive him again in a far more tender and endearing relation, not as a servant, but as a Christian brother, vers.15,18. (f) He appeals to the personal friendship of Philemon, and asks that if he regarded him as a participator with him in the hopes of the gospel, or as a fellow-labourer in a common cause, he would receive him as he would himself, ver.17. (g) He says that he would himself become security for Onesimus if he owed Philemon anything, or had in my way wronged him, vers. 18,19. (h) He concludes the argument by referring to the happiness which it would give him if Philemon would receive his former servant again; and with the expression of his conviction that he would do more than he asked in the matter, and then asks that, while he showed favour to Onesimus, he would also prepare a lodging for him, for he hoped soon to be with him, vers.20-22. Perhaps by this lest suggestion he hoped also to do much to favour the cause of Onesimus - for Philemon could hardly turn him away when he expected that Paul himself would soon be with him. Such an argument would be likely to be effectual in the case. We do not like to deny the request which a friend makes in a letter, if we expect soon to see the writer himself. It would be much more easy to do it if we had no expectations of seeing him very soon. 4. The epistle closes with affectionate salutations from certain persons who were with Paul, and who were probably well known by Philemon, and with the customary benediction, vers.23-25...... VERSE 11. "Which in time past was to thee unprofitable." Either because he was indolent; because he had wronged him, or because he had run away from him. It is possible that there may be an allusion here to the meaning of the name Onesimus, which denotes profitable, (Greek ... to be useful, to be profitable, to help) and that Paul means to say that he had hitherto not well answered to the meaning of his own name, but that now he would be found to do so. "But now profitable to thee." The Greek here is ... euchreston, but the meaning is about the same as that of the word Onesimus. It denotes "very useful." In 2 Tim.4:21, it is rendered, "meet for use;" in 2 Tim.4:11, and here, "profitable." It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. "And to me." Paul had doubtless found him useful to him as a Christian brother in his bonds, and it is easy to conceive that, in his circumstances, he would greatly desire to retain him with him. VERSE 12 "Whom I have sent again." That is, to Philemon. This was, doubtless, at his own request, for (1.) there is not the slightest evidence that he compelled him, or even urged him to go. The language is just such as would have been used on the supposition either that he requested him to go and bear a letter to Colosse, or that Onesimus desired to go, and that Paul sent him agreeably to his request. Comp. Phil.2:25, "Yet I suppose it necessary 'to send' to you Epaphroditus my brother, and companion in labour;" etc. Col.4:7,8, "All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord: whom I have 'sent' unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate;" etc. But Epaphroditus and Tychicus were not sent against their own wills - nor is there any more reason to think that Onesimus was. See Intro.2.(4.) (2) Paul had no power to send Onesimus back to his master unless he chose to go. He had no civil authority; he had no guard to accompany him; he could entrust him to no sheriff to convey him from pace to place, and he had no means of controlling him, if he chose to go to any other place than Colossi. He could indeed have sent him away from himself; he could have told him to go to Colosse, but there his power ended. Onesimus then could have gone where he pleased. But there is no evidence that Paul even told him to go to Colossi against his own inclination, or that he would have sent him away at all unless he had himself requested it. (3) There may have been many reasons why Onesimus desired to return to Colosse, and no one can prove that he did not express that desire to Paul, and that his "sending" him was not in consequence of such a request. He may have had friend, and relatives there; or, being now converted, he may have been sensible that he had wronged his former master, and that he ought to return and repair the wrong; or he may have been poor, and a stranger in Rome, end may have been greatly disappointed in what he had expected to find there when he left Philemon, and may have desired to return to the comparative comforts of his former condition. (4) It may be added, therefore, (a) that this passage should NOT be adduced to PROVE that we ought to "send back runaway slaves to their former masters" against their own consent; or to justify the laws which require magistrates to do it; or to show that they who have escaped should be arrested and forcibly detained; or to justify any sort of influence over a runaway slave to induce him to return to his former master. There is NOT THE LEAST evidence that any of these things occurred in the case before us; and if this instance is ever appealed to, it should be to justifY What Paul did - AND NOTHING ELSE. (b) The passage shows that it is right to aid a servant of any kind to return to his master IF he desires it. It is right to give him a "letter," and to plead earnestly for his favourable reception IF he has in any way wronged his master - for Paul did this. On the same principle, it would be right to give him pecuniary assistance to enable him to return - for there may be cases where one who has fled from servitude might wish to return. There may be instances where one has had a kind master, with whom he would feel that on the whole he could be more happy than in his present circumstances. Such cases, however, are exceedingly rare. Or there may be instances where one may have relatives that are in the neighbourhood or in the family of his former master, and the desire to be with them may be so strong that on the whole he would choose to be a servant as he was before, rather than to remain as he is now. In all such cases it is right to render aid - for the example of the apostle Paul goes to sustain this. But it goes no further. So far as appears, he neither ADVISED Onesimus to return, nor did he COMPEL him; nor did he say one word to INFLUENCE him to do it; nor did he MEAN or EXPECT that he would be a SLAVE when he should have been received again by his master. See Notes on ver.16. "Thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels." There is great delicacy also in this expression. If he had merely said, "receive him," Philemon might have thought only of him as he formerly was. Paul, therefore, adds, "that is, mine own bowels" - "one whom I so tenderly love that he seems to carry my heart with him wherever he goes." (Doddridge). VERSE 13 "Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead." "That he might render me the service which I know you would if you were here." The Greek is, "for thee;" that is, what he should do for Paul might be regarded as done by Philemon himself. "He might have ministered unto me." He might have rendered me assistance; to wit, in such a way as one who was in bonds would need. VERSE 14 "But without thy mind would I do nothing." Nothing in the matter referred to. He would not retain Onesimus in his service, much as he needed his assistance, without the cordial consent of Philemon. He would not give him occasion for hard feeling or complaint, AS IF Paul had induced him to leave his master, or AS IF he persuaded him to remain with him when he wished to return - or AS IF he kept him away from him when he owed him or had wronged him. All that is said here is entirely consistent with the supposition that Onesimus was DISPOSED to return to his master, and with the supposition that Paul did not compel or urge him W do it. For it is probable that IF Onesimus had proposed to return, it would have been easy for Paul to have retained him with him. He might have represented his own want of a friend. He might have appealed to his gratitude on account of his effort for his conversion. He might have shown him that he was under no moral obligation to go back. He might have refused to give him this letter, and might have so represented to him the dangers of the way, and the probability of a harsh reception, as effectually to have dissuaded him from such a purpose. But, in that case, it is clear that this might have caused hard feeling in the bosom of Philemon, and rather than do that he preferred to let him return to his master, and to plead for him that he might have a kind reception. It is, therefore, by no means necessary to suppose that Paul felt that Onesimus was under OBLIGATION to return, or that he was disposed to COMPEL him, or that Onesimus was not inclined to return voluntarily; but all the circumstances of the case are met by the supposition that, if Paul retained him, Philemon might conceive that he had injured HIM. Suppose, as seems to have been the case, that Onesimus "owed" Philemon, (ver.18) and then suppose that Paul had chosen to retain him with himself, and had dissuaded him from returning to him, would not Philemon have had reason to complain of it? There was, therefore, on every account, great propriety in his saying that he did not wish to use any influence over him to retain him with him when he purposed to return to Colosse, and that he felt that it would be wrong for him to keep him, much as he needed him, without the consent of Philemon. Nor is it necessary, by what is said here, to suppose that Onesimus was A SLAVE, and that Paul believed that Philemon had a right to him and to his services as such. All that he says here would be met by the supposition that he was a hired servant, and would be in fact equally proper even on the supposition that he was an apprentice. In either case, he would feel that he gave just ground of complaint on the part of Philemon if, when someone desired to return, he used any influence to dissuade him from it, and to retain him with himself. It would have been a violation of the rule requiring us to do to others as we would wish them to do unto us; and Paul therefore felt unwilling, much as he needed the services of Onesimus, to make use of any influence to retain him with him without the consent of his master. "That thy benefit." The favour which I might receive from thee by having the services of Onesimus. If Onesimus should remain with him and assist him, he would feel that the benefit which would he conferred by his services would be in fact bestowed by Philemon, for he had a right to the Service of Onesimus; and while Paul enjoyed it, he would be deprived of it. The word rendered "benefit" here - means "good," and the sense is. "the good which you would do me;" to wit, by the service of Onesimus. "Should not be as it were of necessity." As it would be if Paul should detain Onesimus with him without affording Philemon an opportunity of expressing his assent. Paul would even then have felt that he was in fact receiving a "good" at the expanse of Philemon, but it would not be a VOLUNTARY favour on his part. "But willingly." As it would be if he had given his consent that Onesimus should remain with him. ................. TO BE CONTINUED Written November 2004

STATS— SABBATH MORNIN G, ALBERTA, CANADA MARCH 15 - 2025

 

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 1. BLESSED  ARE  THE  PURE  IN  HEART - THEY SHALL SEE  GOD

JESUS  spoke  these  words  in  Matthew 5:8.

The word  "pure"  -  looking  in  The  Readers  Digest  Word  Finder,  in  part:

unmixed, full-stregth, straight, perfect, faultless, flawless, undefiled, uncorrupted, uncontaminated, uninfected, unpolluted, sterilized, wholesome, innocent, sinless, righteous, upright, above suspicion, unimpeachable.....

In my Canadian Dictionary we read in part for "pure" -

clean and not mixed with any harmful substances...chaste...not corrupt....guiltless....perfectly in tune....

Looking at all the word categories that would be inclusive of the one word "pure" we could say it means someone who is living a life pleasing to God; so pleasing that one day they will be able to have the right and privilege to SEE  GOD!

THEN someone may say, "Wow....all those descriptions for the word "pure" are so expressive that how on earth can a mere mortal flesh and blood person be like that?

Let's put the hardest one to bed first  -  sinless, guiltless!

How on earth can we be sinless? Does it mean we do not sin? No, certainly not as we read in 1 John 1:8. BUT READING ON we find the wonderful truth ...verse 9!

"IF  WE  CONFESS  OUR  SINS,  HE  IS  FAITHFUL  AND  JUST  TO  FORGIVE  US  OUR  SINS,  AND  TO  CLEANSE  US  FROM  ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."

RIGHTEOUSNESS  is  defined  for  us  in  Psalm 119:172.  ALL  God's  COMMANDMENTS  are  righteousness.

The book  of  Hebrews  shows  Jesus  is  today  OUR  High  Priest  in  heaven,  by  the  Father's  right  hand,  making  INTERCESSION  for  us.

As  Paul  shows  in  the  book  of  Romans,  when  we  are  under  GRACE,  when  we  are  walking  in  God's  way,  doing  the  will  and  way  of  God,  we  are  under  GRACE  -  when  we  CONFESS  our  sins  as  John  tells  us,  God  will  forgive us  our  sins.  Jesus  is  interceding  for  us,  and  having  the  mind  attitude  of  REPENTANCE  and  willing  to  have  our  mind  set  to  walk  in  the  WAY  of  the  Eternal  God,  we  are  forgiven  our  sins.  If  we  have  the  attitude  of  mind  as  John  puts  it  in  1  John  2:3-6,  then  we  are  under  God's  grace,  under  his  forgiveness.

We  are  then  in  effect  SINLESS!

SO  YOU  SEE  THIS  PART  OF  "PURE"  CAN  BE  SO  WITH  US!

FOR  FURTHER  IN-DEPTH  STUDY  ON  THIS  SEE  MY  STUDY  CALLED  "SAVED  BY  GRACE."

Pure  is  to  be  UNMIXED...... as  Jesus  said  and  taught,  you  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon - the world,  and  all  in  the  world  that  would  be  sin  outright,  or  placing  something  BEFORE  serving  God;  this  could  be  a  job,  a  hobby,  a  physical  person,  and  just  anything  that  you  put  ahead  of  serving  God,  where  you  cannot  give  it  up  IF  called  to  do  so  by  God.  When  the  rubber  hits  the  road,  God  must  come  first  in  your  life.  For  the  most  part  if  you  are  serving  and  obeying  the  will  and  way  of  the  Eternal,  he  probably  will  let  you  have  physical  things  in  life  that  are  good  and  fun  and  healthy.  Okay,  I  have  my  horse  Goldie;  she's  the  horse  of  my  boyhood  dreams,  super  good  looking,  fast  as  a  bullet,  and  so  much  more.  I  enjoy  her,  but  I  do  not  make  her  my  "all  in  all"  in  my  life.  I  go  and  work  and  have  fun  with  her  usually  3  times  a  week.  In  the  summer  on  maybe  4  or  5  days  I  trailer  her  and  we  ride  in  a  Provincial  Park [State  Park  to  you  in  the  USA];  could  be  fine  for  us  to  go  someplace  for  a  week.  The  point  is..... I  do  not  make  my  love  for  my  horse  the  all  important,  time  consuming  pleasure,  before  serving  my  God.  Now  I'm  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Lord,  in  my  case  that  must  come  first  in  my  life,  teaching  and  preaching [now  on  this  website  and  emails  -  pastoring  a  church  I  did  at  one  time  back  through  the 1980s,  but  not  any  more].  For  you  it  may  be  very  different;  the  main  point  is  God  must  be  first  in  your  life,  IF  God  does  test  you,  you  must  be  willing  to  give  up  whatever  you  have  to  give  up  in  order  to  fully  serve  God.  As  Jesus  said,  you  cannot  serve  worldly  things  to  the  detriment  of  serving  God.  Certainly  you  cannot  have  one  foot  in  the  wrong  ways  of  the  world,  and  one  foot  serving  God.  

Pure  is  being  STRAIGHT  -  the  straight  as  Jesus  put  it:  seek  you  the  straight  and  narrow  way;  for  wide  is  the  path  that  leads  to  destruction,  and  straight  or  narrow  is  the  path  that  leads  to  life  eternal.

You  have  to  understand,  have  as  a  mental  part  of  your  mind,  the  will,  the  way,  the  commandments  of  God,  as  the  apple  of  your  eye,  the  most  valuable  commodity  you  can  ever  have.

You  see  the  will  and  way  of  God  and  your  heart's  mind  is  to  make  a  straight  line  towards  it,  nothing  distracting  you  from  keeping  that  line  straight,  and  holding  that  prize  of  salvation  and  God's  Kingdom  firmly  in  your  hands.

Pure  is  being  INNOCENT  -  JESUS  said  "Be  as  wise  as  a  serpent  and  harmless  as  a  dove."

You  have  to  be  wise  in  your  living  the  Christian  life.  Jesus  also  said,  "Do  not  cast  your  pearls  before  swine,  less  they  turn  and  trample  them  to  the  ground."  Living  and  presenting  yourself  as  a  Christian  to  people  is  one  thing;  not  being  ashamed  of  Christ  is  another;  then  watching  when  you  speak,  how  you  speak,  to  whom  you  speak,  the  word  of  God,  is  also  another  -  using  wisdom.  In  the  main  of  living  you  need  to  be  harmless  as  a  dove.  That  does  not  mean  you  let  people  walk  all  over  you.  When  some  Jews  tried  to  do  that  with  Paul,  he  as  a  Roman  citizen  appealed to  the  Roman  court.  You  do   have  certain  rights  within  the  laws  of  the  land,  so  being  as  harmless  as  a  dove  does  not  mean  you  let  people  walk  all  over  you;  but  in  standing  in  your  rights,  you  can  still  be  as  harmless  as  a  dove.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  your  ATTITUDE,  even  towards  your  enemies,  in  day  to  day  living.  We  are  not  here  talking  about  someone  trying  to  kill  you,  or  beat  you  up,  or  rape  your  wife,  or  kidnap  your  child.  We  are  talking  about  being  in  your  general  life  innocent  in  how  you  deal  with  people.

Pure  is  being  UNIMPEACHABLE  -  as  a  child  of  God,  you  must  try  your  very  best  to  be  on  the  up-and-up  with  everyone  and  in  all  that  you  do.  In  your  business  transactions,  in  your  play,  in  all  that  you  do  and  say,  you  must  have  in  your  mind,  if  this  was  brought  before  the  authorities  could  I  be  impeached  and  found  guilty.  It  covers  how  we  work  and  live  towards  all  that  come  our  way,  in  whatever  ways  they  come.

It  is  an  often  sad  story  about  people  going  under  the  name  of  "Christian"  who  live  in  such  a  way,  that  those  not  Christian  say,  "Well  if  that  is  what  Christianity  is  all  about,  I  want  nothing  to  do  with  it."

Pure  is  being  PERFECTLY  IN  TUNE  -  I'm  a  guitar  player,  and  if  one  string  is  not  perfectly  in  tune,  and  in-sink  with  the  other  strings,  you  are  going  to  know.  Think  of  the  violin..... one  string  out  of  tune  would  be  very  noticeable,  even  painful  on  the  ears.

Think  of  God  as  having  MANY  strings..... he  actually  does  in  the  way  of  his  commandments.

Jesus  said,  man,  God's  man,  must  live  by  every  word  that  proceeds  from  him (Mat.4:4).

Now  that  means  reading  the  word  of  God,  the  Bible,  from  cover  to  cover  to  ascertain  all  that  God  has  spoken.  But  there  are  some  keys  to  living  by  God's  word;  especially  when  we  think  of  an  Old  Testament  and a  New  Testament.  So  to  help  you  I  wrote  a  two  part  study  called  "Living  by  EVERY  WORD  of  God  -  How?"  It's  on  this  website.

Pure  is  UNCORRUPTED  -  GOLD  is  about  as  uncorrupted  as  it  gets  in  this  physical  world;  gold  bricks  can  lay  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea  bed  for  centuries,  and  it  never  corrupts.  We  use  the  word  "corrupt"  in  many  ways:  "he/she  is  a  corrupt  politician"  -  "he/she  has  corrupted  themselves  in  their  sport  by  taking  banned  drugs"  -  "the  corrupt  police  officer  was  found  dealing  in  drugs"  -  it  means  you  give  in  to  a  way  of  life  below  the  standard  of  your  job,  in  ways  that  are  not  right  from  God's  perspective.

The  Godly  person  must  always  strive  for  the  high  calling  given  to  them  from  the  Father  in  heaven.  It  is  written  "Be  you  holy  for  I  am  holy."  Christians  who  read  the  Bible  know  the  Godhead  is  uncorrupted,  and  so  the  Christian  must  strive  to  be  uncorrupted  in  their  way  of  acting,  speaking,  thinking.  Being  uncorrupted  is  a  daily  way  of  resisting  anything  that  can  corrupt  us.  Paul  told  the  church  at  Ephesus  that  the  Godly  person  must  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God  to  withstand  the  darts  of  the  wicked.  That  section  of  Scripture  can  use  up  2  or  3  sermon  messages.  We  are  daily  in a  battle  with  demonic  forces,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  world.  That  armor  of  God  is  vital  to  put  on  each  day,  if  we  are  to  remain  un-corrupted.

The  also  sad  fact  is  that  ministers  of  God  are  not  immune  to  also  being  corrupted.  It  has  happened,  it  does  happen,  that  ministers  leading  congregations,  large  or  small,  can  be  corrupted  into  going  the  wrong  way  as  a  life  style.  They  may  start  out  honest  and  "good"  as  the  world  looks  upon  the  word  "good."  But  they  can  be  taken  in  pride,  vanity,  and  in  self-glorifying  because  they  have  raised  up  "this work"  or  "this  huge  church"  or  become  powerful  dictators  over  their  "flock"  of  Christians.  Some,  like  Jim  Jones  started  well,  but  ended  up  being  so  corrupt,  they  look  not  only  their  own  life  but  the  lives  of  his  congregation  and  their  children  also.  Just  Google  "Jim Jones"  and  you'll  find  the  whole  sad  and  disgusting  story.

I'll  finish  this  study  with  a  story  from  the  book  "750 Engaging  Illustrations  -  for  Preachers,  Teachers,  and  Writers"  by  Craig  Brian  Larson  and  Leadership  Journal

Quoted

In the spring of 1995, revival broke out on many college campuses across America. One characteristic of this visitation from God was students dealing with sinful habits that they had previously let linger in their lives. Bonne Steffen interviewed several of the students for the Christian Reader; one student named Brian at Asbury College said:

I was a leader on campus. We had invited Wheaton students to come and share. At first, I was praying for other people, but then I began to think about my own struggles. I stood in line for three hours with one of my best friends all the time thinking, How can I get up here and admit I'm less than perfect? But I also realized that being on a Christian campus isn't protection from the world. I have really struggled with lust. I found I wasn't alone. It was an issue for a lot of others. Personally, I wanted the chain to be broken; I wanted that stuff out of my life. If it meant no magazines, no television, I was willing to eliminate them. A number of us signed a paper stating our desire for purity, which we put in a box and placed on the altar. I'm still accountable to other people. My deepest desire is to be pure in my heart and thoughts.

As this student shows, the desire for purity is the beginning of purity. Purity comes when we pursue it actively and forcefully.

End quote

WE  CHRISTIANS  MUST  STRIVE  TO  BE  PURE  IN  THOUGHT,  WORD,  AND  ACTION.  IN  SO  DOING  WE  SHALL  INDEED  BE  IN  THE  PRESENCE  OF  GOD  THE  FATHER;  WE  SHALL  SEE  HIM  -  THAT  THOUGHT  ALONE  SHOULD  INSPIRE  US  TO   MAKE  OUR  CHRISTIAN  FAITH  PURE  -  Keith Hunt

 2  ….NARROW  IS  THE  WAY  THAT LEADS  TO  LIFE,  AND  FEW  THERE  BE  THAT  FIND  IT.....

THESE  WORDS  ARE  FROM  THE  MOUTH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST...YES  IN  MATTHEW  7:14.

NOW  THAT  IS  QUITE  THE  STATEMENT  AS  OPPOSED  TO  ALL  THAT  TEACH  SALVATION  IS  AS  EASY  AS  EATING  PIE.

In  the  context  we  also  see  that  Jesus  said,  "...for  wide  is  the  gate  that  leads  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  that  go  in  thereat."

Paul  was  inspired  to  say  you  are  saved  by  grace  not  works [Eph. 2:8].

Jesus  said  that  only  few [at  least  now]  are  going  to  find  the  straight  and  narrow  way.....only  the  few.

Hummmm, so  how  do  we  put  it  all together?

Well  for  starters  logic  would  tells  you  that  just  ONE  sin,  makes  you  guilty,  no  matter  how  many  "good"  right  ways  you  do  and  live  by. The  policeman/woman  in  handing  you  a  speeding  ticket  just  isn't  interested  in  you  tell  them  you've  obey  the  speeding  law  a  thousand  times  before.  They  are  not  there  to  hand  you  a  ticket  for  "a  good  1,000  times  obeyed"  the  speeding  law.

We  do  not  have  to  go  very  far  in  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  for  Jesus  to  amplify  what  he  means,  by  what  he's  just  said.  Verses  21-27. Again  kinda  shocking  for  some  who  hardly  ever  hear  this  in  church.

"Not  EVERYONE  that  says  unto  me,  Lord, Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  DOES  the  WILL  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven" [v.21].

Jesus  went  on  to  talk  about  some  who  will  be  on  the  outside  looking  in,  and  will  be  shocked,  and  will  say  they  did  this  and  that  in  Jesus'  name, even  casting  out  demons  and  doing  many  "wonderful"  works!  Jesus  goes  on  further  to  say  he  that  hears  and  obeys,  will  be  like  a  man  building  his  house  on  a  rock..... the rain  and  floods  could  not  tear  it  down.  BUT those  that  just  hear  and  will  not  obey.....they  are  like  the  man  building  a  house  on  the  sand.  And  we  sure  know  from  the  news  what  happens  to  a  house  build  on  sand  -  the  rain  and  floods  come  and  the  house  is  washed  away.

Even  these  verses  by  Jesus  make  it  sound  that  "works"  plays  a  part  in  salvation;  even  sounding  like  the  most  important  part.  The  answer  is  YES  and  NO!

To  understand  it  all,  you  have  to  read  the  whole  New  Testament.

You  are  going  to  find  verses  about  serving  God.  Obeying  God.  Verses  about  keeping  God's  commandments,  doing  his  will.  And  you  will  find  verses  that  you  cannot  "earn"  salvation;  cannot  amass  more  good  works  than  bad  work  to  be  in  God's  Kingdom;  you  are  indeed  saved  by  grace.

THE  FULL  ANSWER  IS  FOUND  IN  MY  STUDY  CALLED  "SAVED  BY  GRACE"  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

Putting  it  in  a  nut  shell  here  for  you,  what  Jesus  is  clearly  teaching  is  you  cannot  turn  "grace"  -  "mercy"  into  a  free  passage  to  sin,  to  live  how  you  like,  when  you  like.  

It's  an  attitude  of  mind  God  is  looking  for  in  you.  To  be  given  grace  or  mercy [forgiveness],  the  Eternal  is  looking  to  see  your  heart  -  is  your  mind  willing  to  look  at  what  God  teaches  and  instructs,  the  way  he  wants  you  to  conduct  your  overall  life.  He's  looking  for  that  mind-set  that  is  humble  and  obedient,  that  says,  "Lord  I'm  a  sinner,  I'm  flesh  and  blood,  I  mess up  at  times,  please  forgive  me;  I  really  do  want  to  live  the  way  you  have  given  for  us  Christians  to  live."

So  your  mind,  your  mental  attitude,  is  a  willingness  to  listen  to  God  the  Father  and  Jesus  Christ,  hear  what  they  say,  what  they  teach.  Of  course  this  is  done  by  reading  the  Bible,  ALL  of  it,  to  understand  the  will  of  God.

Jesus  did  say  his  disciples  are  to  live  by  every  word  of  God.  Now  you  may  have  many  question  as  HOW  to  do  all  that.  Hence  my  two  part  study  was  written  to  help  you  with  some  keys,  that  will  in  turn  help  you  to  live  by  God's  words  that  come  from  him.

The  study  is  called  "LIVING  BY  EVERY  WORD  OF  GOD  -  HOW?"

AND  remember  the  other  very  important  study  "SAVED  BY  GRACE."

..........

3. YOU  MAY  MISS  

THE  PROPHECY  UNLESS........

I  AM  READING  ALL  THE  WORDS  CHRIST  SPOKE  AS  RECORDED  IN  THE  FOUR  GOSPELS;  WITH  A  RED  LETTER  BIBLE  IT  IS  EASY  TO  SEE  THEM.

THERE  IS  A  PROPHECY  IN  THE  BIBLE [FIRST  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT]  THAT  HAS  A  DUAL  FULFILMENT.  A  PROPHECY  THAT  MOST  CHRISTIAN  RELIGIOUS  PEOPLE  WILL  MISS;  ONLY  THE  ASTUTE  WILL  FIND  IT.

It  begins  in  Matthew  11.

"And as they departed Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went you out to see in the wilderness? A reed shaken in the wind? What went you out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold they that wear soft clothing are in king's houses. What went you out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say unto you, and more than a prophet" (verses 7-9).

John [the baptist] was a very different person than the run of the mill people. He lived out in the wilderness. He was not like the average teacher or preacher of the time. He had a life-style that was different from most people as he preached and taught the way of the Lord. The "establishment" teachers and preachers of the Bible, did not take John seriously.....he was to them....well probably to most synagogue attenders.... "different" - and so it was only some who could recognize John was doing the work of the Lord; actually fulfilling a prophecy.

Jesus went on to say, "For this is he, for whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare the way for you [meaning prepare the way for Christ]. Truly I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist.....and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is gotten by force, and the forcefully strong will take it by force [you have to be right on the ball - exercising a strong mental attitude; the hungering and thirsting for righteousness that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 5]......and IF YOU WILL RECEIVE IT [so obviously the inference is many will not receive it] THIS is Elijah, who was to come" (verses 10-14).

Now that prophecy is found in Malachi 4:5. And if you are already up on some Bible prophecy phrases,  you know the "day of the Lord" comes in the very end times, in fact during the last 42 months of this age [all that is explained to you in my many studies on the outline of Bible prophecy]. So this prophecy of Malachi has and END TIME fulfilment also. But BACK to Jesus in Matthew 11. 

Jesus goes on to say that most of the people had preconceived ideas as to HOW John should have been. Jesus put them like .... well we called the tune but you have not danced AS WE want it. Yes John did not come jumping to the people's and religionists call of how they thought it should be.

Jesus said John came neither eating or drinking as they wanted it to be, and so was basically [for sure the religious teachers] called a man with a demon. They also did not like Jesus NOT dancing to their tune either; because he was not like John the Baptist, but ate and drank with "sinners"  - they said he was "gluttonous and a winebibber (verses 14-19).

It did not matter what people thought about John the Baptist, that he was "strange" or "different" and not what they had expected with the prophecy of Malachi 4.

The MAJORITY of "religious" people just could not imagine this different kind of person, being the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi - they had pre-conceived ideas of what John should look like, where he should live, what he should dress like.  And with such strong ideas that was how Malachi 4 would be, in their minds. The prophecy was right under their nose and they walked right by it; no doubt waiting to see the real Old Testament Elijah raised from the dead, or someone fitting THEIR ideas of this person coming to live and act in ways that the teachers and people of the day, had set up in their minds as to how John should live and act.

Because John the Baptist was "different" than what they expected.....they could NOT SEE that HE was the very one to come in the "spirit" and "power" of the Old Testament Elijah.

WE  ARE  NOT  FINISHED  WITH  THIS  PROPHECY!!

We pick up the connection of this whole prophecy in Matthew 17.

JESUS had come down from the mount of transfiguration, where he told those with him, to not tell the VISION to anyone [it was not a reality but a vision they were permitted to see, Moses and Elijah were not really there, it was a vision of the glory in God's Kingdom] before his resurrection. They had seen in vision Elijah, so it prompted the question, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Ah yes the scribes knew that BEFORE the coming of the Messiah, Elijah was to come. They knew it from Malachi chapter 4!

Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly will come first and RESTORE ALL THINGS!  But I say unto you, Elijah has already come, and  THEY  KNEW HIM  NOT! ……."

THEN NOTICE  -  "Then the disciples UNDERSTOOD that he spoke to them of JOHN THE BAPTIST" (verses 9-13).

AH  DID  YOU CATCH IT?  ARE YOU SEEING WHAT JESUS IS TEACHING?

The "scribes" of that time KNEW the prophecy of Malachi 4…… before the Messiah comes, Elijah will come!

Jesus added something to the Old Testament prophecy:  THIS  ELIJAH SHALL  RESTORE  ALL  THINGS!

The prophecy in Malachi is for the very end time, before the DAY OF THE LORD an Elijah will come!

And Jesus made it plain that an Elijah  HAD  ALREADY  COME!

It was John the baptist  who  was  THE  ELIJAH  TO  COME  BEFORE the Messiah's FIRST COMING!

This  is  proof  that  prophecy  CAN  HAVE  a  DUAL  fulfilment!

The "original" Elijah was NOT brought out of the grave, nor did he come from heaven as many believe he is in heaven today [which just is not true at all - see the study "Death - What Then?" on this website.

The prophecy in Malachi is obviously DUAL in nature - there was one who came in the spirit and power of Elijah BEFORE Jesus the Messiah came the first time - it was JOHN the baptist!

There will come another ELIJAH - in the spirit and power of Elijah  -  BEFORE Jesus the Messiah COMES  AGAIN!

NOTE THIS ALSO - there is not one word in the Gospels or New Testament, that says John DID MIRACLES!  He taught; he preached - but nothing says he did MIRACLES!

JOHN TAUGHT THE TRUTHS OF GOD; John taught real REPENTANCE, THE TRUE  WAY TO SALVATION THROUGH THE MESSIAH.

Jesus  also  added  something  else:  The  Elijah  to  come  in  the  SECOND  fulfilment  of  Malachi  4  would  RESTORE  ALL  THINGS!

HENCE  A  RESTORING  WOULD  BE  NECESSARY!  Things  by  the  time  of  the  end  would  NEED  to  be  restored.  The  Christianity  of  the  world  and  in  the  true  Church  of  God,  would,  before  the  day  of  the  Lord,  NEED  TO  BE  RESTORED!

LOOK  AT  ALL  THE  FORMS  AND  SHAPES  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TODAY;  LOOK  AT  THE  DIFFERENCES  IN  7TH  DAY  SABBATH  CHURCHES  TODAY;  LOOK  AT  THE  DIFFERENCE  IN  ALL  THE  7TH  DAY  SABBATH  AND  FEASTS  OF  THE  LORD  GROUPS,  TODAY.  YOU  SHOULD  GET  THE  DRIFT,  IF  YOU  ARE  ASTUTE.

John the baptist was "different" -  he had a life-style that was WITHIN the way of the Lord, but he was different. Because he was different MANY - especially the "theology teachers" - just could NOT SEE him for what the Eternal God was doing through him. No doubt part of that was due to as Jesus once said, "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own household."  It is the attitude of mind that, "Well we have known this guy, we have seen him grow into a man, we know he is a sinner; now we see he is also different in certain ways from the average person; he just cannot be anything God is using."

SO  IT  WAS  THEN  IN  JESUS'  DAY,  SO  IT  WILL  BE  AGAIN  BEFORE  THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD.

The prophecy does not say HOW LONG before the day of the Lord this prophecy of Malachi will be fulfilled.

And that's where MANY will fall and fail to see the picture.

God  seldom  does  things  the  way  humans  want  it  done,  or  think  how  it  should  be  done.  Many  will  think  God  will  send  another  that  will  dress  kinda  "hippy  style"  and  live  outside  in  the  wild,  have  a  long  beard,  and  well….. look  like  another  John  the  baptist.  So  they  will  not  see,  they  will  miss  it  completely!

Many  may  think  the  end  time  Elijah  will  walk  around  with  some  placard  saying,  "REPENT  YE,  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand!"  And  with  his  strange  dress  and  long  beard  and  hair  catch  the  attention  of  the  world  TV  news  people,  to  be  on  the  world's  broad-casting.  Many  make  think  he  will  walk  into  the  United  Nations,  and  preach  before  them.  Many  may  think  he  just  must  to  go  to  the  Jewish  State  of  Israel,  and  preach  in  that  land.

Many  in  the  very  Sabbath observing  Churches  of  God,  with  all  their  theology  differences,  will  not  be  astute  enough  to  see  this  end  time  prophecy  before  them.  They  will  be  like  the  disciples  of  Christ,  they  will  not  see  the  prophecy  fulfilled,   UNTIL  Jesus  tells  them.  They  will  be  so  ASLEEP,  so  UN-ASTUTE,   so  BRAIN-DEAD,  or  so  much  like  the  church  at  LAODICEA  in Revelation 3,  thinking  they  are  just  fine  and  dandy,  so  in  tune  with  God,  that  they  need  for  nothing.  They  will  think  they  have  it  all,  and  certainly  don't  need  any  eye-slav  to  really  see  spiritually,  that  they  are  blind  and  naked. They  will  be  so  lukewarm  they  will  MISS  this  end  time  prophecy.

YOU  NEED  TO  BE  VERY  ASTUTE;  YOU  NEED  TO  READ  YOUR  BIBLE  FROM  COVER  TO  COVER;  YOU  NEED  TO  STUDY  TO  SHOW  YOURSELF  APPROVED  OF  GOD,  A  WORKMAN  THAT  NEEDS  NOT  BE  ASHAMED,  RIGHTLY  PUTTING  TOGETHER  THE  WORD  OF  THE  LORD.

DO  NOT  LET  THE  PROPHECY  OF  MALACHI  4  PASS  YOU  BY,  DON'T  AS  THEY  SAY  "MISS  THE  BOAT!"

………………..

4. YOU  SHALL  NOT  HAVE  GONE  OVER  THE  CITIES  OF  ISRAEL,  TILL  THE  SON  OF  MAN  BE  COME

SPOKEN  BY  JESUS  IN  MATHEW  10:23.

A  LITTLE  STRANGE  IF  WE  ARE  TALKING  ABOUT  THE  VERY  SMALL  LITERAL  PLACE  OF  THE  "HOLY  LAND"  -  SEE  IT  ON  A  WORLD  ATLAS  GLOBE  -  THE  PLACE  IS  TINY!!

Even  if  you  want  to  say  Jesus  was  meaning  one  generation  after  another,  say  about  every  70  years,  it  still  would  not  take  you  70  years  to  get  the  Gospel  to  all  towns  in  the  Jewish  State  of  Israel.

The  words  by  Jesus  hardly  make  sense  UNLESS  you  know  the  full  background  of  the  FULL  Israel.

There  were  12  tribes  that  came  out  of  Egypt  under  Moses  -  the  12  tribes  of  Israel.  It  was  Jacob  who  had  his  name  changed  to  Israel.  There  was  12  tribes  that  made  up  the  people  of  "Israel"  -  read carefully  from  Genesis  12  to  the  end  of  the  book.  Note  all  the  prophecies  concerning  the  12  tribes,  especially  Joseph  and  his  two  sons  Ephriam  and  Manesseh.

After  the  death  of  Solomon  the  13  tribes [Joseph  became  Ephraim  and  Manasseh]  SPLIT  -  Judah,  with  Benjamin  and  Levi  formed  the  House  Of  Judah  -  the  other  10  tribes  became  the  House  of  Israel.

The  House  of  Israel was  finally  taken  captive  by  the  Assyrian  empire  -  they  were  transported  to  the  Assyrian  land.  The  MAJORITY  never  returned  -  they  finally  went  NORTH  AND  WEST.  They  lost  their  identity  over  the  generations.  In  different  groups  they  came  through  Europe;  they  eventually  settled  most  of  North-west  Europe,  and  the  British  isles.  Many  Manassehites  settled  the  new  world  of  America.  The  two  brothers  formed  a  nation  and  company  of  nations;  they  inherited  the  wealth  of  the  world  as  no  other  nations  ever  did.  They  became  the  greatest  brother  peoples  in  world  power  and  wealth,  that  ever  existed.

They  have  towns  and  cities  in  all  their  combined  lands  that  are  in  the  HUNDREDS;  nay  in  the  THOUSANDS!

If  you  want  to  look  at  say  "generation"  as  of  70  years,  you  would  hardly  cover  the  towns  and  cities  and  villages,  with  the  Gospel  in  70  years,  every  70  years  following  each  other.

NOW  the  words  of  Jesus'  prophecy  really  starts  to  make  more  sense.

Truly  as  He  said  to  His  disciples .....  "YOU  WILL  NOT  HAVE  GONE  OVER  THE  CITIES  OF  ISRAEL  TILL  THE  SON  OF  MAN  BE  COME!"

..........

5. WHEREFORE  I  SAY  UNTO  YOU,  ALL  MANNER  OF  SIN  AND  BLASPHEMY  SHALL  BE  FORGIVEN  UNTO  MEN,  BUT  THE  BLASPHEMY  AGAINST  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  SHALL  NOT  BE  FORGIVEN  UNTO  MEN.

JESUS  SPOKE  THESE  WORDS  IN  MATTHEW  12: 31.

Let  me start  this  study  by  first  giving  you  part  of  an  excellent  old  article  by  David  Antion.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  attending  a  Feast  of  Tabernacles  long  long  time  ago,  where  David  Antion  was  one  of  the  speakers.

Quote

Blasphemy is dangerous. And it ought to be considered so

because one form of blasphemy is the UNPARDONABLE sin. Let us

understand this.

     The case of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is shown in

Matthew 12:22-32. "Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a

demon, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the

blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were

amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the

Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out

devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew

their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against

itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided

against itself shall not stand; And if Satan cast out Satan, he

is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And

if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast

them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out

devils by the SPIRIT of GOD, then the Kingdom of God is come unto

you." Then Jesus said in verse 31, "Wherefore I say unto you, All

manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ... "

Notice in this statement that Jesus said there were different

manners or kinds of blasphemy just as there were different kinds

of sin. All the other types of blasphemy can be forgiven. The

Apostle Paul was one who was forgiven of blasphemy that he had

done in ignorance. See I Timothy 1:13.

     "But," Jesus went on in verse 31 and 32, "the blasphemy

against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And ...

whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be

forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to

come."

     What did the Pharisees do or say against the Holy Spirit

that Christ should say this to them? Let us notice.

     In verse 23, after the people saw the miracle, "And all the

people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?" The

people let the work performed by the Holy Spirit in this miracle

prick their hearts. They were ready to acknowledge that God was

working through His Son Jesus Christ. And that Jesus was not just

an ordinary man but that He truly was the Messiah who was

prophesied to come. They let the manifested power of the Holy

Spirit convict them, and begin to bring them to repentance.

     But the Pharisees, who saw the same miracle, who saw the

blind and dumb man speak and see, did not allow the work of the

Holy Spirit to convict them. They hardened their hearts. They

probably had a feeling that they should give God glory. They knew

that what Jesus did was an act of God - that it was good and

right. But instead of allowing this wonderful work to soften

their hearts and bring them to repentance, they hardened

themselves and spoke against the miracle done by the Holy Spirit.

They said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by

Beelzebub the prince of the devils [or demons]." This was

blasphemy! They called a work done by the Holy Spirit - a work

done to bring them to repentance - the work of Satan the Devil.

Instead of repenting, they struck back at God's Holy Spirit -

which is the power that brings us to repentance. They spoke

against and blasphemed the only power that could make them

repent. They therefore seared their consciences and hardened

their hearts to the point they could never repent. Therefore they

could never be forgiven.

     If we get into a habit of blaspheming God, His Word, His

doctrine by our words and misdeeds, we are only a step away from

blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. We are walking the cliff, so to

speak. It is a dangerous walk, for one slip could mean our

eternal end.

     Let us put away all forms of blasphemy…….

    And above all, let us never attribute work done by and through the

power of God's Holy Spirit as being the work of Satan the Devil.

For if we harden our hearts to this extent we shall have

committed the sin of which Jesus Christ said, "... it shall not

be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to

come."

End Quote

                      

Did you get the truth of the "unpardonable sin" in the last part of this study? ALL sins can be forgiven UPON REPENTANCE. The sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin of NOT repenting! When God, uses His spirit to bring a person to the knowledge of the truth, to salvation knowledge, and that person will NOT give his/her mind to REPENTING and moving forth to accepting Christ Jesus as Savior, willing to now live by every word of God (Mat.4:4) and build a personal relationship with the Father and His Son Jesus, then THAT SIN of NOT repenting cannot be forgiven. The person has committed the unpardonable sin. The person has blasphemed the Holy Spirit, the power the Father uses to bring people to the knowledge of the truth and to repentance. 

We as Christians are not perfect, we are still in the flesh while in this physical body. We do sometimes sin; though our mind-set is to serve God, to obey His way of life, His commandments. Our weakness of the flesh, the pressures of the sinful world, Satan and his demon helpers, all still pull at us, and at times, though we do not want to, we find that we fall, we miss the mark, we sin. This is all explained in 1 John and the first few chapters.

Read it in a modern translation, and you will see what John was inspired to tell us, about our life as a Christian. Then also we have the apostle Paul being inspired to write Romans chapter 7. The Christian may find themselves in exactly the mind of Paul in Romans 7. None of that is the unpardonable sin.

The blasphemy of the unpardonable sin is when you KNOW THE TRUTH, and you coldly, with a clear mind, say to God's Holy Spirit, which He is using to lead you into truth, "I want no part of this. I will NOT serve, I will not OBEY, I will NOT walk with you

God."

With such an attitude of mind, God CANNOT forgive or have mercy on that person. They have sinned against the Holy Spirit; they have sinned against God, and the Holy One can only show mercy through Christ Jesus to someone who will REPENT of sin. 

It is a one, two, three, movement that God has decreed, set down as to how any person can have salvation. God uses His Spirit to take away spiritual blindness from the mind of a person. The person must be willing to acknowledge truth and sin, be willing to repent of sin, change the mind-set to obey God, and then FORGIVENESS is given to that person. If the person will not acknowledge sin and repent of practicing sin as a way of life, then they have REJECTED the Holy Spirit - blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, and hence CANNOT be forgiven in this life, and cannot have eternal life in the future.

If you have not done so, make sure you study my study called "Saved by Grace" and you should then be clear in your mind (if you are not at present) what the unpardonable sin is - what the sin is against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven in this life nor in the life to come.

THIS  IS  THE  ULTIMATE  BLASPHEMY  AGAINST  GOD'S  HOLY  SPIRIT

THERE  ARE  OTHER  FORMS  OF  BLASPHEMY [TIME  SPENT  WITH  SAY  STRONG'S  CONCORDANCE  OF  THE  BIBLE,  UNDER  THE  WORD  "BLASPHEMY"  WILL  GIVE  YOU  ALL  PLACES  WHERE  THE  WORD  IS  USED  IN  THE  KING  JAMES  BIBLE;  OR  A  BOOK  LIKE  "NAVE'S  TOPICAL  BIBLE"  WILL  GUIDE  YOU  IN  STUDYING  THIS  WORD  "BLASPHEMY."

A  type  of  blasphemy  is  found  in  Acts 6  where  Ananas  and  Sapphira  his  wife  LIED  to  the  Holy  Spirit [to  God]  about  the  money  they  got  from  selling  some  land  possession.  They  were  making  out  they  got  "such  and  such"  money  and  gave  it  all  to  the  apostles  for  God's  work. You  will  notice  verse  4  shows  it  was  always  theirs  -  to  do  with  it  as  they  desired.  They  could  have  given  some  of  it  and  kept  some  of  it.  They  could  do  whatever  they  wanted  with  it  per  se.  But  they  had  to  make  out  they  were  giving  the  total  amount  to  the  apostles  -  it  was  a  deliberate  lie.

In  this  case  God  took  severe  action,  they  both  died!

This  is  not  saying  that  God  will  use  such  dramatic  power  on  every  Christian  that  lies.  It  is  simply  showing  God  knows  the  truth  and  the  heart  of  persons,  and  could,  can,  if  He  so  decides,  take  pretty   powerful  action,  even  to  death.

DAVID  ANTION  brings  out  the  meaning  of  the  context  in  Matthew  12  and  blaspheming  against  the  Holy  Spirit. 

IT  IS  THE  SET-IN-STONE  MINDSET  OF  ATTRIBUTING  SOMETHING  THAT  GOD  IS  DOING  THROUGH  A  PERSON,  TO  BE  THE  WORK  OF  THE  DEVIL,  TO  PUT  IT  BLUNTLY!!

I  DO  HAVE  AN  EXAMPLE  THAT  WAS  VERY  PERSONAL  TO  ME,  AND  THE  POWERFUL  WAY  GOD  DECIDED  TO  ANSWER  IT.

My  wife  at  the  time  and  I  were  in  Florida  for  the  winter  months,  having  sold  up  in  B.C.  and  on  our  way  to  New  Brunswick [on the other side of the country] via  some  winter  months  in  Florida  [where  my  wife's  mother  went  for  the  winter]. We  walked  into  a  Sabbath  service  of  the  CGI [Church of God, International].  Wow,  after  the  regular  service,  this  deacon  and  his  wife  stood  up  and  they  were  throwing  out  accusations  of  this  and  that,  when  the  minister  was  with  them [he  had  just  recently  been  transferred  via  his  secular  job  to  another  town  in  another  State].  It  was  very  plain  to  see  this  congregation  was  divided  down  the  middle  with  supporters  of  this  deacon  and  his  wife,  and  those  opposed  to  them.  It  was  quite  the  open  mess,  the  anger  from  this  deacon  backed  by  his  wife  was  unreal,  just  unreal.  I  finally  had  to  stand  up  and  say  something.  I  told  them  I  was  an  ordained  minister,  who  years  before  had  had  a  working  connection  with  the  CGI.  I  told  them  this  was  not  the  way  to  solve  problems  in  the  church.  Well  I  was [with  my  wife]  enemy  number  two.  They  thought  I  was  infiltrating  their  congregation,  and  it  would  seem,  to  take  it  away  from  this  deacon  now  in  charge  since  the  minister  was  no  longer  there. Within  one  week  I  was  accused  of  this  and  that,  especially  to  break  up  or  take  over  this  congregation.  

Ron  Dart [one  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the  CGI  at  the  time]  sent  the  minister  back  to  this  Florida  congregation  within  about  three  weeks  of  my  arrival,  to  see  if  things  could  be  solved.  He  came,  gave  his  sermon,  then  it  was  open  forum  mayhem  once  more.  This  deacon  and  his  wife  tearing  into  this  minister.  He  left  and  went  home  with  no  result  of  the  problem  being  solved.  

Again,  after  this  episode,  I  was  being  attacked,  maligned,  as  someone  with  sinister  motives.  Now  about  half  the  congregation  was  cold  and  suspicious  towards  my  wife  and  I,  the  other  half  warm  and  friendly.

I  did  what  Matthew  18  tells  us  to  do…… go  to  your  brother  privately  and  try  to  solve  the  problem.  My  meeting  with  the  deacon  and  his  wife  was  very  cold  from  them,  very  blunt  words  of  unkindness  from  them.  They  saw  things  a  certain  way,  and  had  already  put  us  in  the  basket  of  the  "bad"  apples  part  of  the  congregation  that  was  not  quite  following  them.

Over  a  period  of  about  three  months  with  this  cold  hostile  atmosphere  in  this  local  CGI  church,  I  wrote  a  few  times  telling  Ron  Dart  the  situation.  And  the  hostility  from  this  deacon  and  his  wife,  and  the  cold  split  that  hung  over  the  congregation.

Another  CGI  minster  from  across  the  other  side  of  Florida  was  sent  about  every  2  or  3  weeks,  to  try  and  heal  the  wound  taking  place.  He  and  I  got  along  just  fine;  some  of  the  "not  so  sure"  people [from  the  influence  of  this  deacon]  began  to  warm  up  to  us.  But  this  trouble  was  far  from  over,  the  unrest  and  confusion  was  still  simmering.  As  we  got  closer  to  Passover  some  more  were  seeing  I  was  not  harming  them  at  all,  just  the  opposite.

Ron  Dart  decided  to  come  and  lead  the  Passover and  feast  part  of  Unleavened  Bread  service.  After  the  UB  service  I  spent  a  little  time  talking  to  Ron.  We  had  more  people,  one  couple  I  remember  specifically,  came  up  to  my  wife  and  myself  after  services  and  said,  "We  got  off  to  a  bad  start,  we  are  sorry."

Sadly  the  problem  with  this  deacon  and  his  wife  did  not  go  away.  I  had  tried  in  different  ways  to  break  the  ice  with  them.  The  friction  in  the  congregation  did  not  heal.  There  was  trouble  in  the  air, in  the  atmosphere  of  this  local  church.

We  were  now  getting  ready  to  leave  Florida.  I  wrote  to  Ron  saying  so,  and  I  told  him  I was  leaving  this  problem  in  his  hands,  as  I  had  gone  out  of  me  way  to  try  and  break  this  cold  ice  with  this  deacon.

Away  we  went  to  New Brunswick.  And  there  I  found  work  in  my  trade  of  Orthopedic  Shoemaking.  

For  the  holiday  break  in  December  we  decided  to  return  and  enjoy  a  few  weeks  back  in  Florida.  I  thought  well  we  have  not  been  there  for  6  or  more  months,  so  hopefully  by  now  they  knew  we  were  not  there  to  bring  trouble  to  them,  as  this  deacon  and  this  wife  wanted  to  believe.  We  got  out  of  the  car  and  walked  to  the entrance  of  the  building  where  services  were  held.  The  first  man  to  greet  us  was  not  the  most  friendliest  person  towards  us  from  before,  BUT  NOW  he  had  a  big  smile,  warmest  handshake….."Did  you  hear?"  he  asked  me,  

"Hear  what?"  I  replied.

"Well  I  guess  you  did  not  hear  then.  Within  two  or  three  weeks  after  you  went  up  to  Canada,  the  deacon  was  struck  with  cancer  from  head  to  feet.  He  was  dead  within  a  few  weeks!"

I  was  shocked;  I  know  I  had  said  to  God,  that  I  have  to  leave  it  in  His  hands,  this  trouble  with  this  deacon  and  his  wife,  who  just  wanted  to  believe  I  was  evil,  and  up  to  no  good.  I  HAD  NOT  THE  SLIGHTEST  THOUGHT  THAT  THE  ETERNAL  GOD  IN  HEAVEN  WOULD  ANSWER  THIS  WAY  -  SWIFT  AND  SO  POWERFULLY!!

I  WAS  STUNNED……. TO  REALIZE  HOW  THE  LORD  SOMETIMES  WHEN  HIS  GOOD  IS  CALLED  EVIL  BY  SOMEONE,  HOW  HE  ANSWERS…..I  WAS  SHOCKED  TO  THINK  THAT  AN  ACTS  5  HE  WOULD  STILL  USE.  I'D  NEVER  SEEN,  HEARD,  OR  EXPERIENCED  ANYTHING  CLOSE  TO  THIS  IN  MY  LIFE,  AND  THEN  IN  MY  MINISTRY  OF  ONLY  ABOUT  9  YEARS.

THE  DEACON'S  WIFE…… YOU  WOULD  NEVER  HAVE  KNOWN  HER,  SHE  HAD  BEEN  HUMBLED;  NOT  THE  SAME  WOMAN  AT  ALL,  QUIET  AS  COULD  BE,  JUST  A  180  DEGREE  TURN-ABOUT.

THE  CONGREGATION  WELCOMED  US  WITH  OPEN  ARMS….. EVERYONE  TOGETHER  AS  ONE,  SERVING  AND  REJOICING  IN  THE  LORD.

DOES  THIS  SOUND  WAY  OUT  TO  YOU?  DOES  IT  SOUND  LIKE  I'M  WRITING  SOME  KIND  OF  FICTION  STORY  WITH  DRAMATIC  EFFECTS  FOR  BETTER  REALISM?

WHAT  I'VE  TOLD  YOU  REALLY  HAPPENED.  THAT  CGI  CONGREGATION  WAS  IN  CLEARWATER,  FLORIDA,  IF  STILL  THERE,  WITH  STILL  SOME  OF  THE  SAME  PEOPLE,  THEY  WILL  TELL  YOU  WHAT  I'VE  RELATED  IS  ABSOLUTELY  TRUE!!!

GOD  AND  JESUS  HIS  SON, ARE  ALIVE,  THEY  ARE  THERE  IN  HEAVEN  ABOVE,  AND  IF  YOU  STEP  OVER  THE  LINE  LONG  ENOUGH,  WITH  AMPLE  TIME  TO  SEE  AND  REPENT,  AND  YOU  CALL  WHAT  GOD'S  SPIRIT  IS  DOING,  EVIL,  AND  FROM,  THE  DEVIL….. BOTH  THE  FATHER  AND  THE  SON  CAN  STILL  DO  AN  ACTS  5  IF  THEY  SO  WILL.

PENTECOST  IS  ABOUT  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AND  ITS  WORKING  POWER,  BE  CAREFUL……AS  JESUS  ONCE  SAID,  JUDGE  RIGHTEOUS  JUDGMENT!

THEN  GO  FORWARD  BOLDLY,  IN  THE  POWER  AND  MIGHT  OF  THAT  SPIRIT,  DOING  THE  WORK  OF  GOD,  AS  YOU  CAN,  IN  THE  CALLING  WORK  HE  HAS  GIVEN  YOU  TO  DO.

AS  PAUL  TAUGHT  THE  CORINTHIANS  WE  ARE  ALL  CALLED  TO  FUNCTION  DIFFERENTLY,  BUT  WE  ARE  ALL  ONE  BODY  OF  CHRIST,  ALL  PART  OF  HIM,  ALL  THEN  NIT  TOGETHER  GOING  FORTH  TO  SPREAD  THE  GOSPEL  NEAR  AND  FAR,  BY  AND  THROUGH  THE  HELP  AND  POWER  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.

……….

6. PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER

IT  IS  FOUND  IN  MATTHEW  13: 18-23

SOME  HEAR  THE  MESSAGE  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD [WHICH  INCLUDES  SALVATION],  BUT  AS  JESUS  SAID,  THEY  DO  NOT  UNDERSTAND  IT,  BUT  IN  TIME  THEY  MIGHT,  AS  THEY  LISTEN;  BUT  THE  WICKED  ONE  COMES  IMMEDIATELY    AND  TAKES  THEM  AWAY..... THIS  IS  THE  ONES  RECEIVING  THE  SEED  BY  THE  WAYSIDE.

GOD  HAS  ALLOWED  SATAN  TO  COME;  THE  SEED  WAS  NOT  ABLE  TO  TAKE  ROOT;  THIS  IS  HAPPENING  TO  MILLIONS  AROUND  THE  EARTH  EVEN  TO  THIS  DAY.  THEY  NEVER  HAD  THE  CHANCE  TO  REALLY  BE  CALLED,  AND  CERTAINLY  NOT  CHOSEN.  THEY  WILL  BE  IN  THE  GREAT  WHITE  THRONE  JUDGMENT  AGE.

THEN  SOME  ARE  AS  THE  SEED  IN  STONY  PLACES....THEY  HEAR  AND  RECEIVE  IT  WITH  JOY.  THEY  HAVE  NO  REAL  ROOT  THOUGH;  CERTAIN  WORLDLY  TRIBULATIONS  AND  PERSECUTIONS  COME,  AND..... THEY  GIVE  UP!

WHERE  DO  THEY  STAND  IN  THE  SALVATION  MODE?  ARE  THEY  LOST  TO  THE  SECOND  DEATH?  I  CANNOT  ANSWER  THAT.... ONLY  GOD  KNOWS  IF  THEY  WERE  REALLY  CALLED  TO  SALVATION  IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE.  ONLY  TIME  AND  THE  RESURRECTIONS  WILL  ANSWER  THE  QUESTION.

THERE  IS  THE  SEED  AMONG  THE  THORNS....THEY  HEAR  THE  WORD  OF  GOD,  BUT  THE  CARES  OF  THE  WORLD  CHOKE  WHATEVER  COULD  TAKE  ROOT.  ARE  THEY  LOST  AND  HEADING  FOR  THE  SECOND  DEATH?  AGAIN  I  DO  NOT  KNOW  THE  ANSWER.....AGAIN  IT  IS  ONLY  GOD  WHO  HAS  THE  ANSWER  AND  ONLY  TIME  WILL  TELL.

LAST,  BUT  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  IS  TO  KNOW  THERE  ARE  ONES  WHO  RECEIVE  THE  SEED  ON  GOOD  GROUND....THEY  NOT  ONLY  HEAR  BUT  THEY  UNDERSTAND....AND  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT!  THEY  ARE  THE  PRODUCTIVE  CHRISTIANS  THAT  GO  ON  WITH  THE  UNDERSTANDING  THEY  HAVE,  AND  STAY  TRUE  TO  THE  END,  BRINGING  FORTH  FRUIT  IN  THE  PROPORTION  AS  TO  WHAT  THEY  WERE  GIVEN.

FROM  OTHER  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS  WE  KNOW  THESE  LAST  ONES,  ARE  THE  FIRST  ONES  TO  BE  IN  THE  FIRST  RESURRECTION  AT  THE  COMING  OF  CHRIST  AGAIN  TO  EARTH.

IF  YOU  ARE  HEARING  THE  WORD  OF  GOD,  IF  YOU  ARE  UNDERSTANDING  IT,  THEN  IT  IS  VERY  LIKELY  YOU  HAVE  BEEN  CALLED  AND  CHOSEN,  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT  AND  BE  IN  THE  RESURRECTION  TO  GLORY  AND  ETERNAL  LIFE,  AT  THE  COMING  AGAIN  OF  CHRIST  JESUS.

..........

7. TARES  AMONG  THE  WHEAT  PARABLE

FOUND  IN  MATTHEW  13: 24-30; 36-43

JESUS  SPOKE  A  PARABLE  ABOUT  A  MAN  SOWING  GOOD  SEED  IN  THE  FIELD,  BUT  THE  ENEMY  SOWED  TARES  AMONG  THE  WHEAT. BOTH  GREW  TOGETHER.  THE  OWNER  TOLD  HIS SERVANTS  TO  LET  THEM  BOTH  GROW  TOGETHER  UNTIL  THE  HARVEST,  THEN  GATHER  TOGETHER  THE  TARES  AND  BURN  THEM,  BUT  THE  WHEAT  INTO  THE  OWNER'S  BARN.

THIS  PARABLE  EVEN  BEFUDDLED  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.

AND.... "Then  Jesus  sent  away  the  multitude, and  went  into  the  house:  and  His  disciples  came  unto  Him,  saying:  Declare  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field" (Mat. 13:36).

PARABLES  ARE  A  BASIC  ILLUSTRATION,  AN  OUTLINE  OF  TRUTH,  BUT  MAY  NOT  COVER  EVERY  DETAIL  OF  THE  BASIC  OUTLINE  OF  A  TRUTH.

JESUS  GIVES  THE  ANSWER  IN  VERSES  37-43.

THE  SOWER  OF  THE  GOOD  SEED  IS  THE  SON  OF  MAN  -  CHRIST.....THE  WORD  OF  GOD  GOING  FORTH  AND  PEOPLE  CALLED  AND  CHOSEN  FOR  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD.

THE  FIELD  IS  THE  WORLD.

THE  TARES  ARE  THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE  WICKED  ONE  -  SATAN  THE  DEVIL  -  SPIRITUALLY  BLINDED  AND  ONES  INFLUENCED  [AT  TIMES  ONES  POSSESSED   BY  DEMONS  AND  THE  DEVIL]  BY  THE  DEMONIC  WORLD.

AT  THE  END  OF  THIS  AGE [WORLD]  THE  TARES  WILL  BE  BURNT  UP.

AT  THE  END  OF  THIS  AGE,  JESUS  WILL  SEND  FORTH  HIS  ANGELS,  AND  THEY  SHALL  GATHER  OUT  THE  TARES  -  THE  ONES  OF  INIQUITY,  AND  DESTRUCTION  IN  THE  FIRE  OF  THE  END  TIMES  WILL  BURN  UP  THE  TARES.

THE  RIGHTEOUS  WILL  THEN  SHINE  FORTH  IN  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THEIR  FATHER  -  THE  RESURRECTION  AT  CHRIST'S  COMING  [DANIEL 12:1-3;  1 COR. 15]

AT  THE  END  OF  THIS  AGE  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION  SHALL  BE  FULFILLED  -  MOST  OF  THAT  BOOK  IS  NOT  ONLY  FOR  THE  LAST  42  MONTHS  OF  THIS  AGE,  IT  IS  FOR  THE  "DAY  OF  THE  LORD"  -  ABOUT  THAT  LAST  ONE  YEAR  OF  THIS  AGE.  DURING  THAT  TIME  WILL  BE  DESTRUCTION  LIKE  AS  NEVER  BEFORE  SINCE  THE  CREATION  OF  MAN.  MANY  PEOPLES  AND  NATIONS  WILL  BE  DESTROYED,  ESPECIALLY  THE  ONES  THAT  ARE  THE  TOOLS  OF  SATAN  AND  THE  DEMONS.  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  MOST  EVIL  AND  SINFUL  OF  INDIVIDUALS  AND  NATIONS,  AS  SHOWN  IN  ZECHARIAH  14  AND  REVELATION  16, 17, 18, 19.

THERE  WILL  BE  NATIONS  LEFT  [THE  GOSPEL  WILL  GO  OUT  TO  THEM  -  ISAIAH  66: 15-23]  -  ONES  THAT  SATAN  AND  THE  DEMONS  WERE  NOT  BOTHERING  WITH  -  NATIONS  OF  PEOPLES  IN  SPIRITUAL  BLINDNESS  -  WE  COULD  SAY  NATIONS  INNOCENT  AND  NOT  DOING  THE  WORK  OF  SATAN.

BUT  THE  ONES  LED  BY  AND  INFLUENCED  BY  AND  POSSESSED  BY  THE  DEMONIC  WORLD,  WILL  MEET  THEIR  END  IN  THE  FIRE  OF  GOD'S  WRATH  AS  FORETOLD  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION.

AT  CHRIST'S  COMING  THE  ANGELS  GATHER  THE  TRUE  SAINTS  -  THE  CHILDREN  OF  GOD  -  TOGETHER,  TO  BRING  THEM  TO  JESUS  IN  THE  CLOUDS  OF  HEAVEN  -  MATT.  24: 30-31;  1 THES. 4: 13-18.  AND  THEY  SHALL  DO  THE  FIRERY  WILL  OF  GOD  ON  THE  TARES  OF  DEMONIC  WICKEDNESS  -  THE   ANGELS  OF  THE  7  TRUMPETS  AND  7  LAST  PLAGUES  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION.  SEE  REVELATION  15:14-20  -  THE  GREAT  WINEPRESS  OF  THE  WRATH  OF  GOD  -  THE  HARVEST  HAS  COME  -  THE  REAPING  HAS  ARRIVED.

SO  INDEED  WAS  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS  IN  PARABLE  OF  THE  WHEAT  AND  TARES.

..........

8. MORE  TOLERABLE  ..... IN  THE  DAY  OF  JUDGEMENT....

JESUS  SPOKE  THESE  WORDS  IN MATTHEW 11:20-24.

"Then  he  began  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein  most  of  his  mighty  works  were  done,  because  they  repented  not:  Woe  unto  you, Chorazin,  who  unto  you,  Bethsaida.  For  if  the  mighty  works,  which  were  done  in  you,  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But  I  say  unto  you,  IT  SHALL  BE  MORE  TOLERABLE  FOR  TYRE  AND  SIDON,  AT  THE  DAY  OF  JUDGMENT,  THAN  FOR  YOU.

And  you,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shall  be  brought  down  to  hell [hades - grave];  for  if  the  mighty  works  which  have  been  done  in  you,  had  been  done  in  Sodom,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day.  But  I  say  unto  you,  THAT  IT  SHALL  BE  MORE  TOLERABLE  FOR  THE  LAND  OF  SODOM  IN  THE  DAY  OF  JUDGMENT,  THAN  FOR  YOU" (Matt. 11:20-24).

1. NOW  DOES  THIS  MEAN [IF  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  A  HEAVEN  OR  HELL-FIRE  AS  TAUGHT  BY  MANY  CHRISTIANS]  THAT  SOME  PEOPLE  IN  SOME  CITIES  OF  THE  PAST,  WILL  SOME  GET  A  MORE  PAINFUL  ETERNAL  TORMENT,  OR  LARGE  SEPARATION  FROM  GOD,  SOMEHOW,  IN  HELL-FIRE?

2. OR,  DOES  IT  MEAN  SOME  PEOPLE  OF  SOME  CITIES  OF  THE  PAST,  WILL  GET  TO  HEAVEN,  WHILE  OTHER  PEOPLE  OF  PAST  CITIES,  WILL  NOT?

MANY  WOULD  ARGUE  FROM  BOTH  QUESTIONS  THAT  #1  IS  CORRECT;  OTHERS  WOULD  ARGUE  THAT  #2  IS  CORRECT.

THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  MATTER  IS  THAT  NEITHER  #1  OR  #2  IS  CORRECT!!

GOD  HAS  A  PLAN  OF  SALVATION;  FEW  KNOW  THAT  PLAN.  HENCE  ALL  KINDS  OF  IDEAS  ARE  PUT  FORTH  AS  TO  HOW  VARIOUS  PEOPLES  ARE  VARIOUSLY  

"SAVED."

THE  DIFFERENT  IDEAS  FOR  DIFFERENT  PEOPLE  BEING  SAVED,  IGNORES  COMPLETELY  THE  FACT  THAT  JESUS  SAID,  HE  WAS  THE  ONLY  WAY,  THE  ONLY  DOOR,  WHEREBY  PEOPLE  CAN  ENTER  TO  LITERAL  BE  SAVED  AND  ONE  DAY  SEE  THE  FATHER,  BE  IN  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD.

PEOPLE  WANT  TO  IGNORE  THE  FACTOR  OF  REPENTANCE  THAT  JESUS  USED  IN  THESE  VERSES.  I  MEAN  REAL,  GENUINE,  BIBLICAL  REPENTANCE!

AND  THAT  REPENTANCE  MUST  BE  TIED  TO  KNOWING  TRUE  SIN,  THE  BIBLE  DEFINITION  OF  SIN.  IT  MUST  INCLUDE  KNOWING  JESUS  CHRIST  AS  ONLY  SAVIOR.  AND  ALL  THAT  MY  FRIENDS  HAS  TO  BE  WITHIN  THE  CONFINES  OF  HAVING  THE  HOLY  BIBLE,  AND  UNDERSTANDING  WHAT  IT  SAYS  ABOUT  SALVATION,  SIN  AND  REPENTANCE.

NOW  THOSE  SUBJECTS  ARE  COVERED  FULLY  AND  IN-DEPTH  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

THE  ABOVE  VERSES  WE'RE  LOOKING  AT  SURELY  DO  SAY  IT  WILL  BE  TOLERABLE  MORE  FOR  SOME,  AND  LESS  FOR  OTHERS,  IN  THE  DAY [TIME  PERIOD]  OF  JUDGMENT.

I  HAVE  WRITTEN  A  STUDY  CONCERNING  "JUDGMENT  DAY"  -  WHICH  ALSO  MOST  CHRISTIANS  DO  NOT  UNDERSTAND  CORRECTLY.  YOU'LL  FIND  IT  EITHER  UNDER  THE  "SALVATION "  SECTION,  OR  "CHRISTIAN  LIVING"  SECTION  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

AS  FOR  THE  VERSES  IN  MATTHEW  WE  ARE  LOOKING  AT,  YOU'LL  FIND  THE  ANSWER,  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  MATTER,  IN  A  STUDY  CALLED  "THE  GREAT  WHITE  THRONE  JUDGMENT."  AGAIN  EITHER  UNDER  "SALVATION"  OR  "FEASTS  OF  GOD"  SECTION  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

WHEN  YOU  UNDERSTAND  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  THE  ETERNAL  GOD  HAS  FOR  ALL  PEOPLE,  YOU  WILL  UNDERSTAND  WHAT  JESUS  WAS  TEACHING  IN  THESE  VERSES  OF  MATTHEW  11.

……….

9. BEWARE  OF...... THE  LEAVEN  OF.....

"AND  WHEN  HIS  DISCIPLES  WERE  COME  TO  THE  OTHER  SIDE,  THEY  HAD  FORGOTTEN  TO  BRING  FOOD.  AND  JESUS  SAID  UNTO  THEM:  TAKE  HEED  AND  BEWARE  OF  THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  PHARISEES  AND  OF  THE  SADDUCEES.  And  they  reasoned  among  themselves,  saying,  Is  it  because  we  have  brought  no  food?  Which  when  Jesus  perceived,  He  said  unto  them: 'O  you  of  little  faith,  why  reason  among  yourselves,  because  you  have  brought  no  food?  Do  you  not  understand,  neither  remember  the  five  loaves  of  the  five  thousand,  and  how  many  baskets  you  took  up.  Neither  the  seven  loaves  of  the  four  thousand,  and  how many  baskets  you  took  up?  HOW  IT  IT  THAT  YOU  DO  NOT  UNDERSTAND  THAT  WHAT  I  SAID  HAD  NOTHING  TO  DO  WITH  FOOD.  YOU  SHOULD  BEWARE  OF  THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  PHARISEES  AND  OF  THE  SADDUCEES.  THEN  THEY  UNDERSTOOD   HE  SPOKE NOT  ABOUT  FOOD,  BUT  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  PHARISEES  AND  OF  THE  SADDUCEES" (Mat. 16:5-12).

THERE  WAS  A  MUCH  MORE  IMPORTANT  ISSUE   HERE  THAN  PHYSICAL  BREAD  OR  FOOD,  THAT  THE  DISCIPLES  HAD  FORGOTTEN  TO  BRING  WITH  THEM.  I  MEAN  IF  NEEDS  BE  JESUS  COULD  HAVE  TURNED  STONES  INTO  LOAVES  OF  BREAD.

HERE  WERE  TWO  OF  THE  IMPORTANT  SECTS  OF  JUDAISM;  NAY  THE  TWO  MOST  IMPORTANT  SECTS  OF  JEWISH  LIFE....THE  PHARISEES  AND  THE  SADDUCEES.

JESUS  WARNED  HIS  DISCIPLES  ABOUT  THEM  AND  THEIR  DOCTRINES..... HIS  DISCIPLES  NEEDED  TO  SCRUTINIZE  THE  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  TWO  LEADING  SECTS  IN  JEWISH  LIFE.

NOW  FOR  SURE  THEY  HAD  SOME  THINGS  CORRECT,  BUT  OVERALL  THEY  HAD  MANY  THINGS  WRONG.

IT  IS  THE  SAME  TODAY;  MOST  "CHRISTIAN  CHURCHES"  HAVE  SOME  TRUTHS,  AND  SOME  OF  THEM  MORE  TRUTHS  THAN  OTHERS.

BUT  OVERALL  I  WOULD  PHRASE  IT  TODAY  LIKE:  BEWARE  OF  THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  AND  THE  PROTESTANT  CHURCHES.

THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION  PREDICTED  THE  EMERGING  OF  A  GREAT  BABYLON  MYSTERY  RELIGION.  IT  IS  INTERESTING  THAT  MOST  OLD  PROTESTANT  BIBLE  COMMENTARIES [LIKE  ALBERT  BARNES;  MATTHEW  HENRY;  ADAM  CLARKE]  BOLDLY  PROCLAIM  THAT  WHEN  REVELATION  SPEAKS  OF  BABYLON  MYSTERY  RELIGION,  IT  IS  REFERRING  TO  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  -  THE  PAPACY!

BUT  THEY  WERE  BLINDED  TO  THE  FACT  THAT  THIS  MOTHER  CHURCH  HAD  "DAUGHTERS"  -  SHE  WAS  THE  MOTHER  OF  HARLOTS!  THE  PROTESTANT  COMMENTARIES  COULD  NOT  SEE  THEY  THEMSELVES  WERE  THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  THIS  BABYLON  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION.

SO  TODAY  I  MUST  TELL  YOU  TO  BEWARE  OF  THE  LEAVEN [THE  INCORRECT  DOCTRINES]  OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  AND  PROTESTANT  CHURCHES.  OH  YES  THEY  HAVE  SOME  TRUTH,  BUT  THEY  HAVE  WAY  MORE  INCORRECT  DOCTRINES.

IT  IS  FOR  YOU  TO  SEARCH  THE  SCRIPTURES  AND  FIND  OUT  WHO  IS  ON  THE  LORD'S  SIDE;  WHO  TEACHES  AND  PREACHES  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  CORRECTLY.

..........

10. OLD AND NEW AND JESUS SAID: "THEREFORE  EVERY  SCRIBE  WHICH  IS  INSTRUCTED  UNTO  THE  KINDOM  OF  HEAVEN,  IS  LIKE  UNTO  A  MAN  THAT  IS  AN  HOUSEHOLDER,  WHICH  BRINGETH  FORTH  OUT  OF  HIS  TREASURE  THINGS  NEW  AND  OLD" (MATT. 13: 52).

SO  HERE  JESUS  IS  TALKING  ABOUT  HIS  SCRIBE,  HIS  MINISTER  DISCIPLES.... THEY  WILL  BRING  FORTH  THEIR  TEACHING  FROM  THE  WORD  OF  GOD,  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENT.  THIS  HAS  TO  BE  SO  FOR  JESUS  TAUGHT [MAT. 4:4] THAT  MAN  WAS  NOT  TO  LIVE  BY  PHYSICAL  BREAD  ALONE  BUT  BY  EVERY  WORD  THAT  PROCEEDS  OUT  OF  THE  MOUTH  OF  GOD  -  AND  SO  ALL  THE  BIBLE!

WE  STUDY  TO  SHOW  OURSELVES  APPROVED  UNTO  GOD  A  WORKMAN  THAT  NEEDS  NOT  BE  ASHAMED,  AS  PUAL  PUT  IT,  FROM  BOTH  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  TESTAMENTS.

THE  THINGS  NEW  WILL  BE  THE  THINGS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT;  FOR  NOT  ALL  THINGS  ARE  THE  SAME  AS  THE  OLD  UNDER  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  NOW  LETS  CLEAR  SOMETHING  UP  RIGHT  AWAY,  FOR  SOME  WILL  SHOUT  OUT,  BUT  GOD  SAYS  HE'S  THE  SAME  YESTERDAY,  TODAY  AND  FOREVER,  AS  IT  IS  WRITTEN  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  

OH  HOW  THAT  VERSE  CAN  BE  USED  SO  WRONGFULLY.  GOD  IS  THE  SAME  YESTERDAY,  TODAY,  AND  FOREVER,  IN  HOLY  CHARACTER!  NOT  NECESSARILY  IN  DOCTRINE!

EASILY  PROVED,  JUST  READ  JESUS'  FAMOUS  "BEATITUDES"  IN  MATTHEW  5, 6, AND 7.  "YOU  HAVE  HEARD  IT  SAID..... BUT  I  SAY  UNTO  YOU....."

THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT  IS  NOT  A  CARBON  COPY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT.

A  HUGE  EXAMPLE  IS  PHYSICAL  "CIRCUMCISION"  -  ACTS  15,  A  CHURCH  CONFERENCE  WAS  CALLED  UPON  TO  CLEAR  THE  MATTER  UP.  PHYSICAL  CIRCUMCISION  IS  NOT  REQUIRED  UNDER  THE  NEW  COVENANT.  

JESUS  SAID  TO  THE  WOMAN  AT  THE  WELL (JOHN 4)  THAT  JERUSALEM  WAS  THE  PLACE  TO  WORSHIP  GOD,  CENTRAL  TO  GOD'S  PEOPLE  KEEPING  THE  FEASTS  AT  JERUSALEM,  BUT  JESUS  SAID  THE  TIME  IS  COMING  AND  WAS  EVEN  THEN,  WHEN  SUCH  A  TEACHING  WOULD  BE  DO  MORE;  FOR  GOD  WANTED  TO  BE  WORSHIPPED  IN  SPIRIT  AND  IN  TRUTH.  JESUS  KNEW  THE  GOSPEL  WAS  TO  GO  ALL  OVER  THE  EARTH,  COMING  TO  OBSERVE  THE  FEASTS  OF  GOD  AT  JERUSALEM,  WAS  NOT  GOING  TO  BE  REQUIRED  UNDER  A  WORLDWIDE  GOSPEL.

JESUS  MADE  DIVORCE  AND  RE-MARRIAGE  MORE  CONFINED  THAN  UNDER  MOSES,  AS  HE  TOLD  THE  PHARISEES,  IT  WAS  EASY  UNDER  MOSES,  BECAUSE  OF  THE  HARDNESS  OF  THE  HEART   -  SEE  MATT.  19.

THERE  ARE  SOME  EXAMPLES  I'VE  GIVEN  YOU.  I'M  SURE  SOME  WILL  HAVE  OTHER  QUESTIONS  REGARDING  ALL  THIS,  ABOUT  OLD  AND  NEW.  I  HAVE  GIVEN  YOU  THE  KEYS  TO  UNDERSTAND  ALL  THIS  IN  A  TWO  PART  STUDY  CALLED  "LIVING  BY  EVERY  WORD  OF  GOD - HOW?"  YOU'LL  FIND  IT  UNDER  EITHER  "CHRISTIAN  LIVING"  OR  "SALVATION  AND  GRACE"  SECTIONS  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

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

11. BEING A CHILD — OFFENDING 

JESUS  SAID: "TRULY  I  SAY  UNTO  YOU,  EXCEPT  YOU  BE  CONVERTED,  AND  BECOME  AS  LITTLE  CHILDREN,  YOU  SHALL  NOT  ENTER  INTO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN……BUT  WHO  SO  SHALL  OFFEND  ONE  OF  THESE  LITTLE  ONES  WHICH  BELIEVE  IN  ME,  IT  WERE  BETTER  FOR  HIM  THAT  A  MILLSTONE  WERE  HANGED  ABOUT  HIS  NECK,  AND  THAT  HE  WERE  DROWNED  IN  THE  DEPTH  OF  THE  SEA…." (MATT. 18:3-6).

THIS  IS  A  TWO  PART  TEACHING.

THE  FIRST  IS  THE  ATTITUDE  AND  MIND-SET  YOU  MUST  HAVE  TO  BE  IN  GOD'S  KINGDOM.  YOU  HAVE  TO  BECOME  AS  CHILDREN  IN  MANY  WAYS.  ONE  VERY  IMPORTANT  WAY  IS  READING  THE  BIBLE.  A  CHILD  CAN  READ  THE  STRAIGHTFORWARD  CLEAR  AND  PLAIN  PASSAGES  OF  THE  BILE,  AND  HAVE  NO  TROUBLE.

WHEN  I  WAS  7  YEARS  OF  AGE  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  SCHOOL [FIRST HALF HOUR OF THE DAY WAS BIBLE READING],  I  CAN  REMEMBER  LIKE  IT  WAS  YESTERDAY  -  WE  WERE  GIVEN  A  BIBLE  AND  TOLD  TO  OPEN  TO  THE  FIRST  PAGE;  THE  TEACHER  READ  GENESIS  ONE.  NOW  I  KNEW  WHAT  "EVENING"  WAS  -  KNEW  WHAT  "MORNING"  WAS  -  I  KNEW  WHAT  "DAY"  WAS.  IT  WAS  SO  EASY  TO  UNDERSTAND..... GOD  DID  WHAT  HE  DID  ON  THESE  7  DAYS,  AS  7  DAYS...... 7  LITERAL  24  HOUR  DAYS.....AND  I  BELIEVED  IT!

I  ALSO  BELIEVED  HOW  GOD  REATED  MAN  AND  WOMAN.....PRETTY  DARN  SIMPLE  TO  READ  IT  AND  BELIEVE  IT.  WHEN  I  WAS  ABOUT  10  OR  11,  I  HEARD  THIS  EVOLUTION  STUFF  AND  I  JUST  LAUGHED  AT  IT.

WHEN  I  WAS  12  OR  13  READING  THE  GOSPELS  AND  FIRST  CHAPTER  OF  ACTS,  I  COULD  SEE  THAT  JESUS [AND  THE  ANGELS  OF  ACTS  ONE]  SAID  HE  WOULD  RETURN...... AND  I  BELIEVED  IT!

YET  THE  LOCAL  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  CHURCH  I  WAS  ATTENDING,  DID  NOT  TEACH  THE  RETURN  OF  CHRIST.  I  WELL  REMEMBER  SAYING  TO  A  FRIEND  IN  CHURCH,  "JESUS  IS  GOING  TO  RETURN,  THE  BIBLE  TELLS  ME  SO"  AND  THIS  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER  LOOKED  OVER  AT  ME  WITH  THIS  SHOCKED  LOOK  ON  HIS  FACE.

AS  A  KID  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  SCHOOL  WE  HAD  TO  MEMORIZE  THE  10  COMMANDMENTS  AS  IN  EXODUS  20  -  LONG  VERSION.  ABOUT  THE  AGE  OF  11  IN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  THIS  ONE  KID  SAID,  AS  THE  CALSS  WAS  BEGINNING,  "SUNDAY  IS  NOT  THE  7TH  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK,  MY  DAD  TOLD  ME."  I  WAS  STUNNED  BY  HIS  STATEMENT  AND  SAID,  "THAT  CONNOT  BE  SO,  FOR  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT  TELLS  US  TO  KEEP  HOLY  THE  7TH  DAY."  I  WELL  REMEMBER  THE  STUNNED  LOOKED  ON  OUR  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER'S  FACE,  AND  HE  QUICKLY  CHANGED  THE  SUBJECT.  I  JUST  WENT  ON  BELIEVING  THIS  KID'S  DAD  WAS  IN  TOTAL  ERROR.

IT  IS  THINGS  LIKE  THIS  THAT  JESUS  WAS  GETTING  AT  WHEN  HE  SAID  YOU  HAD  TO  BECOME  AS  LITTLE  CHILDREN  TO  ENTER  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN.

THE  SECOND  PART:  THE  ESTABLISHED  CHRISTIAN  MUST  BE  VERY  CAREFUL  IN  CONDUCTING  HIM/HER  SELF  WHEN  WITH  NEW  CHRISTIANS.  THEY  ARE  BABES  IN  CHRIST.  THEY  MAY  HAVE  MANY  THINGS  TO  GROW-INTO,  COME  TO  UNDERSTAND.

THE  MORE  MATURE  CHRISTIAN  MUST  BE  PATIENT,  KIND,  EVEN  SLOW  TO  REACT  IN  SOME  SITUATIONS.

PROBABLY  THE  CLEAREST  WAY  TO  DESCRIBE  HOW  A  MORE  MATURE  CHRISTIAN  IS  TO  ACT  TOWARDS  NEW  CHRISTIANS,  IS,  DO  NOT  BE  LIKE  A  BULL  IN  A  CHINA  STORE!

THIS  IS  VERY  IMPORTANT,  VERY  IMPORTANT,  TO  GOD.  SO  IMPORTANT  THAT  JESUS  GAVE  A  PRETTY  UPFRONT,  LAY  THE  CARDS  ON  THE  TABLE,  EXAMPLE  -  IF  YOU  ARE  NOT  PATIENT,  CIRCUMSPECT,  TOWARDS  NEW  CHRISTIANS,  IT  WOULD  HAVE  BEEN  BETTER  FOR  YOU  TO  HAVE  A  STONE  ABOUT  YOUR  NECK  AND  DROWNED  IN  THE  SEA.

SO  FOR  BOTH  PARTS  OF  JESUS'  TEACHING  HERE,  TAKE  THEM  VERY  SERIOUSLY!

..........   

12. THE  TEMPLE.....

"AND  JESUS  WENT  INTO  THE  TEMPLE  OF  GOD,  AND  CAST  OUT  ALL  THAT  SOLD  AND  BOUGHT  IN  THE  TEMPLE,  AND  OVERTHREW  THE  TABLES  OF  THE  MONEYCHANGERS,  AND  THE  SEATS  OF  THEM  THAT  SOLD  DOVES.  AND  SAID  UNTO  THEM, 'IT  IS  WRITTEN,  MY  HOUSE  SHALL  BE  CALLED  THE  HOUSE  OF  PRAYER,  BUT  YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  A  DEN  OF  THIEVES" (MATT. 21:12, 13).

OBVIOUSLY  MORE  WAS  GOING  ON  HERE  THAN  MATTHEW  WRITES  ABOUT;  THERE  MUST  HAVE  BEEN  AN  ATTITUDE  AND  PRACTICE  BY  THOSE  IN  THE  BUSINESS  OF  SELLING  AND  MONEY-CHANGING,  THAT  WAS  FAR  AWAY  FROM  BEING  RIGHTEOUS.

BUT  I  WANT  YOU  TO  REMEMBER  THIS  WAS  BEING  DONE  IN  THE  TEMPLE,  NOT  OUTSIDE  THE  TEMPLE,  BUT  IN  THE  TEMPLE.

NOW  IF  YOU  GO  TO  A  BIBLE  ENCYCLOPEDIA  YOU  WILL  FIND  ALL  OF  THIS  WAS  JUST  INSIDE  THE  VERY  FIST  WALLS,  WHERE  THE  JEWS  AND  GENTILES  COULD  FREELY  MIX.

MANY THINK  OF  "THE  TEMPLE"  AS  THE  HOLY  PLACE  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  PLACE.  AGAIN  LOOK  IT  UP  IN  A  BIBLE  ENCYCLOPEDIA...... THE  TEMPLE  WAS  WAY  WAY  MORE  THAN  THE  HOLY  PLACE  AND  MOST  HOLY  PLACE. 

THE  ENTIRE  STRUCTURE  FROM  THE  OUTSIDE  WALLS  ALL  AROUND,  WAS  IN  JESUS'  DAY  TERMED  "THE  TEMPLE."  IT  WAS  HELD  BY  ALL  JEWS,  GENTILE  CONVERTS,  AND  BY  JESUS,  AS  "THE  TEMPLE."

THIS  IS  IMPORTANT  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  WE  COME  TO  MATTHEW  24  AND  JESUS'  PROPHECY.

……….

13. TWO  GREAT  COMMANDMENTS

"BUT when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question tempting Him, and saying: Master, which is the GREAT commandment of the law? Jesus said unto him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR LIFE, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT. AND THE SECOND IS LIKE UNTO IT: YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS" (Matthew 22: 34-40).

Yes it was a trick question, and if Jesus had named any ONE commandment you can be sure all kinds of other questions would have poured out from the Pharisees in trying to trick Him more.

Jesus does quote from the Old Testament, so this truth was there all the time;  He  did  not  make  it  up - Deut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6 and Lev. 19:18; 19:19.

THE  WHOLE  OLD  TESTAMENT  AND  WAY  OF  GOD,  IS  SUMMED  UP  IN  THESE  TWO  OVERALL  COMMANDMENTS.

OH  HOW  I'VE  HEARD  THIS  SECTION  AND  TEACHING  OF  JESUS  ABUSED  AND  MISUSED.  SOME  HAVE  GIVEN  JESUS'  WORDS  AS   A  WISHY-WASHY  WAY  TO  HAVE  LOVE  IN  YOUR  HEART  TOWARDS  GOD,  AND  LOVE  TO  OTHER  PEOPLE,  AND  TO  THEM  THERE  ARE  NO  SPECIFICS  AS  TO  HOW  YOU  SHOULD  LIVE  YOUR  LIFE  TOWARDS  GOD  AND  OTHER  PEOPLE.  THEY  USE  IT  AS  IF  THERE  IS  NO  OTHER  WORDS  OR  TEACHINGS  FROM  CHRIST  IN  ANY  SPECIFICS  IN  THE  GOSPELS.  WHICH  WE  HAVE  SEEN  ALREADY  TO  BE  TOTALLY  FALSE.

WHEN  YOU  ASK  THEM,  CAN  YOU  PROFANE  THE  NAME  OF  GOD  OR  JESUS;  CAN  YOU  WORSHIP  GOD  AND  SAY  BUDDAH  ALSO  -  THEY  WILL  SAY,  WELL  NO  YOU  CANNOT  DO  THAT.

IF  YOU  ASK  THEM  CAN  YOU  MURDER  PEOPLE,  CAN  YOU  STEAL  FROM  PEOPLE,  CAN  YOU  BE  A  LIAR  IN  COURT  TOWARDS  PEOPLE,  THEY  WILL  SAY,  WELL  NO  YOU  CANNOT  DO  THAT.

WHAT  THESE  PEOPLE  ADMIT  IS  THAT  9  OUT  OF  THE  10  COMMANDMENTS  SHOULD  BE  OBEYED  BY  CHRISTIANS.  

WHY  THEY  ARGUE  THE  WAY  THEY  DO,  IS  BECAUSE  OF  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT.......TO  THEM  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT,  THE  SABBATH  COMMANDMENT,  IS  AN  OLD  RELIC  OF  A  GONE-BY-AGE;  IT'S  JUST  NOT  IMPORTANT  ANY  MORE,  ESPECIALLY  IN  A  MODERN  FAST  COMPLICATED  WORLD.  AND  BECAUSE  THEY  HAVE  THIS  ATTITUDE  TO  THE  SABBATH  COMMANDMENT,  THEY  WILL  COME  UP  WITH  EVERY  ARGUMENT  YOU  CAN  THINK  OF [THIS SECTION BEING ONE] TO  "DO  AWAY  WITH"  THE  COMMANDMENT  TO  KEEP  HOLY  THE  7TH  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK.

IT  IS  TRULY  ASTOUNDING   AND  SHOCKING,  HOW  MANY  ARGUMENTS  PEOPLE  WILL  COME  UP  WITH,  TO  SAY  GOD  HAS  CUT  OUT  THE  SABBATH  DAY  COMMAND  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.

JESUS  NEVER  CUT  OUT  ANY  COMMANDMENT  FROM  THE  10  COMMANDMENTS  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.

AND  JESUS  SAYING  THESE  TWO  OVERALL  COMMANDMENTS  -  LOVE  TOWARDS  GOD  AND  LOVE  TOWARDS  YOUR  NEIGHBOR  -  DO  NOT  MEAN  THE  SABBATH  COMMAND  HAS  BEEN  ABOLISHED.

THE  SABBATH  COMMAND  IS  NOT  MENTIONED  IN  THESE  VERSES  AND  THIS  TEACHING  OF  JESUS.

WE  CAN  FIND  LATER  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAAMENT,  WHERE  JESUS  INSPIRED  THE  SUBJECT  OF  PHYSICAL  CIRCUMCISION  TO  BE  DEBATED  IN  HIS  CHURCH,  AND  THE  ANSWER  GIVEN  UNDER  INSPIRATION  -  ACTS  15.  THE  WEEKLY  SABBATH  DAY  COMMAND  WAS  JUST  AS  PROMINENT  IN  JEWISH  LIFE  AS  PHYSICAL  CIRCUMCISION.  IF  THERE  WAS  GOING  TO  BE  A  "CHANGE"  OF  THE  DAY,  OR  A  DOING  AWAY  WITH  THE  DAY  ALTOGETHER,  YOU  CAN  BET  THERE  WOULD  HAVE  ALSO  BEEN  A  CHURCH  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  TO  DECIDE  THE  ISSUE.

I  HAVE  GIVEN  MUCH  TIME  AND  SPACE  ON  THIS  WEBSITE  TO  THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT  -  THE  SABBATH  COMMANDMENT.  ALL  ARGUMENTS  AGAINST  THIS  COMMANDMENT  AS  BEING  CHANGED  OR  ABROGATED  HAVE  BEEN  ANSWERED.    

LOVING  GOD  WITH  ALL  YOUR  HEART,  YOUR  LIFE,  YOUR  MIND,  INCLUDES  OBEYING  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT  OF  THE  10  COMMANDMENTS.

……….

14. IS  CHRIST  THE  SON  OF  DAVID?

IT  WAS  TIME  FOR  CHRIST  TO  ASK  THE  PHARISEES  A  QUESTION:

"While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying; WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHRIST? WHOSE SON IS HE? They said unto Him, The son of David. He said unto them, HOW THEN DOES DAVID IN SPIRIT CALL HIM LORD, SAYING, THE  LORD  SAID  UNTO  MY  LORD, SIT YOU ON MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL. IF DAVID THEN CALLED HIM LORD, HOW CAN HE BE HIS SON. And no man was able to answer Him a word, neither did any man from that day forth ask Him any questions" (Matthew 22:41-46).

The Pharisees, knowing some believed Jesus was the very Messiah Christ to come, and called Him Christ, did not want to say the Christ was from or the son of God, as some admitted Jesus was; so they said the Messiah would come from David, a physical man, a physical lineage only.

Jesus goes to the Scriptures about the Messiah, the Pharisees knew it well:  Psalm 110:1.

"The Lord said unto MY Lord, sit you..." 

The SECOND "Lord" here, David calls him "MY Lord."

Now in the Hebrew the first LORD is YHVH or as some may say it Yahway. It is number 3068.....a proper name of the one true God [Strongest Strong's Concordance].

The second LORD in Hebrew is donay or Adonay as some say it. "the Lord, a title of the one true God, with a focus on his majesty and authority..." [The Strongest Strong's Concordance].

BOTH  Hebrew  words  refer  to  the  true  God - obviously the ONE true God, David knew was TWO individuals, both as God, named as God, but one speaking to the other to sit on His right hand. The New Testament proves this was fulfilled with Jesus going back to heaven from where He claimed to come from, and to sit on God's right hand [not on top of him, or inside him as some silly ideas of a "trinity" doctrine have it]. 

Jesus is making it clear to the people, that David addressed the second LORD as God, the one the Pharisees knew was the Christ to come. David calling Him LORD or God, would not do so, if the second LORD was just a physical descendant of David. This LORD of David was also God, had the right to have the word "God" upon Him. David thought of Him way way more than just a physical man from his physical line.

The Pharisees knew exactly what Jesus was getting at, and that is why they had no answer for Him. They were STUCK!

THIS  SECTION  IS  IMPORTANT  FOR  A  NUMBER  OF  REASONS.

THERE ARE SOME TODAY WHO CLAIM CHRIST DID NOT EXIST UNTIL CONCEIVED IN MARY'S WOMB. THERE ARE SOME WHO CLAIM CHRIST IS NOT GOD, DOES NOT HAVE THE NAME "GOD" UPON HIM. SOME CLAIM CHRIST WAS JUST AN PHYSICAL MAN WITH MORE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAN ANYONE ELSE.

NOTHING  COULD  BE  FURTHER  FROM  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  MATTER.

IN  THIS  PASSAGE  IN  MATTHEW,  THERE  IS  ONLY  ONE  WORD  USED  FOR  "LORD."

"HE  SAID  UNTO  THEM,  HOW  THEN  DID  DAVID  IN  SPIRIT [inspiration  mind]  CALL  HIM  LORD [THEOS],  SAYING,  THE  LORD [THEOS]  SAID  UNTO  MY  LORD [THEOS] ..... IF  DAVID  THEN  CALLED  HIM  LORD [THEOS]  HOW  IS  HE  HIS  SON?" (vs. 43-45).

THEOS  is  the  regular  word  in  the  Greek  New Testament  for  LORD  or  GOD.

JESUS  ONLY  USED  ONE  GREEK  WORD  HERE.....  GOD  SAID  TO  MY  GOD.....IF  DAVID  THEN  CALLED  HIM  THEOS - LORD - GOD - HOW  CAN  HE  BE  HIS  SON?

THE  MESSIAH  OR  THE  CHRIST,  WAS  WAY  MORE  THAN  JUST  A  PHYSICAL  MAN  FROM  THE  SEED  OF  DAVID.

THIS  PROVES  JESUS  THE  MESSIAH  CHRIST  WAS  THEOS - LORD - GOD,  AS  WAS  THE  FIRST  THEOS  -  LORD  -  GOD.  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  INTERPRETS  PSALM  110:1.

OH  HOW  EASY  TO  UNDERSTAND  IT  ALL  WHEN  YOU  LET  THE  BIBLE  INTERPRET  THE  BIBLE.

PSALM  110  SAYS  IN  SIMPLE  NEW  TESTAMENT  TERMS,  "THE  GOD  SAID  TO  MY  GOD......"  IF  DAVID  THEN  CALLED  THE  SECOND  GOD,  "MY  GOD"  -  HOW  CAN  THIS  GOD  JUST  BE  A  PHYSICAL  MAN  ONLY?

THE  ANSWER  AS  THE  PHARISEES  KNEW  WELL  IS,  HE  CANNOT  JUST  BE  A  PHYSICAL  SEED  FROM  DAVID,  FOR  DAVID  CALLED  HIM  "GOD"!

THE  MESSIAH  WAS  TO  BE  MORE  THAN  JUST  HUMAN;  HE  WAS  TO  BE  GOD  IN  THE  FLESH;  BOTH  HUMAN  AND  DIVINE.  THE  MESSIAH  EXISTED  BEFORE  HE  BECAME  A  PHYSICAL  MAN.  DAVID  IN  THE  SPIRIT  SAW  GOD  TALKING  TO  GOD;  GOD  SAYING  TO  DAVID'S  GOD,  SIT  AT  MY  RIGHT  HAND  UNTIL  I  MAKE  YOUR  ENEMIES  YOUR  FOOTSTOOL.

AH,  SO  THE  WORDS  OF  JOHN,  IN  HIS  GOSPEL,  RIGHT  AT  THE  BEGINNING,  "....AND  THE  WORD  WAS  WITH  GOD,  AND  THE  WORD  WAS  GOD;  THE  SAME  WAS  IN  THE  BEGINNING  WITH  GOD.....AND  THE  WORD  WAS  MADE  FLESH  AND  DWELT  AMONG  US...." (vs. 1-14).

NOW  IT  IS  ALL  SO  CLEAR!

THE  MESSIAH  CHRIST  WAS  GOD!  WAS  WITH  GOD,  BUT  WAS  ANOTHER  INDIVIDUAL  PERSON,  WITH  THE  NAME  "THEOS"  -  GOD!

THIS  THEOS  OF  DAVID'S  WORDS  EXISTED  AS  GOD,  BUT  WAS  SPOKEN  TO  BY  GOD [THEOS].

THE  CHRIST  WAS  NOT  THE  SON  OF  DAVID,  BUT  WAS  DAVID'S  GOD.....

SO  THE  ANSWER  AS  TO  WHOSE  SON  IS  THE  MESSIAH,  WAS,  HE  WAS  THE  SON  OF  GOD,  HENCE  ALSO  GOD.

AT  THIS  THE  PHARISEES  WERE  SPEECHLESS,  THEY  COULD  NOT  ANSWER.  AND  FROM  THIS  "ACE"  QUESTION,  THIS  "BULL'S-EYE"  QUESTION  NO  ONE  DARED  ASK  HIM  ANY  MORE  QUESTIONS - JESUS  HAD  PINNED  THEIR  HIDE  TO  THE  WALL!

THE  MESSIAH  CHRIST  WAS  GOD  IN  THE  FLESH!

..........

15. PHARISEES  SIT  IN  MOSES'  SEAT......

"THEN  SPAOKE  JESUS  TO  THE  MULTITUDE,  AND  TO  HIS  DISCIPLES, SAYING, THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  SIT  IN  MOSES'  SEAT.  ALL  THEREFORE  WHAT  THEY  BID  YOU  OBSERVE,  THAT  OBSERVE  AND  DO;  BUT  DO  NOT  AFTER  THEIR  WORKS,  FOR  THEY  SAY  AND  DO  NOT" (Matt. 23:1-3).

THE  VERY  FIRST  THING  IS  OBVIOUS;  JESUS  WAS  SAYING  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  WERE  REIGIOUS  HYPOCRITES!  SAYING  THINGS THAT  MAY  WELL  HAVE  BEEN  CORRECT,  AS  TO  HOW  TO  LIVE,  BUT  NOT  DOING  THEM  THEMSELVES.

SECOND: THIS  IS  A  VERY  IMPORTANT  FEW  VERSES  THAT  TEACH  A  VERY  IMPORTANT  LESSON  OF  CORRECT  BIBLE  READING  AND  UNDERSTANDING.

IF  YOU  ISOLATE  THESE  VERSES [AND  SOME  DO  THAT  VERY  THING]  YOU  GET  A  VERY  FALSE  UNDERSTANDING.  NO  BIBLE  VERSE SHOULD  BE  TAKEN  OUT  OF  CONTEXT;  NOT  FROM  THE  IMMEDIATE  CONTEX,  NOR  THE  CONTEXT  OF  THE  BOOK  IT  IS  IN;  NOR  THE  CONTEXT  OF  THE  WHOLE  BIBLE.  DOING  SUCH,  WILL  INDEED  MEAN  AS  MANY  ATHEISTS  SAY,  "YOU  CAN  PROVE  ANYTHING  BY  THE  BIBLE."

SO  THE  QUESTION  TO  ASK  IS:  IS  JESUS  SAYING  HERE  THAT  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  WERE  "INFALLIBLE"  FROM  ERROR?

AND  WHAT  DOES  "SITTING  IN  MOSES  SEAT"  MEAN?

"SITTING  IN  MOSES  SEAT"  FIRST.

YOU  WILL  READ  THAT  WHEN  MOSES  WAS  TAKING  ISRAEL  OUT  FROM  UNDER  THE  EGYPTIANS,  HE  GOT  WAY  STRESSED  OUT  BY  ONLY  HE  ANSWERING  AND  HELPING  THE  ISRAELITES  IN  THEIR  DAYLY  LIVES.  SO  WITH  GOD'S  HELP  OTHERS  WERE  CHOSEN  TO  HELP  MOSES;  THEY  ALSO  WERE  GUIDED  BY  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  SO  THIS  WAS  A  KIND  OF  SHARING  IN  MOSES'  SEAT  OF  LEADING  WISELY  THE  CHILDREN  OF  ISRAEL.  IN  OTHER  WORDS  THERE  BECAME  AN  OFFICE  OF  LEADERSHIP  WITH,  AND  UNDER  MOSES.  THIS  CONTINUED  PER  SE  AS  ISRAEL  KEPT  FAITH  WITH  GOD,  OR  WAS  RESTORED  AFTER  PUNISHMENT  AND  CAPTIVITY.  I. E.  AFTER  SOME  FROM  THE  HOUSE  OF  JUDAH  RETURNED  TO  JERUSALEM  AFTER  70  YEARS  IN  BABYLON  CAPTIVITY.

SO  INDEED  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELDERS  OF  JUDEA  HAD  A  RIGHT  TO  HAVE  "RELIGIOUS  ELDERS"  -  CARRYING  ON  WHAT  WAS  ESTABLISHED  UNDER  MOSES.  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELDERS  OF  JUDEA  WERE  THE  SCRIBES,  PHARISEES,  AND  TO  A  LESSER  DEGREE,  THE  SADDUCEES [THEY  WERE  MAINLY  THE  PRIESTS  OF  THE  TEMPLE  SERVICE].

NOW  SECOND,  WERE  SUCH  LEADERS  "INFALLIBLE"?  WAS  JESUS  TEACHING  THAT  ALL PEOPLE  SHOULD  JUST  FOLLOW  AND  OBEY  WHATEVER  CAME  OUT  OF  THE  MOUTH  OF  THESE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES?

THIS  IS  WHERE  READING  THE  WHOLE  GOSPELS  COMES  IN,  BEING  ABLE  TO  REMEMBER  KEY  VERSES,  THAT  THROW  MORE  LIGHT  ON  THE  SUBJECT.  WE  HAVE  ALREAD  READ  SOME  KEY  VERSES.  BACK  WE  GO  TO  MATT. 16:6-12.  JESUS  HAD  ALREADY  WARNED  THEM,  TO  TAKE  HEED  TO  THE  "DOCTRINES  OF  THE  PHARISEES  AND  THE  SADDUCEES."    

SO  YES,  THE  ONES  SITTING  IN  MOSES'  SEAT  WERE  NOT  INFALLIBLE  AT  ALL!  YOU  WOULD  HAVE  TO  TEST  THEIR  TEACHING  AGAINST  THE  BIBLE,  TO  SEE  IF  IT  WAS  CORRECT.

WE  CERTAINLY  KNOW  BY  THE  GOSPELS,  JESUS  DID  NOT  AGREE  ON  A  NUMBER  OF  TOPICS  WITH  THE  PHARISEES  AND  SADDUCEES!  

NOW,  PUTTING  THIS  UNDERSTANDING  WITH  THE  WORDS  OF  JESUS  IN  MATT. 23,  WE  MUST  READ  IT  THIS  WAY:  "THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  SIT  IN  MOSES'  SEAT.  ALL  THEREFORE  WHATEVER  THEY  BID  YOU  OBSERVE [THAT  IS  CORRECT],  THAT  OBSERVE  AND  DO......"  AND  JESUS  WENT  ON  TO  SAY  DO  NOT  BE  HYPOCRITES  LIKE  THEY  ARE,  SAYING  ONE  THING  AND  DOING  ANOTHER.

JESUS  WENT  ON  TO  NOT  MINZE  WORDS,  HE  DID  NOT  HOLD  BACK,  HE  PUT  THE  CARDS  ON  THE  TABLE  IN  OPEN  VIEW,  TO  TELL  EVERYONE  JUST  HOW  SELF-RIGHTEOUS   AND  HYPOCRITES  THEY  WERE.  THEY  HAD  VAULTED  VANITY  AND  FLOWING  OVER  PRIDE  AND  SELF  IMPORTANCE,  UNDER  A  CLOAK  OF  SITTING IN  MOSES'  SEAT!

THIS  TEACHING  OF  JESUS  ALSO  GIVES  THE  RIGHT  TO  HIS  DISCIPLES,  TO  "CALL  OUT"  THE  FALSE  MINISTERS  OF  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION,  AT  TIMES,  AND  WHEN  NEEDED.

JESUS  HERE  SPENT  SOME  LENGTHY  TIME  WHICH  TAKES  UP  A  WHOLE  CHAPTER  IN  THE  BIBLE,  TO  CALL  OUT  FALSE  HYPOCRITES  IN  MANY  WAYS,  WHO  CLAIM  THEY  REPRESENT  GOD.

………………..

16. CONCERNING  TITHING

MANY  WONDER  IF  JESUS  EVER  SPOKE  ABOUT  TITHING......WELL  HERE  IT  IS:

"WOE,  UNTO  YOU  SCRIBES  ADN  PHARISEES;  FOR  YOU  PAY  TITHE  OF  MINT  AND  ANISE  AND  CUMMON,  HAVE  OMITTED  THE  WEIGHTIER  MATTER  OF  THE  LAW,  JUDGMET,  MERCY,  AND  FAITH:  THESE OUGHT  YOU  TO  HAVE  DONE,  AND  NOT  TO  LEAVE  THE  OTHER  UNDONE" (MATT. 23:23).

NOW  THOSE  ARE  PRETTY  PLAIN  WORDS  I  SUBMIT.  DO  THEY  SOUND  LIKE  JESUS  IS  "DOING  AWAY"  WITH  TITHING?  IF  YOU  DO,  YOU  HAVE  SOME  PRETTY  STRANGE  WAY  OF  READING  THE  BIBLE.

CERTAINLY  THERE  ARE  THINGS  WEIGHTIER,  GREATER,  MORE  IMPORTANT,  THAN  PHYSICAL  TITHING;  PEOPLE  CAN  PHYSICALLY  TITHE,  IT  IS  AFTER  ALL  PHYSICAL  MONEY;  SO  PEOPLE  CAN  DO  PHYSICAL  THINGS,  BUT  IF  YOU  ARE  A  PERSON  WITHOUT  JUDGMENT,  MERCY,  FAITH,  THEN  ALL  YOUR  PHYSICAL  WHATEVERS.....THEY  ARE  USELESS  AS  FAR  AS  SPIRITUALITY  AND  BEING  A  TRUE  CHILD  OF  GOD.

BUT  THAT  SAID,  IT  IS  ALSO  PLAIN  TO  SEE  JESUS  SAID  YOU  SHOULD  DO  THE  FIRST.....

NOT  TO  LEAVE  THE  OTHER  [THE  FIRST]  UN-DONE!

I  KNOW,  I  KNOW,  SOME  WILL  COME  BACK  WITH,  "WELL  PAUL  OR  THE  OTHER  APOSTLES  DID  NOT  SAY  WE  SHOULD  TITHE  TO  THE  CHURCH."

TRUE  THEY  INDEED  DID  NOT  IN  ANY  CLEAR  WORDS  LIKE,  "YOU  CHRISTIANS  NEED  TO  TITHE  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST."

BUT..... IN  THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS,  MAYBE  THE  LAST  BOOK  TO  BE  WRITTEN  BEFORE  THE  TEMPLE  WAS  DESTROYED  BY  THE  ROMANS  IN  70  A.D.  PAUL,  IN  CHAPTER 7  GIVES  A  PRETTY  GOOD  ARGUMENT  THAT  AS  THE  PRIESTHOOD  WAS  CHANGING,  SO  SHOULD  TITHING  BE  CHANGING  TO  THE  NEW  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  HE  ALSO  SHOWED  TITHING  DID  NOT  BEGIN  WITH  MOSES  BUT  WITH  ABRAHAM.

SO  WHY  DID  NOT  PAUL  AND  THE  OTHER  APOSTLES  GIVE  OUT  SOME  WORDS  THAT  SAID  CHRISTIANS  SHOULD  TITHE  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD?

AGAIN,  PEOPLE  JUMP  ON  THIS  AS  IF  THEY  FIGURE  THEY  HAVE  THE  ANSWER  TO  NOT  TITHE.  THEY  LACK  BIBLE  READING  AND  RATIONAL  THEOLOGICAL  UNDERSTANDING.

THE  APOSTLES  AFTER  CHRIST  SAID  NO  SPECIFIC  WORDS  AS  "YOU  NOW  HAVE  TO  TITHE  TO  THE  CHURCH"  BECAUSE......

THE  TEMPLE  AND  PRIESTHOOD  STILL  WAS  STANDING - THAT  WAS  FROM  GOD  ALSO - HENCE  PEOPLE  HAD  A  RIGHT  TO  TITHE  TO  THE  PHYSICAL  PRIESTHOOD  AND  TEMPLE  SERVICE.

THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  CHURCH  HAD  NO  RIGHT  TO  TEACH  DOGMATICALLY  TITHING  MUST  BE  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD!

BUT  PAUL  KNEW  THE  TEMPLE  WAS  SHORTLY  GOING  TO  BE  DESTROYED  AND  THE  PRIESTHOOD  WOULD  COME  TO  AN  END.  HENCE  HE  WRITES  HEBREWS  CHAPTER  7.  TITHING  WAS  BEFORE  MOSES  IN  ABRAHAM,  WAS  DURING  THE  MOSAIC  PRIESTHOOD,  AND  NOW  THAT  THE  PRIESTHOOD  WAS  GOING  TO  BE  CHANGED  OFFICIALLY [WITH  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TEMPLE]  SO  A  CHANGE  IN  THE  PRIESTHOOD,  THERE  WAS  A  CHANGE  IN  THE  "LAW"  -  THE  LAW  BEING  DISCUSSED  IN  CONTEXT  WAS  THE  "TITHING  LAW."

THIS  WHOLE  SUBJECT  I'VE  WRITTEN  ABOUT,  AND  ARGUMENTS  ANSWERED  IN  THE  SERIES  OF  STUDIES  ON  TITHING  ON  THIS  WEBSITE.

……….

17. DAY  NOR  THE  HOUR......

"WATCH  THEREFORE,  FOR  YOU  KNOW  NEITHER  THE  DAY  NOR  THE  HOUR  WHEREIN  THE  SON  OF  MAN  COMES" (MAT. 25:13)

JESUS  HAD  JUST  GIVEN  THEM  THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  "WISE  AND  FOOLISH  VIRGINS"  AS  IT  IS  OFTEN  REFERRED  TO  AS.

SOME  WERE  READY  FOR  THE  BRIDEGROOM  TO  COME BASED   ON  A  JEWISH  WEDDING  [BIBLE  ENCYCLOPEDIAS  CAN  EXPLAIN  ALL  THAT  TO  YOU].  SOME  WERE  NOT  READY,  THOUGHT  THEY  COULD  SNEAK  INTO  THE  WEDDING  OR  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  BY  GETTING  READY  AT  THE  LAST  MINUTE.  A  SLUMBERING  UNTIL  THE  LAST  HOUR.

OBVIOUSLY  JESUS  IS  GIVING  THE  LESSON  THAT  YOU  CAN  NOT  JUST  SLUMBER  AS  A  CHRISTIAN,  THEN  AT  THE  LAST  MINUTE  BECOME  SERIOUS  WITH  CHRISTIANITY,  AND  HOPE  TO  BE  WITH  JESUS  AT  HIS  WEDDING  TO  HIS  CHURCH.

THE  SLUMBER  ONES  ARE  THE  PROVERBIAL  2  HOURS  A  WEEK  CHRISTIAN  PEOPLE;  THE  REST  OF  THE  WEEK  THEY  LIVE  AS  THEY  WANT,  DELVE  INTO  THE  WORLD  AS  THEY  WANT.....THEY  ARE  THE  HYPOCRITICAL  CHRISTIANS  -  ONLY  SO-CALLED  CHRISTIAN  FOR  TWO  HOURS  OF  THE  WEEK  -  THE  REST  OF  THE  WEEK  BEING  LIKE  CHRIST  IS  THROWN  OUT  THE  WINDOW  ON  TO  THE  TRASH  PILE.

BEING  A  CHRISTIAN  IS  A  FULL  TIME  JOB;  IT  IS  AS  JESUS  TAUGHT,  LIVING  BY  EVERY  WORD  OF  GOD;  IT  IS  KNOWING  ALL  THE  BIBLE  IS  GOD'S  WORD  AND  GIVEN  AS  OUR  INSTRUCTION  BOOK  TO  LIVE  BY.

MANY  MAY  HAVE  A  SERIOUS  QUESTION  AS  TO  HOW  DO  YOU  LIVE  BY  ALL  OF  GOD'S  WORD?  WHAT  ABOUT  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT?  WHAT  ABOUT  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT?  HOW  CAN  YOU  FIT  THEM  TOGETHER?

I  HAVE  WRITTEN  A  TWO-PART  GUIDE  STUDY  FOR  YOU;  IT  IS  CALLED  "LIVING  BY  EVERY  WORD  OF  GOD  -  HOW?"  IT  WILL  GIVE  YOU  THE  KEYS  OF  FIGURING  OUT  THE  OLD  WITH  THE  NEW.

ONCE  MORE  JESUS  HERE  IS  SAYING  NO  ONE  BUT  THE  FATHER [AS  HE  SAID  BEFORE]  KNOWS  THE  DAY  NOR  THE  HOUR  WHEN  JESUS  WILL  BE  SENT  BACK  TO  THIS  EARTH.

BEING  READY  FOR  IT  IS  AS  CLOSE  AS  YOUR  DEATH.  

MOST  OF  US  DO  NOT  KNOW  WHEN  WE  SHALL  DIE.  MOST  OF  US  DO  NOT  KNOW  THE  DAY  NOR  THE  HOUR  OF  OUR  DEATH.  AND  DEATH  IS  A  SLEEP.....WE  DO  NOT  CONTINUE  TO  LIVE  AFTER  WE  DIE!  THERE  IS  A  WHOLE  STUDY  ON  THIS  WEBSITE  CALLED  "DEATH  -  THEN  WHAT?"

WHEN  YOU  SLEEP  AT  NIGHT,  IF  NO  DREAMING,  YOUR  MIND  IS  BLANK  -  YOU  WAKE  UP  AND  IT  IS  AS  IF  THE  NEXT  SECOND  AFTER  FALLING  ASLEEP  -  YOU  HAVE  NO  REALIZATION  OF  TIME.

I  HAD  TO  HAVE  A  MINOR  SURGERY  A  FEW  DECADES  BACK.  THE  FELLOW  GIVING  ME  THE....WHATEVER  IT  IS  IN  MY  ARM....ONE  SECOND  I  WAS  TALKING  TO  HIM,  THE  NEXT  SECOND.....BLACKNESS  AND  QUIET....IN  SLEEP  THAT  WAS  LIKE  DEATH,  UNTIL  THE  NURSE  WAS  WAKING  ME  UP!  THERE  WAS  NO  DREAMING,  JUST  A  "NOT  EXISTING"  TIME.  WHEN  I  WAS  WAKENED,  I  KNEW  NOTHING  ABOUT  THE  PASSING  OF  TIME;  IT  WAS  LIKE  THE  NEXT  SECOND  OF  TIME  SINCE  I  WAS  GONE  OUT  OF  THIS  WORLD.  I  SAID  TO  MYSELF  ON  WAKING, "I  HAVE  JUST  EXPERIENCED  DEATH" - BLACKNESS, NO  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  MIND,  NO  DREAMING  -  JUST  A  SLEEP  IN  DEATH  LIKENESS,  IF  NOT  WAKENED  TO  LIFE  I  WAS  NONE  EXISTENT.

SO  IT  IS  IN  REAL  DEATH  -  YES  THE  SPIRIT  THAT  GOD  GAVE  TO  US  TO  MAKE  US  DIFFERENT  FROM  ANY  ANIMAL,  GOES  BACK  TO  GOD  WHO  GAVE  IT - ECCL. 12: 7 - BUT  THAT  SPIRIT  DOES  NOT  THINK,  ACT,  TALK,  WALK,  SING,  PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT,  RIDE A HORSE,  CONVERSE WITH OTHERS SUPPOSEDLY IN HEAVEN.  THAT  SPIRIT  DOES  NONE  OF  THOSE  THINGS  NOW.  IF  YOU  LOOSE  AN  EYE,  THE  SPIRIT  DOES  NOT  CONTINUE  TO  SEE  IN  THE  HOLE  YOU  NOW  HAVE  WHERE  YOUR  EYE  WAS.  IF  YOU  LOOSE  YOUR  RIGHT  HAND  THE  SPIRIT  DOES  NOT  TAKE  OVER  AND  STILL  HAVE  YOU  RIGHTING  WITH  YOUR  RIGHT  HAND,  THE  PEN  BEING  HELD  WITH  SOME  INVISIBLE  HAND.

THE  SPIRIT  IN  MAN  GIVES  YOU  THE  MIND  OF  MAN  AS  OPPOSED  TO  AN  ANIMAL.  MY  HORSE  CAN  NOT  USE  THIS  COMPUTER  AS  I'M  NOW  USING  IT  TO  TYPE  THESE  WORDS;  BUT  A  HORSE  CAN  TELL  IF  IT  IS  SWAMPY  AND  REFUSE  TO  MOVE  INTO  THE  SWAMP. I'VE  EXPERIENCED  THIS  WHILE  RIDING  MY  HORSE  GOLDIE....THIS  SPIRIT  IN  ANIMALS  WORKS  DIFFERENT  THAN  THE  SPIRIT  IN  MAN.

THE  SPIRIT  IN  MAN  CAN  RETAIN  ALL  THE  GOOD  OF  MAN,  ABILITIES  AND  TALENTS  OF  MAN;  SINS  BEING  FORGIVEN  BY  GOD  THROUGH  GRACE  AND  FAITH  IN  CHRIST; HENCE  AT  DEATH  WE  HAVE  A  PURE  100  PERCENT  SPIRIT  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  THAT  IS  LIKE  A  PURE  NO  FLAWS  DVD  OR  TAPE  CASSETTE,  THAT  GOES  BACK  TO  GOD  AT  DEATH.  IT  IS  SAFELY  KEPT  UNTIL  THE  RESURRECTION  -  THEN  THAT  PURE  SPIRIT  OF  MAN  IS  UNITED  WITH  A  PURE  HOLY  IMMORTAL  SPIRIT  BODY...... WE  HAVE  THE  PROMISED  RESURRECTION  TO  IMMORTALITY  -  OR  CHANGE  FROM  MORTAL  TO  DIVINE  FOR  THOSE  CHRISTIANS  LIVING  IN  THE  FLESH  AND  BLOOD,  WHEN  JESUS  RETURNS.

WELL  BACK  TO  THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  WISE  AND  UNWISE  VIRGINS.

THOSE  LIVING  DURING  THE  LAST  42  MONTHS  OF  THIS  AGE;  MANY  OF  THEM  NEW  CHRISTIANS,  WILL  IN  THE  MAIN  NOT  HAVE  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  PROPHETIC  EVENTS;  THEY  WILL  NOT  KNOW  EXACTLY  WHERE  THE  WORLD  IS,  IN  THE  ENDTIME  EVENTS  OF  THE  LAST  YEARS  OF  THIS  AGE.  THEY  WILL  SIMPLY  HAVE  TO  BE  TRUE  CHRISTIANS,  WATCHING  THEMSELVES  THAT  THEY  REMAIN  SPIRITUALLY  PURE  AND  DOING  THE  WILL  OF  GOD  IN  HOW  THEY  LIVE.  FOR  TO  THEM  ESPECIALLY  IS  THIS  PARABLE  ADDRESSED.  THEY  INDEED  WILL  NOT  KNOW  WHERE  THEY  ARE  IN  THE  COUNTDOWN  TO  THE  COMING  OF  CHRIST -  THEY  FOR  SURE  WILL  NOT  KNOW  THE  DAY  NOR  THE  HOUR  OF  JESUS'  RETURN. THEY  FOR  SURE  BETTER  NOT  SAY,  "OH  THE  LORD  DELAYS  HIS  COMING"  AND  SO  GO  BACK  INTO  THE  WORLD  IN  SOME  WAYS;  BECOMING  SPIRITUALLY  SLUMBERING  AND  SLEEPING,  FOR  IF  THEY  DO,  THEY  WILL  BE  ON  THE  OUTSIDE  LOOKING  IN;  AS  JESUS  SAID,  THERE  WILL  BE  WEEPING  AND  GNASHING  OF  TEETH.  FOR  JESUS  WILL  COME  IN  AN  HOUR  THEY  WERE  NOT  EXPECTING  HIM.

AND  WE  ALSO  SHOULD  REMEMBER  THAT  THIS  PARABLE  HAS  A  MEANING  FOR  US  TODAY,  WHO  ARE  LIVING  IN  A  TIME  WHEN  MANY  PROPHETIC  STEPPING  STONES  ARE  YET  TO  COME  TO  PASS,  MANY  YEARS  FROM  NOW,  BEFORE  JESUS  CAN  RETURN.  BUT  HIS  COMING  IS  AS  CLOSE  AS  OUR  FALLING  ASLEEP  IN  DEATH;  SO  WE  MUST  ALL  BE  SPIRITUALLY  AWAKE  AND  OUR  LAMPS  FILLED  WITH  THE  OIL  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT,  THAT  WORKS  WITH  US  AND  OUT  OF  US,  AS  A  LIGHT  OF  VIBRANT  CHRISTIANITY  TO  ALL  AROUND  US.

THEN  WHENEVER  THAT  DAY  OF  CHRIST'S  RETURN  COMES,  WE  CAN  HEAR,  "WELL  DONE  YOU  FAITHFUL  SERVANT,  ENTER  THE  JOY  OF  YOUR  LORD;  ENTER  MY  MARRIAGE  FEAST."

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

18. MOVING FORWARD 

"FOR  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN  IS  LIKE  UNTO  A  MAN  TRAVELLING  INTO  A  FAR  COUNTRY, WHO  CALLED  HIS  OWN  SERVANTS,  AND  DELIVERED  UNTO  THEM  HIS  GOODS.  AND  UNTO  ONE  HE  GAVE FIVE  TALENTS,  TO  ANOTHER  TWO, AND  TO  ANOTHER  ONE.......AFTER  A  LONG  TIME  THE  LORD  OF  THOSE  SERVANTS  CAME,  AND  RECKONED  WITH  THEM.....THEN  HE  WHICH  RECEIVED  THE  ONE  TALENT   CAME  AND  SAID,  LORD,  I  KNEW  YOU  THAT  YOU  ART  A  HARD  MAN,  REAPING  WHERE  YOU  HAVE  NOT  SOWED,  AND  GATHERING  WHERE  YOU  HAVE  NOT  PLANTED.  AND  I  WAS  AFRAID  AND  WENT  AND  HID  YOUR  TALENT  IN  THE  EARTH,  LO,  HERE  IS  WHAT  WAS  YOURS...." (MAT. 25:14-30).

MANY  WOULD  SAY  THIS  HAS  TO  DO  WITH  "WORKS"  AND  YOUR  REWARD  -  NOT  SALVATION.

BUT  WAIT,  THE  WORDS  IN  26  HARDLY  SOUND  LIKE  IT  IS  JUST  "WORKS"  HERE  BEING  TALKED  ABOUT...."HIS  LORD  ANSWERED  AND  SAID  UNTO  HIM,  YOU  WICKED  AND  SLOTHFUL  SERVANT;  YOU  KNEW  I  REAP  WHERE  I'VE  NOT  SOWN,  AND  GATHER  WHERE  I'VE  NOT  PLANTED."

THE  SERVANT  OF  GOD  SURELY  CANNOT  BE  REGARDED  AS  WICKED  JUST  BECAUSE  HIS  "WORKS"  WERE  NOT  LIKE  OTHERS,  OR  VERY  VERY  LOW  COMPARED  TO  OTHERS.

THEN  THERE  IS  THE  END  OF  THIS  PARABLE,  THAT  IS  WAY  MORE  SERIOUS  THAN  JUST  NOT  HAVING  VERY  LITTLE  "WORKS"  -  NOTICE  IT:

"AND  CAST  THE  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT  INTO  OUTER  DARKNESS: THERE  SHALL  BE  WEEPING  AND  GNASHING  OF  TEETH."

NOW  ONCE  MORE  WE  MUST  LET  THE  BIBLE  INTERPRET  THE  BIBLE.  WHAT  IS  THE  BIBLE'S  INTERPRETATION  OF  "UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT"?

NOTICE  IT  -  LUKE  17: 6-10.

READ  IT  ALL.  NOW  NOTICE   VERSES 9  AND  10.

"DOES  HE  THANK  THAT  SERVANT  BECAUSE  HE  DID  THOSE  THINGS  WHICH  WERE  COMMANDED  OF  HIM?  I  THINK  NOT.  SO  LIKEWISE  YOU,  WHEN  YOU  SHALL  HAVE  DONE  ALL  THOSE  THINGS  WHICH  WERE  COMMANDED  OF  YOU,  SAY,  WE  ARE  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANTS;  WE  HAVE  DONE  THAT  WHICH  WAS  OUR  DUTY  TO  DO."

PUT  THE  TWO  SECTIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE  TOGETHER..... NOW  YOU  SHOULD  SEE  WHAT  JESUS  WAS  TEACHING. 

THE  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT  WILL  BE  OUT  IN  THE  COLD,  OUT  IN  DARKNESS;  TRULY  THERE  SHALL  BE  WEEPING  AND  GNASHING  OF  TEETH,  IF  YOU  FIND  YOURSELF  ON  THE  OUTSIDE  LOOKING  IN.

TRULY  YOU  ARE  SAVED  BY  GRACE,  NOT  BY  WORKD;  BUT  -  THE  SIMPLE  TRUTH  IS  FROM  THESE  TWO  PARABLES  JESUS  GAVE  -  IF  YOU  DO  NOT  MOVE  FORWARD  IN  YOUR  CHRISTIAN  LIFE;  IF  YOU  JUST  STAY  PUT;  IF  YOU  DO  ONLY  THE  BARE  MINIMUM,  JUST  PUTING  THE  ONE  TALENT  -  THE  BEGINNING  SALVATION  TALENT  IN  THE  GROUND,  AND  ONLY  GIVE  THAT  FIRST  DAY  SALVATION  TALENT  BACK  TO  CHRIST  AT  HIS  COMING..... WELL  THE  WORDS  OF  JESUS  TELL  YOU  PLAINLY  WHAT  WILL  HAPPEN  TO  THAT  SERVANT  IN  THE  DAY  OF  CHRIST'S  RETURN  FROM  THE  FAR  COUNTRY,  TO  RECKON  WITH  HIS  SERVANTS.

SALVATION  IS  NOT  A  ONE  DAY  EVENT.  AND  YOU  ARE  NOT  GIVEN  ALL  TRUTHS  IN  ONE  DAY.  WHEN  YOU  HAVE  ACCEPTED  JESUS  AS  YOUR  PERSONAL  SAVIOR,  WHEN  YOU  COME  UNDER  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD,  YOU  ARE  TO  MOVE  FORWARD;  YOU  ARE  NOT  TO  STAND  STILL;  YOU  ARE  TO  MOVE  FORWARD  AT  LEAST  TO  SOME  EXTENT [EVERYONE  MOVES  FORWARD  AT  DIFFERENT  PACES;  SOME  TWO  PACES,  SOME  FOUR  PACES;  SOME  EIGHT  PACES],  MOVING  FORWARD  -  OR  AS  PETER  PUT  IT,  "GROWING  IN  GRACE  AND  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  LORD  AND  SAVIOR  JESUS CHRIST" (2 PETER 3:18). 

AS  PAUL  SAID,  "HOW  SHALL  WE  ESCAPE.  IF  WE  NEGLECT  SO  GREAT  A  SALVATION...." (HEB. 2:3).  AND..... 

"OF  WHOM  WE  HAVE  MANY  THINGS  TO  SAY.  AND  HARD  TO  BE  UTTERED,  SEEING  YOU  ARE  DULL  OF  HEARING.  FOR  WHEN  FOR  THE  TIME  YOU  OUGHT  TO  BE  TEACHERS,  YOU  HAVE  NEED  THAT  ONE  TEACH  YOU  AGAIN  WHICH  IS  THE  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  ORACLES  OF  GOD;  AND  ARE  BECOME  SUCH  AS  HAVE  NEED  OF  MILK,  AND  NOT  STRONG  MEAT.  FOR  EVERYONE  THAT  USES  MILK  IS  UNSKILFUL  IN  THE  WORD  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS;  FOR  HE  IS  A  BABE.  BUT  STRONG  MEAT  BELONGS  TO  THEM  THAT  ARE  OF  FULL  AGE,  EVEN  THOSE  WHO  BY  REASON  OF  USE  HAVE  THEIR  SENSES  EXERCISED  TO  DISCERN  BOTH  GOOD  AND  EVIL" (HEB. 5:11-14)

NOW  I  DID  NOT  WRITE  THESE  WORDS  OF  PAUL  AND  PETER;  I  DID  NOT  WRITE  THE  WORDS  OF  JESUS  IN  MATTHEW  25  OR  LUKE  17.

THEY  ARE  THERE;  THEY  ARE  INSPIRED;  THEY  MEAN  WHAT  THEY  SAY  AND  SAY  WHAT  THEY  MEAN.  NO  YOU  CANNOT  EARN  SALVATION  BY  WORKS  -  BUT  YOU  CAN  LOOSE  IT  BY  STANDING  STILL,  BY  DOING  NO  MORE  THAN  WHAT  IS  REQUIRED  OF  YOU.  JESUS  DOES  NOT  EXPECT  YOU  TO  STAND  STILL,  HIDE  SALVATION  IN  THE  GROUND,  AND  GIVE  BACK  TO  HIM  NO  MORE  THAN  WHAT  YOU  HAD  ON  THE  DAY  YOU  WERE  GIVEN  SALVATION.

AFTER  THE  DAY  ON  WHICH  YOU  RECEIVED  SALVATION,  YOU  ARE  EXPECTED  TO  READ  GOD'S  WORD,  TO  BE  TAUGHT,  TO  BE  CORRECTED  EVEN  MORE,  TO  BE  LIVING  BY  EVERY  WORD  OF  GOD,  TO  BE  GROWING  IN  GRACE  AND  KNOWLEDGE,  TO  BE  MOVING  FORWARD  OUT  OF  BABYHOOD  TO  MORE  SPIRITUAL  MATURITY,  TO  PUT  AWAY  THE  MILK  OF  THE  WORD  AND  TO  BE  EATING  THE  MEAT  OF  THE  WORD.

DOING  ONLY  THE  BASICS  OF  WHAT  IS  COMMANDED  OF  YOU,  IS  BEING  AN  UN-PROFITABLE  SERVANT..... AND  WE  HAVE  SEEN  FROM  JESUS'  OWN  MOUTH  WHAT  HAPPENS  TO  THE  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT.

YOU  NEED  TO  STUDY  MY  STUDY  CALLED  "SAVED  BY  GRACE"  -  AND  GET  THE  WHOLE  PICTURE  OF  SALVATION.

YOU  NEED  TO  READ  THIS  STUDY  AGAIN,  SLOWLY,  MEDITATING  ON  IT.

YOU  CANNOT  EARN  SALVATION  BY  A  MILLION  GOOD  WORKS,  YET  SALVATION,  IS  NOT  JUST  AS  EASY  AS  FALLING  OFF  A  LOG,  AS  THEY  SAY.

DO YOU BELIEVE JESUS' WORDS. HE SAID THEM NOT ME. THHEY HAVE BEEN IN YOUR BIBLE FOR ABOUT 2,000 YEARS.

ONCE  SALVATION  IS  GIVEN  YOU,  YOU  ARE  EXPECTED  TO  NOT  STAND  STILL  -  YOU  ARE  EXPECTED  TO  MOVE  FORWARD.  STANDING  STILL  WILL  ONLY  MEAN  YOU  ARE  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT,  WHO  WILL  GET  BLACKNESS,  WEEPING  AND  GNASHING  OF  TEETH.

………………..    

19. PARABLE  OF  THE    JUDGMENT...... Mat. 25: 31-46

THE  SETTING  IS  CHRIST'S  RETURN  ON  HIS  THRONE [THE THRONE OF DAVID] AND  BEFORE  HIM  ARE  ALL  NATIONS.

A  DIVIDING  OF  SHEEP  AND  GOATS.

THE  RIGHT  HAND  ARE  THE  SHEEP;  THE  LEFT  HAND  ARE  THE  GOATS.

SO  JESUS  HAS  RETURNED..... THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  SHEEP  FROM  ADAM  TO  HIS  RETURN  HAS  TAKEN  PLACE.

THERE  IS  MORE  SEPARATION  OF  THE  SHEEP  AND  GOATS  TO  COME  ALL  DURING  THE  NEW  AGE,  THAT  HAS  NOW  ARRIVED  ON  EARTH.  

GOD  IN  HIS  PERFECT  RIGHTEOUS  CHARACTER  THAT  NEVER  CHANGES,  WILL  USE  THE  SAME  MEASURING  ROD  AS  BEFORE  TO  BRING  THE  SHEEP  INTO  HIS  FOLD.

THIS  PARABLE  IS  FOR  THE  PAST,  FOR  THE  NOW,  FOR  THE  FUTURE.

JESUS  TELLS  THE  ATTITUDE,  THE  MIND-SET,  THE  LIVING  WAY  OF  LIFE,  THAT  ARE  THE  SHEEP;  HE  RELATES  TO  THEM  WHAT  THEY  AT  FIRST  "DON'T  GET"  -  WHEN  DID  WE  DO  SUCH  THINGS  TO  YOU.  THEY  HAVE  LIVED  IN  SUCH  A  WAY,  THAT  WAS  SO  NORMAL  TO  THEM,  THEY  KINDA  DO  NOT  EVEN  KNOW  WHEN  THEY  LIVED  THAT  WAY  TO  SERVE  CHRIST  IN  THE  WAY  HE  RELATES  TO  THEM.  JESUS  ANSWERS  THAT  AS  THEY  DID  IT  TO  OTHER  HUMAN  BEINGS,  THEY  WERE  DOING  IT  TO  HIM  -  VERSES  31-40.

IT  IS  OBVIOUS  THEY  WERE  LIVING  IN  SUCH  A  WAY  THAT  WHEN  ZEROD  IN  ON  IN  SPECIFICS,  THEY  COULD  NOT  PER  SE  SEE  IT.  ONLY  WHEN  JESUS  SAYS  THEY  LIVED  TOWARDS  OTHERS  AS  HE  DESCRIBED  COULD  THEY  SEE  IT  WAS  TOWARDS  HIM.

SALVATION  AND  CONVERSION  IN  THE  SHEEP,  MEANS  A  NEW  WAY  OF  LIFE  TOWARDS  OTHERS;  IT  MEANS  THIS  NEW  LIFE  BECOMES  SO  AUTOMATIC,  SO  NATURAL,  SO  EVERY  DAY  A  MIND-SET,  THAT  IT  IS..... WELL  JUST  SECOND  NATURE  AS  THEY  SAY;  IT  IS  JUST  A  PART  OF  THE  NEW  CONVERTED  LIFE  IN  CHRIST,  THE  SHEEP  DO  NOT  EVEN  THINK  ABOUT  IT;  IT  JUST  GOES  WITH  BEING  A  TRUE  CHRISTIAN.

WOW  IT  IS  SO  NATURAL  TO  THEM,  THEY  ASK  CHRIST,  "WELL  WHEN  DID  WE  DO  SUCH  THINGS  TOWARDS  YOU?"

CHRISTIANITY  IS  A  WAY  OF  LIFE;  IT  IS  A  WAY  OF  THINKING,  ACTING,  TALKING,  DOING,  SERVING,  IN  THE  WAY  OF  THE  LORD,  THAT  IT  BECOMES  THE  VERY  NATURE  OF  THEM,  AND  THEY  NO  LONGER  THINK  ABOUT  IT.

THAT  IS  WHAT  CHRIST  IS  HERE  MAKING  A  PARABLE  LESSON  ABOUT..... A  LESSON  FOR  THE  SHEEP  AND  THE  GOATS.

VERSE  41.  OH  JESUS  PULLS  NO  PUNCHES  -  THE  GOATS  ON  THE  LEFT  HAND  ARE  TOLD:  "DEPART  FROM  ME  YOU  CURSED,  INTO  EVERLASTING  FIRE,  PREPARED  FOR  THE  DEVIL  AND  HIS  ANGELS [NOW  CALLED  DEMONS]"

THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  "EVERLASTING  FIRE"  IS  EXPOUNDED  FOR  YOU  IN  THE  STUDIES  CALLED  "DEATH  -  THEN  WHAT?"

JESUS  REITERATES  WHAT  HE  TOLD  THE  SHEEP,  BUT  IN  A  NEGATIVE  CONTEXT  -  THEY  DID  NOT  LIVE  THIS  WAY  OF  LIFE  TOWARDS  OTHERS,  IT  WAS  NOT  A  PART  OF  THEIR  NATURE.....AND  BECAUSE  IT  WAS  NOT,  THEY  FAILED  IN  LIFE.  

THIS  IS  SERIOUS  STUFF!  

THIS  IS  NOT  SOME  FLUFFY  THING  THAT  MAKES  NO  DIFFERENCE  -  IT  HAS  PROFOUND  MEANING  AND  END  RESULT.

FOR  THOSE  NOT  THINKING  AND  LIVING  THE  SHEEP'S  WAY  OF  LIFE,  BUT  THE  GOAT'S  WAY,  SHALL  BE  PUNISHED  WITH  "EVERLASTING  PUNISHMENT" [THE PUNISHMENT  IS  EVERLASTING NOT  THE  PERSON]  BUT  THE  RIGHTEOUS  INTO  LIFE  ETERNAL!

JESUS  SHOWS  HERE  THAT  TRUE  CHRISTIANITY  IS  A  WAY  OF  LIFE!

YOU  DO  NOT  ACCEPT  JESUS  AS  YOUR  SAVIOR  AND  LORD,  AND  CONTINUE  TO  LIVE  TOWARDS  OTHERS  IN  THE  SAME  OLD  GOAT'S  SELFISH  WAY.

FOLLOWING  JESUS  MEANS  YOU  HAVE  A  WAY  OF  LIFE  TOWARDS  OTHERS,  THAT  IS  LOVE,  SERVICE,  TOWARDS  OTHERS.  THIS  SERVICE  BECOMES  SO  IN-GRAINED  WITHIN  YOU,  IT  IS  JUST  AUTOMATIC.....IT  IS  SECOND  NATURE  AS  THEY  SAY.

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIVES  FRIENDLINESS  TO  OTHERS,  AS  PAUL  SAID,  "IF  IT  BE  POSSIBLE,  AS  MUCH  AS  LIES  IN  YOU,  LIVE  PEACEABLY  WITH ALL  MEN" (ROM. 12:18).

YOU  SHOW  KINDNESS  TO  OTHERS,  YOU  SHOW  POLITENESS  TO  OTHERS,  TO  SHOW  RESPECT  TOWARDS  OTHERS;  YOU  LIVE  TOWARDS  OTHERS  AS  YOU  WOULD  WISH  OTHERS  WOULD  LIVE  TOWARDS  YOU.  YOU  ARE  HAPPY  WITH  THOSE  WHO  ARE  HAPPY;  YOU  ARE  SORROWFUL  WITH  THOSE  WHO  SORROW;  YOU  WEEP  WITH  THOSE  WHO  WEEP.

CHRISTIANITY  IS  NOT  JUST  A  TWO  HOUR  JOB  IN  CHURCH  ON  ONE  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK.

JESUS  WAS  TEACHING  IN  THIS  PARABLE,  THAT  TO  SERVE  HIM,  YOU  MUST  SERVE  OTHERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  FAMILY.

THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  IS  BRIM-FULL  OF  ACTIVE  LOVE  AND  SERVICE  TO  OUR  FELLOW  MAN.

JESUS  WAS  TEACHING  VERY  PLAINLY,  THAT  IF  YOUR  MINDSET  AND  WAY  OF  LIFE  DID  NOT  HAVE  LOVE  AND  SERVICE  TOWARDS  OTHERS,  YOU  WOULD  GO  AWAY  INTO  EVERLASTING  PUNISHMENT.

IT  WAS  THE  RIGHTEOUS  [THIS  LOVE  AND  SERVICE  TOWARDS  OTHERS  BEING  A  PART  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS]  WOULD  ENTER  INTO  LIFE  ETERNAL.

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20. CONCERNING  THE  SABBATH  DAY

"And it came to pass, that He went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, HAVE YOU NOT READ WHAT DAVID DID, WHEN HE HAD NEED, AND WAS HUNGRY, HE, AND THEY THAT WERE WITH HIM? HOW HE WENT INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD IN THE DAYS OF ABIATHAR THE HIGH PRIEST, AND DID EAT THE SHEWBREAD, WHICH IS NOT LAWFUL TO EAT BUT FOR THE PRIESTS, AND GAVE ALSO TO THEM WHICH WERE WITH HIM. 

AND HE SAID  UNTO  THEM, THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN, AND NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH: THEREFORE THE SON OF MAN IS LORD ALSO OF THE SABBATH" (MARK 2: 23-28).

THERE  ARE  A  NUMBER  OF  POINTS  TO  COMMENT  ON  HERE.

FIRST:  THERE  IS  NO  LAW  ANYWHERE  IN  THE  BIBLE  ABOUT  NOT  BEING  ABLE  TO  PLUCK  THE  EARS  OF  CORN  AND  EAT  THEM,  AS  YOU  WALKED  THROUGH  A  CORN  FIELD [WHEAT  IS  HERE  MEANT  BY  "CORN"]. THIS  LAW  OF  NOT  DOING  SUCH  WAS  A  LAW  OF  THE  PHARISEES  NOT  A  LAW  OF  GOD.  IT  WAS  ONE  OF  THE  600  PLUS  LAWS  THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  HAD  MADE  UP  ON  OBSERVING  THE  SABBATH.

SECOND:  WHAT  DAVID  DID.  MANY  THINK  DAVID  DID  WHATEVER  HE  LIKED AND  WHENEVER  HE  LIKED;  THIS  IS  NOT  TRUE.  THE  EXAMPLE  JESUS  GAVE  ABOUT  DAVID  IS  FOUND  IN  1  SAMUEL  21. IT  IS  ONE  FINE  EXAMPLE  OF  GETTING  THE  WRONG  IDEA,  BY  NOT  READING  THE  ENTIRE  CONTEXT  OF  1  SAMUEL  21,  WHICH  IN  THIS  CASE  MEANS  READING  INTO  CHAPTER  22.

LET  ME  EMPHASIZE  NOT  READING  THE  CONTEXT  OF  SPECIFIC  VERSES  WILL  MANY  TIMES  LEAD  YOU  ASTRAY  INTO  FALSE  IDEAS  OF  THEOLOGY!!

NOW  LOOK  AT  CHAPTER  22  AND  VERSES  9, 10.

"Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I  SAW  THE  SON  OF  JESSE [DAVID]  COMING  TO  NOB,  TO AHIMELECH  THE  SON  OF  AHITUB.  AND  HE  [THE  PRIEST]  INQUIRED  OF  THE  LORD  FOR  HIM [DAVID],  AND  GAVE  HIM  VICTUALS,  AND  GAVE  HIM  THE  SWORD  OF  GOLIATH  THE  PHILISTINE."

THIS  WAS  NOT  SOME  "I'M  HERE  AND  YOU  WILL  DO  WHAT  I  WANT"  ON  THE  PART  OF  DAVID.  NO,  ENQUIRY  TO  THE  LORD  WAS  MADE,  AND  THE  LORD  ALLOWED  DAVID  AND  HIS  MEN  TO  EAT  THE  SHEWBREAD  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  GOD.  THE  LESSON  HERE  IS  ALSO  THAT  CERTAIN  PHYSICAL  LAWS,  CAN  BE  PUT  TO  ONE  SIDE  IF  THE  SITUATION  IS  MORE  IMPORTANT  THAN  THE  PHYSICAL.  DAVID  AND  HIS  MEN  BEING  VERY  VERY  HUNGRY,  AND  NEEDING  FOOD,  WAS  MORE  IMPORTANT  THAN  SOME  PHYSICAL  LAW  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  GOD.  BUT  ENQUIRY  WAS  MADE.....GOD  GAVE  THE  ANSWER!

WHAT  A  LESSON  OF  CONTEXT  READING  IS  HERE  GIVEN.  I'M  TELLING  YOU  MANY  MANY  THEOLOGICAL  ERRORS  ABOUND  EVEN  TODAY  IN  CHRISTIANITY,  BECAUSE  PEOPLE  WILL  NOT  READ  THE  CONTEXT  OF  VERSES!

THIRD:  THE  SABBATH  WAS  MADE..... IT  WAS  MADE  WAY  BACK  IN  GENESIS  2.  THE  7TH  DAY  SET  APART  AS  BLESSED  AND  SANCTIFIED,  WHICH  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT  OF  EXODUS  20  ALSO  MAKES  VERY  CLEAR.  AS  A  CHILD  GROWING  UP  IN  A  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  SCHOOL,  HAVING  TO  LEARN  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS  BY  MEMORY  AS  IN  EXODUS  20,  IT  WAS  TO  ME  EASY  AND  SIMPLE  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  SABBATH.  AS  A  KID  READING  THE  GOSPELS  WITH  A  RED  LETTER  NEW  TESTAMENT [ALL  THE  WORDS  OF  CHRIST  IN  RED],  I  COULD  SEE  PLAINLY  JESUS  NEVER  CHANGED  THE  SABBATH  COMMAND.  HE  HAD  NO  PROBLEM  WITH  THE  SABBATH  BEING  THE  7TH  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK;  HE  OBSERVED  THE  SABBATH  ALONG  WITH  ALL  RELIGIOUS  JEWS  OF  HIS  TIME.  THE  ISSUE  WAS  NOT  WHEN  THE  SABBATH,  BUT  HOW  THE  SABBATH  SHOULD  BE  OBSERVED.

THE  SABBATH  WAS  MADE  -  STILL  STOOD  ITS  GROUND  IN  JESUS'  DAY.

FOURTH:  THE  SABBATH  WAS  MADE  FOR  MAN,  NOT  MAN  FOR  THE  SABBATH.

AS  JESUS  WENT  ON  TO  SHOW  THE  PHARISEES,  IT  WAS  GOOD  TO  DO  GOOD  ON  THE  SABBATH  WHEN  THE  SITUATION  CALLED  FOR  DOING  GOOD  -  IT  WAS  THE  PROVERBIAL  "OX  IN  THE  DITCH"  AS  ONE  EXAMPLE  JESUS  GAVE  TO  PEOPLE  AT  ANOTHER  TIME.

YES  YOU  OBSERVE  THE  SABBATH  AS  HOLY  TIME  WITH  GOD;  A  TIME  FOR  PRAYER,  STUDYING  THE  BIBLE,  MEDITATING  ON  THINGS  OF  GOD,  HAVING  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  OTHERS  IF  YOU  CAN.  BUT  IF  THE  SITUATION  COMES  YOUR  WAY  TO  DO  GOOD,  TOWARDS  SOMEONE  WHO  NEEDS  A  HELPING  HAND,  YOU  DO  IT  -  YOU  SERVE  AND  HELP.

TWO  THINGS  WERE  VERY  IMPORTANT  TO  THE  JEWS; CIRCUMCISION  AND  SABBATH  OBSERVANCE.  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  CHURCH  HAD  TO  CALL  FOR  A  MINISTERIAL  CONFERENCE  TO  SETTLE  THE  ISSUE  OF  PHYSICAL  CIRCUMCISION -  ACTS  15.  IF  THE  SABBATH,  THE  4TH  COMMANDMENT,  WAS  TO  BE  "DONE  AWAY  WITH"  OR  "CHANGED"  FROM  THE  7TH  DAY  TO  THE  1ST  DAY,  YOU  CAN  BET  YOUR  BOTTOM  DOLLAR,  THERE  WOULD  HAVE  BEEN  ANOTHER  MINISTERIAL  MEETING  TO  MAKE  IT  VERY  CLEAR  TO  THE  CHRISTIANS  THE  NEW  RULE  CONCERNING  THE  SABBATH.

THE  SABBATH  QUESTION  AND  ALSO  HOW  TO  OBSERVE  THE  SABBATH  IS  GIVEN  IN  DETAIL  ON  MY  WEBSITE,  UNDER  THE  SABBATH  AND  FESTIVALS  OF  GOD  SECTION.

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21. WHY  PARABLES?

MARK  RECORDS  THE  VERY  PLAIN  WORDS  OF  CHRIST  AS  TO  WHY  HE  ALWAYS  SPOKE  IN  PARABLES  TO  THE  PEOPLE.

"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:  THAT  SEEING  THEY  MAY  SEE,  BUT  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.....BUT WITHOUT  A  PARABLE  SPOKE  HE  NOT  UNTO  THEM;  AND  WHEN  THEY  WERE  ALONE,  HE  EXPOUNDED  ALL  THINGS  TO  HIS  DISCIPLES" (MARK  4: 11-12, 34).

THIS  IS  VERY  STRAIGHTFORWARD  LANGUAGE;  A  CHILD  CAN  UNDERSTAND  IT.

IT  IS  SHOCKING  TO  REALIZE  JESUS  DELIBERATELY  SPOKE  IN  SUCH  A  WAY  TO  THE  CROWDS,  TO  KEEP  THEM  SPIRITUALLY  BLINDED,  TO  NOT CONVERT  THEM,  SO  THEIR  SINS  WOULD  REMAIN!

THESE  VERSES  SHOULD  HAVE  SENT  MANY  A  THEOLOGICAL  STUDENT,  TO  TRY  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  GOD  IS  WORKING  OUT HERE  BELOW.

WITH  ROMANS  CHAPTERS  9  THROUGH  11  AND  WITH  1  PETER  3:9  WHERE  IT  IS  WRITTEN  GOD'S  DESIRE  IS  THAT  NONE  SHOULD  PERISH,  BUT  ALL COME  TO  REPENTANCE;  THESE  SECTIONS  OF  SCRIPTURE  SHOULD  HAVE  SENT  BIBLE  READERS  FROM  CENTURIES  PAST,  ON  THE  TRAIL  TO  SEARCH OUT  AND  FIND  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  GOD  IS  ON  FOR  ALL  PEOPLES  OF  THE  EARTH.

VERY  FEW  HAVE  EVER  FOUND  IT!

WHAT  YOU'VE   HEARD  FROM   TENT  PREACHING  FIRE  AND  BRIMSTONE  PREACHERS  WAS,  IF  YOU  DO  NOT  ACCEPT  CHRIST  AS  YOUR  SAVIOR,  YOU ARE  HEADING  FOR  HELL-FIRE,  TO  BURN  AND  BE  IN  ANGUISH  FOR  ALL  ETERNITY.  WHAT  YOU'VE  HEARD  FOR  MANY  DECADES  IS,  GET  TO  THE LOST  SOULS  -  THIS  IS  THE  DAY  OF  SALVATION;  IF  WE  DON'T  GET  TO  THEM,  THEY  FACE  ETERNITY  IN  HELL-FIRE.

FEW  OVER  THE  LAST  2,000  YEARS  HAVE  SEARCHED  FOR  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  GOD  IS  WORKING  OUT  HERE  BELOW.

THERE  IS  A  PLAN.....GOD  IS  ALLOWING  MOST  OF  HUMANITY  TO  BE  SPIRITUALLY  BLINDED,  TO  REMAIN IN  THEIR  SINS,  TO  NOT  BE  CONVERTED!

THE  VAST  MAJORITY,  OR  TO  PUT  IT  ANOTHER  WAY,  99.9  PERCENT  OF  HUMANS  THAT  HAVE  EVER LIVED,  HAVE  NEVER  BE  CALLED  TO  SALVATION,  THEY  HAVE  BEEN  DELIBERATELY  LEFT  IN  THEIR  SINS, IN  THEIR  BLINDNESS  OF  HEART  AND  MIND,  LEFT  UN-CONVERTED!

BUT  ALSO,  EVERYONE  WHO  HAS  EVER  LIVED,  WILL  ONE  DAY  HAVE  THEIR  CHANCE  FOR  SALVATION.

ON MY  WEBSITE  YOU  WILL  FIND  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  MATTER,  ABOUT  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION  FOR ALL  PEOPLES. BUT I ALSO UPLOAD IT HERE AT TIMES.

GOD  THE  FATHER  WOULD  LIKE  ALL  PEOPLE  TO  BE  CONVERTED;  THAT  DOES  NOT  MEAN  ALL  WILL ACCEPT  SALVATION,  IT  DOES  MEAN  ALL  WILL  BE  GIVEN  A  CLEAR  OPPORTUNITY  FOR  SALVATION;  WE AS  FREE  MORTAL  PEOPLE  WILL  HAVE  TO  DECIDE  IF  WE  WILL  ACCEPT  SALVATION  WHEN  OFFERED  TO US.

YOU  CAN  KNOW  GOD'S  PLAN  OF  SALVATION;  FIND  MY  STUDY  "THE  GREAT  WHITE  THRONE  JUDGMENT" UNDER  THE  SABBATH  AND  FEASTS  OF  GOD  SECTION  AND  STUDY  IT  CAREFULLY.  ALSO  THE  VERY FESTIVALS  OF  GOD  GIVE  YOU  THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION.

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22.   NO MAN GONE TO HEAVEN

JESUS SAID THIS IN JOHN 3: 13— AND NO MAN HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, EVEN THE SON OF MAN.

WHEN YOU KNOW THAT JESUS WAS THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE ONE WHO APPEARED AND TALKED TO SOME HUMAN BEINGS LIKE ABRAHAM, MOSES AND OTHERS; THEN YOU KNOW WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING. HE CAME TO EARTH AT TIMES AND SO ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN.

JESUS WAS FROM ETERNITY PAST. HE KNEW IF ANY MAN, ANY PERSON, HAD ASCENDED TO HEAVEN.

THOSE WORDS OF JESUS HAVE BEEN IN  THE BIBLE FOR ABOUT 2,000 YEARS. PEOPLE IT SEEMS READ RIGHT OVER THEM, PAYING NO ATTENTION TO THEM. THEY STILL BELIEVE ELIJAH, ENOCH, MOSES, WENT TO HEAVEN WHERE GOD LIVES.

IN ESSENCE THEY BELIEVE SOME SNUCK INTO HEAVEN WHEN JESUS WAS NOT LOOKING. THEY BELIEVE JESUS WAS WRONG.

LATER IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN JESUS TAUGHT DEATH WAS A SLEEP NOT A CONTINUED LIVING, BUT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, NAY A BILLION OR SO PEOPLE BELIEVE GOOD CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN UPON DEATH.

THERE ARE TRUTHS IN THE BIBLE THAT ARE PLAIN AND SIMPLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND, AND SHOULD MALKE THE  CHRISTIAN RUNNING TO STUDY AND SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW. BUT ALAS THAT IS NOT THE CASE.

YOU SAY YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, WELL DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT JESUS TAUGHT?

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