Thank you dear Sammi. Why would I be offended? Aren't you included in the "brethern"? I also wish to hear other believers as well, and then we will try to come to a conclusion. Thank you. We will talk about it tomorrow, it is 1:30 after midnight here. Have a blessed night.
I don't think that that dream of yours is about the last fight of Armageddon. I think that God is telling you (as well as all of us) that during this life we will have (spiritual) fights with the devil all the time untill the very end of our lives. The only way one can win is by using (following) God's Word and commandements/directions written in the Bible. This is our sword which is an offensive weapon, but we also have defensive weapons, for these please read Ephesians 6:10-18, where the armor that God provides His children is described. BUT those who will stay faithful untill the end, they will come to the earth together with Jesus Christ and all the saints and His angels to fight against the antichrist and his armies in the fight of Armageddon. And so we will be with Him for ever...
1 Kings 18:30, "And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he REPAIRED THE ALTAR of the LORD that was broken down."
Rev 8:3, "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the PRAYERS OF ALL SAINTS upon the GOLDEN ALTAR which was before the throne"
First thing first, we have to repair the altar of God that is broken down (if this is the case) and offer our sacrifices which are our prayers. So we start with praying. And what is going to happen?
1 Kings 18:38, "Then the fire (The Holly Spirit) of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."
I have always connected , in my mind , the former and latter rain , with the following parable : Matthew chapter 19 verse 30 , through chapter 20 verse 1- 16 . Would you be offended if a sister gives her opinion ?
At three different places in the Bible, a former/early and a latter rain are mentioned:
1. Joel 2:23, 'Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month."
2. Hosea 6:23, "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
3. James 5:7, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
What is this former/latter rain? Is it just a figure of speech or it may imply something? Do you think that it may imply something for us now in the last(of the last) days?
Church of Ephesus, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
Church of Smyrna, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
Church of Pergamus, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
Chutch of Thyatira, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:"
Church of Sardis, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
Church of Philadelpia, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."
Church of Laodicea, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Dear J, I will pray for your work situation today.
Dear Heavenly Father, today we come to You and ask that You will bring a good resolve to this work situation J is in. We ask that You will bring correction to the person sowing discord among the people at J's workplace and bring this person to repentance. Bring healing to all in this situation and restore the environment to health and cooperation and respect for one another. Father, we ask these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
Dear David, I will pray for you and your loved ones today.
Dear Heavenly Father, we lift up David and Kristie today and ask that you richly bless the in their marriage, as parents, and in their friendships with others. We ask that You bring a job to Adam soon so that he and his family will be provided for at this time and in an ongoing way. And we ask that You heal Kristie's father of cancer. Help this family with all that they face that concerns them and needs Your power and grace and mercy to bring blessing instead of hardships. We ask all this of You Father, In the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
I agree with Jesse in that no one should compel others to lift hands up in worship, but it can be suggested. And again, one should not do so just to go along with the crowd. One should do so to worship.
Lifting hands in worship is normative as indicated in psalms of David were many include words and actions of worship and praise. I do think that there is a time and place for all that is acceptable worship. A time to be still, quiet and meditative, a time to be exuberant in praise, a time to kneel and petition God, etc. Lifting hands is just one action of worship that can occur in a communal time of worship. Most people who do not wish to lift up their hands in worship or speak against doing so are those who are very uncomfortable around people who do lift up their hands in worship or would be uncomfortable doing so or too self-conscious. Such people should not judge others' expression of worship, but should examine themselves to see if they do not lift their hands for reasons that are fleshly. Those who lift up hands can do so in a fleshly way, too. We should be focused on God and not on one another or our own selves.
Here are some Scriptures that speak of lifting hands in worship.
Ps. 29:8; Ps. 64:4; Ps. 134:2; La. 2:19; La. 3:34; 1Tim.2:8; Ex.17:16; Ne. 8:6; Ps. 141:2. And Jesus lifted up his hands to bless others in Lk. 24:50;
Scriptures also speak of lifting up our eyes, hearts, souls to God and giving out a shout out loud to God, clapping hands, and calling upon God. m
Winson, it seems that you are probably most comfortable with worshipping in a quiet, thoughtful way, which is so good to do.
I would say that the Scriptures speaks of a variety of ways people worship Him and these actions are acceptable to Him.
For me, having been brought up in a liturgical church, learning on my own that the Scriptures speaks of other ways to worship challenged me to practice these in my private worship in order to become comfortable with doing so
Here are a few verses that might be of help to you . Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2 . Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10 and John chapter 14 verse 17 , chapter 15 verse 26 and chapter 16 verse 13 .
Will people on earth see these things when Jesus comes back, or will this all be in like heaven or something, like where John saw all this? I mean i know im only 12 and thugs might seem like a stupid Question but i really want to know.
God is the creator of all children. according to his will Just wanted to point out this
Exodus 4:11
The LORD said to him, "Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
It tells us that out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:
This will be the expression of God's judgment whenever He judges. We see it throughout the book of Revelation. There will be lightnings and thunderings and sounds coming out from the throne.
It says, and there were seven lamps of fire before the throne, which are the (seven spirits of God).
We see these seven spirits back in Revelation 1:4. And if we follow it through in Chapter 4, along with Revelation 5:6, it tells us that these seven spirits of God are the seven eyes of God going throughout the world.
It is the seven fold complete ministry of the Holy Spirit held by both the Jews, and of course the scripture itself teaches that.
In Zechariah Chapters 4 and 10, it also tells us that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lord, the all-seeing one.
So before the throne, the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God (The 7 eyes of God).
In Revelation 5:6, we have a Lamb that had been standing there as it had been slain, having seven horns and (seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God), sent forth into all the earth.
Daniel Chapter 7 tells us that the horns represent power and authority. And of course the eyes, again, Zechariah tells us that the Messiah has seven eyes. I don't believe it is talking about the literal eyeball.
The word seven in scripture means complete. It means that He (God) is in complete authority, and He sees everything fully and completely.
Bob (Whosoever Jn.3:16) on Matthew 18 - 1 year ago
What church is Jesus referring to in verse 17, if His church was 1st established on Shauvout i.e. The Day Of Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts when The Holy Spirit filled the 120 believers/followers gathered together in the upper room in Jerusalem after He (Jesus) had risen from the dead?
Or should the word church recorded here by Jesus in verse 17 have another interpretation, such as synagogue etc?
Or is the word church mentioned here the correct litteral interpretation?
THINK ABOUT IT? This came to my attention this a.m. on 12/15/2022.
In studying these and other Psalms recently of David; I just realized that there is quite a parallel in his life along with the Lord Jesus Christ-namely; they both spent much time in the wilderness.
Being the Son of God; there were some things; such as guaranteed indestructibility until His time came that He was aware of. However in both cases there was much time for praise and worship as well as prayer. David doesn't seem to mention prayer as much as the Gospels do with Christ arising before dawn and even praying all night in the case of choosing His disciples.
Psalm 91 gives assurances of angelic protection such as we see in verse 7. Christ was strengthened by angels; and also had Satan quote verse 11 in that Psalm to use against Him.
One needs to be cognizant of their walk with God; because without the full armor of God we risk His Spirit being grieved and allowing some of our protection to be lifted so as to teach us not to stray. To misuse scripture to attempt to bring a blessing or angelic power for our own personal gain was something that Satan tempted Christ with; so we should know better.
Verse 9 in Psalm 63 once again is a very clear indication of hell "lower parts of the earth" those who would attempt to destroy David; and of course God will have vengeance when Christ returns to destroy the earth's armies at Armageddon. (see Luke 19:27).
John 3:13 is part of a chapter outline that begins at Verse 1 and goes to Verse 15, and it is the presentation of the Spiritual birth from heaven.
In John 3:13, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that that He was the only One that has come down from heaven. He said, but if I tell you earthly things and you don't get it, and you are the master teacher?
He should have associated the Lord's teaching to Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 1 through 15.
This is where God takes the prophet and He shows them a valley of dead bones and says this is Israel. Spiritually dead! And He says to him, prophecy over these bones that flesh would come on them. And the bones came together and the flesh came on the bones.
And then He says prophecy to the wind that the wind would blow on them and breathe life in them. And he prophesies and the wind blows and they are filled with life and spirit.
And so God's promise to His people Israel is that you are spiritually dead until my spirit gives you life. But right now you are spiritually dead!
And He tells Nicodemus, you should have known what I was talking about. How can you be the master teacher in Israel and you don't know anything about being born from above? You don't know anything about the wind blowing, and how the spirit moves!
You may be referring to Proverbs 25:20-21 "As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to an heavy heart," "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty give him water to drink:" Proverbs 25:22 "For thou shall heap coals of fire upon his head, and LORD shall reward thee."
Also James 2:15-17 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." + James 2:18-20 "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one GOD; Thou doest well: The devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
Chris and Duncan gave great answers but I felt led to add these. Sometimes actions can lead to joy more than words.
Jesse, Thank you for your response. Praise God! It is encouraging to hear from someone that has an understanding of what God is saying to them. May God thru the Holy Spirit continue to bless you with revelations unto His Word.
Hi Angela. I wouldn't agree with your question, "why are certain books removed from the Bible?" May I assume that you're referring to what are termed as 'apocryphal books'? Or, are you finding that some books that are in the recognized canon of Scripture have been deliberately removed?
I can't answer to the latter, but to the former, there were very many books, manuscripts & other writings around throughout history, and particularly in the inter-testamental period (i.e. after Malachi's prophecy & the entrance of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem). Some of these writings were known to the Jews, but ultimately they only accepted the Word revealed through Moses (i.e. the Torah: the five Books of Moses); the Nevi'im (or, the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (or, the Writings). And within those broad divisions, we get our Bible (i.e. the same books as in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), but variations in order of appearance, & other minor changes).
So, the Jews rejected the apocrypha & other spurious writings as being the Word of God, from God, & likewise, when the NT Canon was brought together, similar rules were applied, where authors, textual examination, falsehoods, etc., were reasons for post-New Testament writings being rejected. Now some Churches, e.g. the Roman Catholic & orthodox, do accept the apocryphal books as valid, but in mainstream Christianity, we believe that what we have now is God's Word, and that to fully accept these other writings, severely prejudice the Truth, as revealed to us.
I can't give you all the errors in these books, but if you look at a couple: Tobit 12:9 (speaks of almsgiving purging sin & saves from death). 2 Maccabees 12:41-45 (place of purgatory & a monetary sin offering). Just these two references go against the teaching of Scripture. Of course, there are truths written in these books, but the evidence of errors therein, should cause us to be very wary & alert.
I can't answer your second question - depends on which Fellowship you attend.
I don't think that that dream of yours is about the last fight of Armageddon. I think that God is telling you (as well as all of us) that during this life we will have (spiritual) fights with the devil all the time untill the very end of our lives. The only way one can win is by using (following) God's Word and commandements/directions written in the Bible. This is our sword which is an offensive weapon, but we also have defensive weapons, for these please read Ephesians 6:10-18, where the armor that God provides His children is described. BUT those who will stay faithful untill the end, they will come to the earth together with Jesus Christ and all the saints and His angels to fight against the antichrist and his armies in the fight of Armageddon. And so we will be with Him for ever...
GBU
Rev 8:3, "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the PRAYERS OF ALL SAINTS upon the GOLDEN ALTAR which was before the throne"
First thing first, we have to repair the altar of God that is broken down (if this is the case) and offer our sacrifices which are our prayers. So we start with praying. And what is going to happen?
1 Kings 18:38, "Then the fire (The Holly Spirit) of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."
At three different places in the Bible, a former/early and a latter rain are mentioned:
1. Joel 2:23, 'Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month."
2. Hosea 6:23, "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
3. James 5:7, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
What is this former/latter rain? Is it just a figure of speech or it may imply something? Do you think that it may imply something for us now in the last(of the last) days?
Church of Smyrna, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
Church of Pergamus, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
Chutch of Thyatira, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:"
Church of Sardis, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
Church of Philadelpia, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."
Church of Laodicea, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Dear Heavenly Father, today we come to You and ask that You will bring a good resolve to this work situation J is in. We ask that You will bring correction to the person sowing discord among the people at J's workplace and bring this person to repentance. Bring healing to all in this situation and restore the environment to health and cooperation and respect for one another. Father, we ask these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we lift up David and Kristie today and ask that you richly bless the in their marriage, as parents, and in their friendships with others. We ask that You bring a job to Adam soon so that he and his family will be provided for at this time and in an ongoing way. And we ask that You heal Kristie's father of cancer. Help this family with all that they face that concerns them and needs Your power and grace and mercy to bring blessing instead of hardships. We ask all this of You Father, In the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
I agree with Jesse in that no one should compel others to lift hands up in worship, but it can be suggested. And again, one should not do so just to go along with the crowd. One should do so to worship.
Lifting hands in worship is normative as indicated in psalms of David were many include words and actions of worship and praise. I do think that there is a time and place for all that is acceptable worship. A time to be still, quiet and meditative, a time to be exuberant in praise, a time to kneel and petition God, etc. Lifting hands is just one action of worship that can occur in a communal time of worship. Most people who do not wish to lift up their hands in worship or speak against doing so are those who are very uncomfortable around people who do lift up their hands in worship or would be uncomfortable doing so or too self-conscious. Such people should not judge others' expression of worship, but should examine themselves to see if they do not lift their hands for reasons that are fleshly. Those who lift up hands can do so in a fleshly way, too. We should be focused on God and not on one another or our own selves.
Here are some Scriptures that speak of lifting hands in worship.
Ps. 29:8; Ps. 64:4; Ps. 134:2; La. 2:19; La. 3:34; 1Tim.2:8; Ex.17:16; Ne. 8:6; Ps. 141:2. And Jesus lifted up his hands to bless others in Lk. 24:50;
Scriptures also speak of lifting up our eyes, hearts, souls to God and giving out a shout out loud to God, clapping hands, and calling upon God. m
Winson, it seems that you are probably most comfortable with worshipping in a quiet, thoughtful way, which is so good to do.
I would say that the Scriptures speaks of a variety of ways people worship Him and these actions are acceptable to Him.
For me, having been brought up in a liturgical church, learning on my own that the Scriptures speaks of other ways to worship challenged me to practice these in my private worship in order to become comfortable with doing so
1.God created only two genders as its written in the scriptures.
2.LGBT is man-made due to the lust of their hearts and God has given them over to their own imaginations
Please read the book of genesis 1:27 and Romans 1
Repent and pray for God to help you understand his words Amen
God is the creator of all children. according to his will Just wanted to point out this
Exodus 4:11
The LORD said to him, "Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
It tells us that out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:
This will be the expression of God's judgment whenever He judges. We see it throughout the book of Revelation. There will be lightnings and thunderings and sounds coming out from the throne.
It says, and there were seven lamps of fire before the throne, which are the (seven spirits of God).
We see these seven spirits back in Revelation 1:4. And if we follow it through in Chapter 4, along with Revelation 5:6, it tells us that these seven spirits of God are the seven eyes of God going throughout the world.
It is the seven fold complete ministry of the Holy Spirit held by both the Jews, and of course the scripture itself teaches that.
In Zechariah Chapters 4 and 10, it also tells us that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lord, the all-seeing one.
So before the throne, the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God (The 7 eyes of God).
In Revelation 5:6, we have a Lamb that had been standing there as it had been slain, having seven horns and (seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God), sent forth into all the earth.
Daniel Chapter 7 tells us that the horns represent power and authority. And of course the eyes, again, Zechariah tells us that the Messiah has seven eyes. I don't believe it is talking about the literal eyeball.
The word seven in scripture means complete. It means that He (God) is in complete authority, and He sees everything fully and completely.
Hope this helps!
I concur with Brother Jesse well placed reply.
There's no improving on that.
God bless.
Or should the word church recorded here by Jesus in verse 17 have another interpretation, such as synagogue etc?
Or is the word church mentioned here the correct litteral interpretation?
THINK ABOUT IT? This came to my attention this a.m. on 12/15/2022.
In studying these and other Psalms recently of David; I just realized that there is quite a parallel in his life along with the Lord Jesus Christ-namely; they both spent much time in the wilderness.
Being the Son of God; there were some things; such as guaranteed indestructibility until His time came that He was aware of. However in both cases there was much time for praise and worship as well as prayer. David doesn't seem to mention prayer as much as the Gospels do with Christ arising before dawn and even praying all night in the case of choosing His disciples.
Psalm 91 gives assurances of angelic protection such as we see in verse 7. Christ was strengthened by angels; and also had Satan quote verse 11 in that Psalm to use against Him.
One needs to be cognizant of their walk with God; because without the full armor of God we risk His Spirit being grieved and allowing some of our protection to be lifted so as to teach us not to stray. To misuse scripture to attempt to bring a blessing or angelic power for our own personal gain was something that Satan tempted Christ with; so we should know better.
Verse 9 in Psalm 63 once again is a very clear indication of hell "lower parts of the earth" those who would attempt to destroy David; and of course God will have vengeance when Christ returns to destroy the earth's armies at Armageddon. (see Luke 19:27).
John 3:13 is part of a chapter outline that begins at Verse 1 and goes to Verse 15, and it is the presentation of the Spiritual birth from heaven.
In John 3:13, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that that He was the only One that has come down from heaven. He said, but if I tell you earthly things and you don't get it, and you are the master teacher?
He should have associated the Lord's teaching to Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 1 through 15.
This is where God takes the prophet and He shows them a valley of dead bones and says this is Israel. Spiritually dead! And He says to him, prophecy over these bones that flesh would come on them. And the bones came together and the flesh came on the bones.
And then He says prophecy to the wind that the wind would blow on them and breathe life in them. And he prophesies and the wind blows and they are filled with life and spirit.
And so God's promise to His people Israel is that you are spiritually dead until my spirit gives you life. But right now you are spiritually dead!
And He tells Nicodemus, you should have known what I was talking about. How can you be the master teacher in Israel and you don't know anything about being born from above? You don't know anything about the wind blowing, and how the spirit moves!
Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 7, Romans 14:12, Deuteronomy 5:11, Exodus 20:7,
Jude 1,
Hopefully these are helpful
Also James 2:15-17 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." + James 2:18-20 "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one GOD; Thou doest well: The devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
Chris and Duncan gave great answers but I felt led to add these. Sometimes actions can lead to joy more than words.
to be Putin!
I can't answer to the latter, but to the former, there were very many books, manuscripts & other writings around throughout history, and particularly in the inter-testamental period (i.e. after Malachi's prophecy & the entrance of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem). Some of these writings were known to the Jews, but ultimately they only accepted the Word revealed through Moses (i.e. the Torah: the five Books of Moses); the Nevi'im (or, the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (or, the Writings). And within those broad divisions, we get our Bible (i.e. the same books as in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), but variations in order of appearance, & other minor changes).
So, the Jews rejected the apocrypha & other spurious writings as being the Word of God, from God, & likewise, when the NT Canon was brought together, similar rules were applied, where authors, textual examination, falsehoods, etc., were reasons for post-New Testament writings being rejected. Now some Churches, e.g. the Roman Catholic & orthodox, do accept the apocryphal books as valid, but in mainstream Christianity, we believe that what we have now is God's Word, and that to fully accept these other writings, severely prejudice the Truth, as revealed to us.
I can't give you all the errors in these books, but if you look at a couple: Tobit 12:9 (speaks of almsgiving purging sin & saves from death). 2 Maccabees 12:41-45 (place of purgatory & a monetary sin offering). Just these two references go against the teaching of Scripture. Of course, there are truths written in these books, but the evidence of errors therein, should cause us to be very wary & alert.
I can't answer your second question - depends on which Fellowship you attend.