Hi BillyRay. Proverbs 6:17 will answer your first question; with verses 16-19 describing the 'seven things that are an abomination to God'. I can't think of a specific verse to answer your second question, though James 2:10 comes to mind: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
As with anything that comes into our minds, whether to lie, lust or whatever, when we it begins to take hold, to affect our minds & consciences, we must deal with it speedily, in the power of the Spirit lest it becomes sin & we offend our Heavenly Father. Yet, there is forgiveness if we earnestly repent of it & seek to cast it aside ( 1 John 1:9).
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."
We need examine v.30 in detail since the gospel presented the doctrine of God in the Man. John testified that he was the Word (he 'was made flesh) "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. God is a Spirit so his glory in the world of the Spirit was translated when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, in real time so to speak. John also refers the glory of the Word, "full of grace and truth."
So what shall we make of the mountain in the back drop? ("And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain.") This mountain is set as an emblem indicating the glory of the Word which is eternal. The cloud of witnesses attest that he presented the doctrine of God in his Person. It is truth. "(Thy word is truth") His voice likewise carried the voice of the Lord, full of grace. It is very similar to the voice from heaven witnessing. "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."(17:5).
Jesus compares the witnesses in the cloud as angels of God in heaven. In the transfiguration Jesus made manifest the spiritual body he carried in his Person which was to come into its own after his resurrection. He wanted his disciples to keep it a secret. Without death there was no resurrection/ It applied to his humanity. The glory of God in his resurrection therefore had bearing on the cloud as well as on his disciples. His doctrine gives us few examples. God is the God of the living. Death belongs to the world of the flesh and blood.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
"Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her./ Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."
When the Scriptures speak of everlasting covenant death as an entity is not recognized by both parties to it. The world of the Spirit recognizes only life and it is for this reason the Spirit calls Jesus Christ as the Prince of life. "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses."(Ac.3:15) Simon Peter as a witness in the world of the body refers to death which has only relevance because of sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"(Ro.5:12) Salvation Program of God consequently entailed sending his only begotten Son to which Simon refers as a witnesses.
It is thus we allow as the Spirit has set down in many places, the cloud of witness closely associated with this covenant. Heresy of churches of today owe to the misreading of the Scriptures and it only takes cognizance of the world of here and now. Prosperity as taught by false shepherds give glory in a success of abundance of worldly goods and impute it to God's favor. Jesus tells them as he tells the Sadducees."Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." Without being part of the life that Jesus signifies where his life, his truth and the way must be where we put ourselves we are deceiving ourselves.
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."(v.30). Everlasting Covenant, in the world of the Spirit refers to Christ as the head of the body, the church. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."(19:6). This is the correct approach and not what is instituted for the flesh. So Moses had to take note of the hardness of their heart. (19:7-8)
When is the Last time you brought Her Flowers and Cholate and Told Her How Pretty She was, and How Much You Love Her. Women feel things 10 times Deeper than Men
Jesus in Jerusalem is much sought out first by the Pharisees and then the Sadducees, both with single purpose.
"The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him",(v.23)
The Spirit uses this expression 'the same day' in the manner Evangelist Matthew presented the transfiguration of Jesus with 'And after six days" which connects with the everlasting covenant stated in Ge.1. (17:1). In this context what the Spirit is emphasizing is this: the two worlds of the Spirit and of the body are like two sides of the same coin. Hypocrisy of the Pharisees wasin their two worlds being totally out of sync. They were as Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess."(23:25-27). Even in our times we meet their ilk, leaders but blind guides just the same and judgment must begin with the house of God.Their culture wars leave from outside "whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
Jesus answered the Pharisees with a cryptic answer and it was left for them to sort it out. "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
The same day gives Caesar's of this world to give an account as the servants in the Parable of Jesus had to give account of their stewardship.(25:14-29)
Martin Luther unwittingly gave the Nazi regime a handle to beat the German Protestant church some five centuries later. Citing Ro.13:1-2 he supported powers-that-be during the Peasant's revolt. Had he followed the intent of the Spirit and the saying of Jesus he would have realized his folly. The world of the Spirit where the covenant between the Father and the Son was sovereign authority, would have stopped him meddling in a quarrel that belonged to things which are Caesar's.
Hi Rethamae4: In reading the scriptures of Adam and Eve it says that Cain was the FIRST male child. I think we can believe that Eve had daughters before Cain was born which is why she was thrilled to finally have a male child. Abel is Cain's brother but it doesn't say he was born right after Cain; just that she again bare another man child, Abel. Again Eve could have had daughters in-between Cain and Abel. After Seth was born, Adam lived another 800 years bearing sons and daughters. They were told by God to replenish the earth so brothers marrying sisters and cousins marrying cousins was allowed by God then.
"The biblical narrative focuses primarily on these three sons, as they played significant roles in the early events of human history. Seth's line is particularly emphasized because it is through him that the godly lineage continued, leading to figures such as Noah and eventually to Abraham and the establishment of the Israelite people." Quoted from Bible Study Tools
Cain's wife would have been either one of his sisters or maybe even a niece. We are told in Genesis Chapter 5 that Adam and Eve had sons and daughters. We aren't told how many, but knowing that Adam lived to be 930 years old, it could have been many. We do not know who Cain's wife was, but it would been someone in the family. Also, at the time Cain got married, there was no law against incest. The law was not given by God until later so it would not have been forbidden for Cain to marry his sister.
Before we come to coinage that runs through hands and make a sound of splash when it is put on the counter there comes up a question, "Is this legal or is it counterfeit? Jesus wanted to make sure when a penny was brought to him, "Whose is this image and superscription?" It is so elemental that we buy and sell without realizing the entire authority of the powers- that-be has made it valid. So much so for a world given to changes. God has invested in faith so everlasting covenant validates our interaction with our brethren as well as with God. Blood of Jesus validates our act of faith so when we say Amen at the end of the Lord's Prayer we are making our requests in his Son.
We read of God tempting Abraham and Isaac because of this covenant existing between God and his Son. As the name says this value shall never change. Both sides of the coin are placed on the line before God. When the Spirit writes, "And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (Ge.9:16) it is not about memory but the covenant between heaven and the earth already in existence. His blessings running on continually ever since the sixth day is manifestation of His holiness. God is love. It also tells the perverseness of imposter church to exegete passages without sticking to this covenant where both sides, world of the Spirit and of the body has to be addressed. So my faith is addressing my Father which art in heaven in his Son. Without it it is neither here nor there.
Look at Science? Without including God as the creator what it speaks is merely how things work in such and such manner. After Galileo everything must be proved by hypothesis. So steady state theory of cosmology may give over to something else. It is how flase shepherd have treated the word of God. Why things work can only be made real by faith."Thy word is truth."
" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
Jesus could track their motive to the source and it was nothing new. Satan tempted Jesus as he had embarked on his earthly ministry and he concealed his intent by citing the word of God. He had no intention of giving up his stance or acknowledging the truth. Similarly the Pharisees would thwart the triumphal march of the Son of man, not fully realizing its significance. "Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk." Same trickery that could only set the interlocutors as egged on by Satan. He did not quit at the first time. As we read he waited for his opportunity."And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."( Luke 4:13)
The Spirit informs us that God had also tempted or tested Abraham. "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham" (Ge.22:1) and Isaac was his heir of promise and not Eliezer, it was made clear to him. God cannot deny his holiness. "And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."Abraham received it and it formed the basis for the blessing God spelt out in Ge.12:3. "And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Ge.15:6) So testing of Abraham meant something else. In the Abstract God blessed man on the sixth day and it was validated in heaven as well as on earth. So all families will be blessed through Abraham. So Abraham and Isaac were testimonial in the Word of the Spirit as God and the Son framed the everlasting covenant. Thus Abraham and Isaac serve after a similitude to the Father Son relationship. The testing was only in as far as faith was concerned. "Without faith it is impossible to please God".(He.11:6) Whosoever came as heirs were to prove this in their lives. The cloud of witnesses made the covenant proper.
This Parable is noteworthy since this along with the previous one are two of a kind. "And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."(21:45) The householder in the previous parable lets out his vineyard (the earth) to husbandmen (nations) and expects fruits in return. Here the king commands his subjects to be present during the marriage of his Son. In both cases the nation of Israel were included among nations obligated to perform. Whether as tenants or as subjects their places are outside the holy city of God. "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it."(Re.21:25) Those who belonged to New Jerusalem was called the Bride. "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me," ( Luke 22:28-29). The parable is about the righteousness which is freely provided on the House. All that the guests required was to take the trouble of exercising faith trusting in the one who promised entry. All His promises are yea in his Son.
"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:/ And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless."(vv.11-12). He did not think it was worthwhile to ask what was ready for him. It was as trifle in his sight as the nation of Israel taking the King'd invitation lightly. "But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city./Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy".(vv.7-8)
Similarly we could speak of the manner the churches approach the word of God arbitrarily without comparing the spiritual with spiritual.
Hello Confuzzled: I know the idea of hitting a child, especially a young child like yours, can be traumatic. The key is to understand what the bible is saying about discipline and what a rod is. Right after WWII people started accepting the worlds philosophical methods to raise a child, which mostly included no discipline, instead of keeping with God's plan. Now today we see the terrible results; children, who have been coddled instead of receiving loving, caring discipline are a mess. If we rightly divide the word ( 2 Timothy 2:15), we can understand how to do this so our children are well behaved and show a good witness for the Lord and it is not harmful. When I was a single parent of 3 small children the discipling was now up to me. Since the mother's role is to nurture I didn't want to use my hand so I saw by scripture that a rod could be a stick. I got a thin, small, smooth branch and used that. It stung but didn't abuse and worked pretty well. After using it for awhile, usually all I had to do was reach for it and the bad behavior stopped.
Prov. 13:24 "He that spareth his ROD hateth his son: but he that loveth him CHASTENETH him betimes" (in good time).
ROD: SHEBET (SHAY-BET) STICK
CHASEN: MUSAR (MOO0SAWR') REPROOF, WARNING. Discipline, however, doesn't have to always be a spanking. MY daughter babysat for two little girls. One was very active and the other one loved just sitting and reading a book all day. If the first one was misbehaving my daughter would make her just sit in a chair staring at the wall for a time, this was punishment to her. If the other one needed discipling my daughter made her go outside and ride her bike or roller skate, or something like that for a time. It worked very well. There really is a lot to learn about the discipling of a child but God can lead you to people who can help. Just be sure their advise is biblical. I hope this helps a little and I will be praying. God Bless :)
In the Book of Genesis God separated the waters above from water below (Ge.1:6-7)which is a signal for the rise and fall of nations,- and the vision of Daniel on the banks of Ulai in Dan.12 gives us a river of time so history of these are set, and it leads us to the throne of God and of the Lamb and beyond to the saved nations on the earth.
According to the Abstract First day set two nations of light and darkness. Second day provided us the heaven a label for the world of the Spirit. God blessing Abraham (12:3) sends him along and his looking for a city was spiritual insight so faith explains what Abraham deprived of the Promised Land because of the sin of Amorites, could still thrive despite of it. " For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."(He.11:10). It is thus we consider the cloud of witnesses which validates heroes of faith as the double for the Son.
The fall of Babylon described in St John's vision explains the fate of Jerusalem and the nations which rejected the Son. "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder./ And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."(v.45). Specific to the nation of Israel we have this verse, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:"(Re.17:6; Matt.23:35-36)
vv.14-18 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." In their opposition to God they are as one and yet Jerusalem shall be destroyed by the Gentiles. Re.18:21 the "stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."(18:21)
Hello Havefaith85: It must be hard to know a loved one is suffering. My prayers are with you and your wife and your daughter also. God is a great, loving Father and He WILL meet your needs according to His will.
Don't feel like you can't pray whenever you need to. Asking for prayer for real and sincere needs is something God always wants us to do. He is our Heavenly Father and loves us unconditionally. Go to Him always with your needs and reach out to your brothers and sisters in the Lord also because the bible says to pray without ceasing which includes praying with other Christians.
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
"16. Rejoice evermore. 17. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING 18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
In proverbs it talks a lot about how sparing the rod spoils the child. I understand and agree that children need rules and discipline. I'm new to Christianity. My husband grew up with god. We have a toddler. My husband believes the best and only way to discipline our toddler is by spanking. I grew up being spanked and have always been against it. I have a hard time emotionally not interfering when he does it and he gets upset that I don't spank as well. I know what the Bible says. I just don't know how to make myself ok with it or even do it myself. The Bible says to die to yourself and follow gods word. So how do I put my trauma and emotions aside to do what the Bible says? How do I not worry about my child's emotional and mental wellbeing or what being spanked could do to them? I want to submit to my husbands lead and have my child grow up to be a good human being. I just can't get over physically and possibly mentally harming my child to do it.
In the Old Testament it also says that if a child swears to his parents then they must be stoned to death. So do we have to do that? Of course not, do we? The commandment in the New Testament is in Colossians 3:21, "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged". If you spank your kids often then you will turn them into angry kids and at the end they will definitely loose their courage in life. But you can take that "rod" figuratively. Just think, what does God do with us when we are disobedient? Firstly He does nothing apart from teaching us. He is very patient with us and gives us a lot of time. Then when He sees that after a long time we still keep in our ways then He allows hard things to come into our lives to make us repent. But at the same time He keeps assuring us of His love to us, He doesn't want us to believe that He doesn't love us, we will be discouraged. So do the same. When you realize that although you have kept talking to your kids and gave them a lot of time to obey and still they don't seem to be in a mood to obey, move to the next step. Make their lives difficult. Take away something they love, say a toy. Keep them in their room for some (sensible) time and don't allow them to go out. Keep them away from their friends for a while (but keep talking to them). Anything really. It is you that will find out the right way. Every kid is different from any other and needs a diferent approach, like God doesn't do the same with all of us. Also a different approach is needed for different ages. But keep your hands away from them. They will never forget it if you spank them. And they will keep telling you that when they grow up and you will keep feeling guilty and an insuffient parent when you realize the mistake you have done. If your husband keeps spanking your kid then you must stand against that. You must not accept it for any reason. Find a way to talk and persuade your husband, ie show him the scriptures etc.GBU
Some people grow up very bothered and resentful that their parents spanked them growing up. But this is not true of all.
Personally, I knew that my parents loved me and wanted my to grow in obedience to them and God. The spankings I do remember I deserved, for I had sinned and punishment was appropriate. I never was angry or resentful or critical of my parents for spanking me.
Though some, like you, are very against spanking, I do not think that the Scriptures prohibit it as a means to discipline children. It is legitimate for believers to use it in training up their children in the way they should go. It is also legitimate for parents to choose to not spank and employ other means.
As I stated in my response to Confuzzled, spanking is not to be used as an outlet for adult emotions such as anger, frustrations, etc. It is a teaching tool, not a way of dominating a child. We do want to steer them from behaviors that are not good for them or others and those that can grow into behaviors that are very disturbing if left unchecked.
I appreciate that you have expressed how you view spanking. But it is not a fact that spanking children will automatically cause them to be angry and resentful of their parents.
It true that in the past decades parents used to use spanking to discipline their kids. In my country even the teachers in the elementary schools would spank a kid, but that was until the 80's. The past generations favoured a very strict discilpine towards kids. But today that has changed. Why would you use spanking when you can get better results by using other methods? Personally if my father spanked me then I would definitely leave the house and I would cut off any communication with him. But he never did that although I did some terrible things. Similarly many kids would had done the same. I got a few from my mother when I was little but I never got it seriously really, it was like fun to me. And really I loved her very much,
When I got married to my wife and we had our first and only child sometimes I would lay my hand on him when my patience was expiring because he was extremely naughty. But my wife, thanks God, gave me a warning. She wouldn't tolerate it. Thanks God I stopped before it was too late. My wife wouldn't tolerate anything against our son. Now I know she was always right. And my boy is OK now. We have been teaching him the right behavior, sometimes successfully, other times not so. God uses His love to make us obey, nobody will ever go to heaven because they were compelled to do so. He lets us free. He even let the prodigal son free, He never tried to object him leaving the house.
I don't think Jesus or the apostles would ever favour spanking the kids. As I said there are always better methods to discipline them, ie cut off anything they like, God does that to us very often. You will get a better result and they will never ever think that we don't love them.
You know not all kids take spanking the same way. There are sensitive kids that will show a strange behavior when they grow up. In some cases they will show the same behavior to their kids.
Anyway, thanks for you answer but to be honest it didn't change my beliefs about spanking. GBU
That's fine, Giannis, I just wanted to give a different perspective as you seemed to make a blanket statement about those who were spanked as children growing up to be angry and resentful towards their parents. That is not always the case.
As Christian parents we choose how we discipline our children as we are led by the holy Spirit.
for me, spanking is quick, timely to the offense and when it is over, it is over. The punishments you mentioned can be effective for older children but for preschool children, the discipline should be close in time to the offense, short in duration, be uncomfortable enough to cause them to check their behavior, and to not allow for the parent or child to stew" about the incident.
We all make the choices we did according to our own emotional makeup and knowledge of child development.
If a young toddler can learn not to touch things that are hot, or stay by you in the store or near the car, or not throw things, hit people, etc in these years, then they will be able to learn more easily things that are of more moral issues. they will..
When my boys were young, they knew that when I said "no" to something, I meant "no" and that I would not give into their pleading, crying, or other methods toddlers and preschoolers use to get one to relent. So, being staunchly resistant to giving in is very important in parenting very young kids. I also found that making it so that I could be available and willing to say "yes" to their needs and normal desires as often as I could was helpful. This way they knew that I was willing and able to meet their reasonable requests and set acceptable parameters to their behaviors and to the environment that they were to operate within.
With my three boys I can say that we never went through the "terrible twos" as many call it because i did not allow the tantrumming and constant disobedience without consequences that deterred them. After my sons turned three they did not need a heavy-handed discipline environment because they had a realm of operation that was comfortable for them, not restrictive concerning what is normal expectations of children. To accomplish this a parent needs to be willing to be inconvenienced by their children's needs and to pay attention to them in the home and away. When at the doctor or other place that was not very easy for children to behave in I always brought books or some small toys for them. I interacted with them and focused on them, not on my phone or with other adults. It was this attentiveness to them that taught them to behave well in situations that were so difficult for young ones to keep occupied in desirable ways. The goal in this was to train them so that we could really take them almost anywhere and they would be well behaved because we met their needs.
This is a difficult topic for many couples when it comes to how to discipline their children..
There is a difference between spanking a child in anger and spanking a child to teach them to stop doing something that is either physically harmful to themselves or others or sinful.
In raising my own children, we did spank them in their early years, but never in anger or because their behavior caused us to be angry or frustrated. They were never responsible for any of our own emotions, so we never wanted to "make them pay" for making us feel certain ways. I think this is a key to using effective discipline for young children. Spanking is a form of aversion therapy in that they will learn to associate certain actions with discomfort and so they will learn to resist their urges to repeat these actions. It is effective in a n atmosphere of love and acceptance along with an understanding of their stage of development .
Young children do not see things as adults do and yet many times adults think that kids are just doing things to be
"bad" or disrupt and adult in their desired activity of the moment. Although this disruption happens often when children are young, they do not have the capacity to think through their actions as adults do and they do not have enough experience or memory to internalize much of what they do. Most actions are done because of a physical need or as an impulsiveness.
Since your child is a toddler (between the ages of 1 and 3) he/she is at a good age to be disciplined this way. I found that with my three boys using spanking during toddlerhood along with other types of discipline eliminated many behaviors that would be come problematic habits if not dealt with at an early age and that after age 3, I hardly had reason to spank them much after that age. They had learned that when I said "No", "Stop", "don't touch" or "Stay by me" they knew I meant it and would make it difficult for them to continue to disobey. This worked.
"He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons." (v.41)
The vineyard is Jerusalem. It is set on a fruitful hill. Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) gives us the key. "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." Prophet Zechariah refers to Jerusalem which is elevated not by natural causes but the day of the Lord calls for their destruction and it is to be let out to other husbandmen. In one level the song "Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard" is about the everlasting covenant and it is this elevated ground called New Jerusalem we are concerned about.
In the previous post we considered the pure water of life with the tree of life on either side of it, and it is how we track house of Israel on a fruitful has its double in the world of the Spirit. Thus the night vision of Daniel shows one like the Son of man is' the well beloved' in the Song of Isaiah. The river coursing through the middle of throne gives the river of time with worlds of the body and of th Spirit carrying the destinies of nations. This key shall explain the last chapter of the Book of Zechariah as well.
"In that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea." This living waters refer the pure water of life in St John's vision.(Ze.14:8-10)
There shall be no more sea (21:1) The waters are for the saved nations. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."(Re.22;17)
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof./ And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder./ And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."
'A nation bringing forth fruits' is not any specific nation but children of light collectively called a nation, and its hallmark is determined by fruits. "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."(12:33). Do we see any nation producing fruits that may be called as good?
Re.21:23 presents us nations walking under the holy city which is set up in mid-air so 12 foundation mentioned earlier gives us a rainbow as token of the everlasting covenant renewed between God and Noah, "for perpetual generations"(Ge.9:17).This is the sign now established by their own merits to which Jesus and his disciples serve for signs and wonders.(Is.8:18). Zion is above and not on the earth. Only those whose names 'are written in the Lamb's book of life,'(21:28) shall have access to it.
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: and the Lamb is the light thereof".
However the pure water of life cannot be hanging in the midair but serves a purpose. There shall be no more curse but healing of nations would require the tree of life. "And on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations".(Re.22:1-3)
"And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain."(Ze.14:17) Gates to New Jerusalem are open (21:25)
"By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?"
The triumphal entry of Jesus moved the city of Jerusalem and the commotion brought chief priests and elders to see it for themselves. "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"(13:55) In his own country the townsfolk were offended and in Jerusalem he was all the more a question mark. "Who gave thee this authority?"
Jesus could have given the same answer he gave John, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see/ The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."(11:4-6) What blessedness was in reducing the power and glory of God into some theorem to be proved? It is what serpent gave Eve asking her to prove God by some established truths. Knowledge of good and evil without the truth was neither here nor there. Ever since the world has been wrestling with it and to what purpose?
Man raises razor-wire fencing to keep migrants out while within wildfires menacingly spread into an inferno does man see any connection? Of course not. His mind has been corrupted by undue stress on reason to see his folly from evidences. Minds that devise nuclear bombs to halt a war in far-off Pacific theater of war may not have foreseen space based nuclear weapons but it has become the reality.
The chief priests without faith could not determine if John's baptism was from heaven or not. They also wanted to please man so they were stumped by the question of Jesus. They were like the proverbial salt having lost savor was good for nothing. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."(He.11:6)
"Minds that devise nuclear bombs to halt a war in far-off Pacific theater of war may not have foreseen space based nuclear weapons but it has become the reality." Don't you think this is God's will. Nothing for true believers to be worried about, except to be praying for our lost loved ones.
Just a little bit of true history:
You're talking about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would not have happened if the Japanese leaders had been willing to surrender but instead they refused, even after we bombed Hiroshima, which, by the way, was detonated high above the city because we didn't want it to hit the ground, it would be much much more devastating. We had to bomb Nagasaki too, because the Japanese, military and civilians, were getting ready to continue to fight, which would have taken years as a ground war and millions of more people would have been killed. We gave them plenty of warning including the first bombing and they still refused to surrender until after we bombed Nagasaki. Also, I advise you to read "Life Atomic: Radioisotopes in Science and Medicine" by Angela Creager to see the many wonderful discoveries that we have today; gleaned from Atomic Technology. The United States could have very easily taken over Japan to "colonized" it but instead we reached out a very large helping hand to help it become the country it is today. That's the TRUE American way.
I love this quote from G. K. Chesterton: "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." God always brings about His will in these things, I'm sure, Bennmkje, you must realize. God Bless :)
Minds that devise nuclear bombs refer to the mind of man. It is all caught up in ideas, and cutting short time and motion. Such reliance on reason than morality takes line of least resistance. His foresight does not match hindsight. So we have micro-plastics even in oceans and in our bodies. Space junk not to mention the garbage left behind the Himalayas and so on. Then we have forever chemicals.
Since you mentioned history Nazi Germany was well advanced onto making a nuclear bomb as well as Japan. One of the last acts of the former was to send all that enriched uranium through a sub- 325 if I remember correctly, to Tokyo which en route was intercepted by the US before Canada could. On the way Germany had surrendered to the Allies. So the crew of the sub readily surrendered to the US. At that time the US were run by decent and morally upright men like FDR,Truman George Marshall. FDR politically savvy could not have got his New Deal through so he packed the Supreme Court with social minded Justices like Brandeis and few others. The same idea in our times have created way for the present impasse. In whichever case God is in control. No nation has been given a blank check to do what it will. Man takes shortcuts while history runs slowly so man often fails to see the connection. Have you seen any policies run to its happy outcome? Did the Civil war free the slaves and the people lived happily ever after?
As with anything that comes into our minds, whether to lie, lust or whatever, when we it begins to take hold, to affect our minds & consciences, we must deal with it speedily, in the power of the Spirit lest it becomes sin & we offend our Heavenly Father. Yet, there is forgiveness if we earnestly repent of it & seek to cast it aside ( 1 John 1:9).
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."
We need examine v.30 in detail since the gospel presented the doctrine of God in the Man. John testified that he was the Word (he 'was made flesh) "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. God is a Spirit so his glory in the world of the Spirit was translated when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, in real time so to speak. John also refers the glory of the Word, "full of grace and truth."
So what shall we make of the mountain in the back drop? ("And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain.") This mountain is set as an emblem indicating the glory of the Word which is eternal. The cloud of witnesses attest that he presented the doctrine of God in his Person. It is truth. "(Thy word is truth") His voice likewise carried the voice of the Lord, full of grace. It is very similar to the voice from heaven witnessing. "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."(17:5).
Jesus compares the witnesses in the cloud as angels of God in heaven. In the transfiguration Jesus made manifest the spiritual body he carried in his Person which was to come into its own after his resurrection. He wanted his disciples to keep it a secret. Without death there was no resurrection/ It applied to his humanity. The glory of God in his resurrection therefore had bearing on the cloud as well as on his disciples. His doctrine gives us few examples. God is the God of the living. Death belongs to the world of the flesh and blood.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
"Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her./ Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."
When the Scriptures speak of everlasting covenant death as an entity is not recognized by both parties to it. The world of the Spirit recognizes only life and it is for this reason the Spirit calls Jesus Christ as the Prince of life. "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses."(Ac.3:15) Simon Peter as a witness in the world of the body refers to death which has only relevance because of sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"(Ro.5:12) Salvation Program of God consequently entailed sending his only begotten Son to which Simon refers as a witnesses.
It is thus we allow as the Spirit has set down in many places, the cloud of witness closely associated with this covenant. Heresy of churches of today owe to the misreading of the Scriptures and it only takes cognizance of the world of here and now. Prosperity as taught by false shepherds give glory in a success of abundance of worldly goods and impute it to God's favor. Jesus tells them as he tells the Sadducees."Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." Without being part of the life that Jesus signifies where his life, his truth and the way must be where we put ourselves we are deceiving ourselves.
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."(v.30). Everlasting Covenant, in the world of the Spirit refers to Christ as the head of the body, the church. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."(19:6). This is the correct approach and not what is instituted for the flesh. So Moses had to take note of the hardness of their heart. (19:7-8)
God bless you.
Jesus in Jerusalem is much sought out first by the Pharisees and then the Sadducees, both with single purpose.
"The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him",(v.23)
The Spirit uses this expression 'the same day' in the manner Evangelist Matthew presented the transfiguration of Jesus with 'And after six days" which connects with the everlasting covenant stated in Ge.1. (17:1). In this context what the Spirit is emphasizing is this: the two worlds of the Spirit and of the body are like two sides of the same coin. Hypocrisy of the Pharisees wasin their two worlds being totally out of sync. They were as Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess."(23:25-27). Even in our times we meet their ilk, leaders but blind guides just the same and judgment must begin with the house of God.Their culture wars leave from outside "whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
Jesus answered the Pharisees with a cryptic answer and it was left for them to sort it out. "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
The same day gives Caesar's of this world to give an account as the servants in the Parable of Jesus had to give account of their stewardship.(25:14-29)
Martin Luther unwittingly gave the Nazi regime a handle to beat the German Protestant church some five centuries later. Citing Ro.13:1-2 he supported powers-that-be during the Peasant's revolt. Had he followed the intent of the Spirit and the saying of Jesus he would have realized his folly. The world of the Spirit where the covenant between the Father and the Son was sovereign authority, would have stopped him meddling in a quarrel that belonged to things which are Caesar's.
"The biblical narrative focuses primarily on these three sons, as they played significant roles in the early events of human history. Seth's line is particularly emphasized because it is through him that the godly lineage continued, leading to figures such as Noah and eventually to Abraham and the establishment of the Israelite people." Quoted from Bible Study Tools
I hope this reply helps. God Bless :)
Cain's wife would have been either one of his sisters or maybe even a niece. We are told in Genesis Chapter 5 that Adam and Eve had sons and daughters. We aren't told how many, but knowing that Adam lived to be 930 years old, it could have been many. We do not know who Cain's wife was, but it would been someone in the family. Also, at the time Cain got married, there was no law against incest. The law was not given by God until later so it would not have been forbidden for Cain to marry his sister.
Before we come to coinage that runs through hands and make a sound of splash when it is put on the counter there comes up a question, "Is this legal or is it counterfeit? Jesus wanted to make sure when a penny was brought to him, "Whose is this image and superscription?" It is so elemental that we buy and sell without realizing the entire authority of the powers- that-be has made it valid. So much so for a world given to changes. God has invested in faith so everlasting covenant validates our interaction with our brethren as well as with God. Blood of Jesus validates our act of faith so when we say Amen at the end of the Lord's Prayer we are making our requests in his Son.
We read of God tempting Abraham and Isaac because of this covenant existing between God and his Son. As the name says this value shall never change. Both sides of the coin are placed on the line before God. When the Spirit writes, "And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (Ge.9:16) it is not about memory but the covenant between heaven and the earth already in existence. His blessings running on continually ever since the sixth day is manifestation of His holiness. God is love. It also tells the perverseness of imposter church to exegete passages without sticking to this covenant where both sides, world of the Spirit and of the body has to be addressed. So my faith is addressing my Father which art in heaven in his Son. Without it it is neither here nor there.
Look at Science? Without including God as the creator what it speaks is merely how things work in such and such manner. After Galileo everything must be proved by hypothesis. So steady state theory of cosmology may give over to something else. It is how flase shepherd have treated the word of God. Why things work can only be made real by faith."Thy word is truth."
" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
Jesus could track their motive to the source and it was nothing new. Satan tempted Jesus as he had embarked on his earthly ministry and he concealed his intent by citing the word of God. He had no intention of giving up his stance or acknowledging the truth. Similarly the Pharisees would thwart the triumphal march of the Son of man, not fully realizing its significance. "Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk." Same trickery that could only set the interlocutors as egged on by Satan. He did not quit at the first time. As we read he waited for his opportunity."And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."( Luke 4:13)
The Spirit informs us that God had also tempted or tested Abraham. "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham" (Ge.22:1) and Isaac was his heir of promise and not Eliezer, it was made clear to him. God cannot deny his holiness. "And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."Abraham received it and it formed the basis for the blessing God spelt out in Ge.12:3. "And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Ge.15:6) So testing of Abraham meant something else. In the Abstract God blessed man on the sixth day and it was validated in heaven as well as on earth. So all families will be blessed through Abraham. So Abraham and Isaac were testimonial in the Word of the Spirit as God and the Son framed the everlasting covenant. Thus Abraham and Isaac serve after a similitude to the Father Son relationship. The testing was only in as far as faith was concerned. "Without faith it is impossible to please God".(He.11:6) Whosoever came as heirs were to prove this in their lives. The cloud of witnesses made the covenant proper.
This Parable is noteworthy since this along with the previous one are two of a kind. "And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."(21:45) The householder in the previous parable lets out his vineyard (the earth) to husbandmen (nations) and expects fruits in return. Here the king commands his subjects to be present during the marriage of his Son. In both cases the nation of Israel were included among nations obligated to perform. Whether as tenants or as subjects their places are outside the holy city of God. "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it."(Re.21:25) Those who belonged to New Jerusalem was called the Bride. "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me," ( Luke 22:28-29). The parable is about the righteousness which is freely provided on the House. All that the guests required was to take the trouble of exercising faith trusting in the one who promised entry. All His promises are yea in his Son.
"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:/ And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless."(vv.11-12). He did not think it was worthwhile to ask what was ready for him. It was as trifle in his sight as the nation of Israel taking the King'd invitation lightly. "But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city./Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy".(vv.7-8)
Similarly we could speak of the manner the churches approach the word of God arbitrarily without comparing the spiritual with spiritual.
Prov. 13:24 "He that spareth his ROD hateth his son: but he that loveth him CHASTENETH him betimes" (in good time).
ROD: SHEBET (SHAY-BET) STICK
CHASEN: MUSAR (MOO0SAWR') REPROOF, WARNING. Discipline, however, doesn't have to always be a spanking. MY daughter babysat for two little girls. One was very active and the other one loved just sitting and reading a book all day. If the first one was misbehaving my daughter would make her just sit in a chair staring at the wall for a time, this was punishment to her. If the other one needed discipling my daughter made her go outside and ride her bike or roller skate, or something like that for a time. It worked very well. There really is a lot to learn about the discipling of a child but God can lead you to people who can help. Just be sure their advise is biblical. I hope this helps a little and I will be praying. God Bless :)
In the Book of Genesis God separated the waters above from water below (Ge.1:6-7)which is a signal for the rise and fall of nations,- and the vision of Daniel on the banks of Ulai in Dan.12 gives us a river of time so history of these are set, and it leads us to the throne of God and of the Lamb and beyond to the saved nations on the earth.
According to the Abstract First day set two nations of light and darkness. Second day provided us the heaven a label for the world of the Spirit. God blessing Abraham (12:3) sends him along and his looking for a city was spiritual insight so faith explains what Abraham deprived of the Promised Land because of the sin of Amorites, could still thrive despite of it. " For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."(He.11:10). It is thus we consider the cloud of witnesses which validates heroes of faith as the double for the Son.
The fall of Babylon described in St John's vision explains the fate of Jerusalem and the nations which rejected the Son. "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder./ And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."(v.45). Specific to the nation of Israel we have this verse, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:"(Re.17:6; Matt.23:35-36)
vv.14-18 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." In their opposition to God they are as one and yet Jerusalem shall be destroyed by the Gentiles. Re.18:21 the "stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."(18:21)
stripes we are healed." It shows us that
God promised and and that the sick can be healed. There is power in these words to restore the ailing.
When we speak them in their presence, they are reminded as well as encouraged that God loves them and has made a way for them to be healed.
May God strengthen you. May he restore the sick among you! Amen.
Don't feel like you can't pray whenever you need to. Asking for prayer for real and sincere needs is something God always wants us to do. He is our Heavenly Father and loves us unconditionally. Go to Him always with your needs and reach out to your brothers and sisters in the Lord also because the bible says to pray without ceasing which includes praying with other Christians.
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
"16. Rejoice evermore. 17. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING 18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
God Bless :)
In the Old Testament it also says that if a child swears to his parents then they must be stoned to death. So do we have to do that? Of course not, do we? The commandment in the New Testament is in Colossians 3:21, "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged". If you spank your kids often then you will turn them into angry kids and at the end they will definitely loose their courage in life. But you can take that "rod" figuratively. Just think, what does God do with us when we are disobedient? Firstly He does nothing apart from teaching us. He is very patient with us and gives us a lot of time. Then when He sees that after a long time we still keep in our ways then He allows hard things to come into our lives to make us repent. But at the same time He keeps assuring us of His love to us, He doesn't want us to believe that He doesn't love us, we will be discouraged. So do the same. When you realize that although you have kept talking to your kids and gave them a lot of time to obey and still they don't seem to be in a mood to obey, move to the next step. Make their lives difficult. Take away something they love, say a toy. Keep them in their room for some (sensible) time and don't allow them to go out. Keep them away from their friends for a while (but keep talking to them). Anything really. It is you that will find out the right way. Every kid is different from any other and needs a diferent approach, like God doesn't do the same with all of us. Also a different approach is needed for different ages. But keep your hands away from them. They will never forget it if you spank them. And they will keep telling you that when they grow up and you will keep feeling guilty and an insuffient parent when you realize the mistake you have done. If your husband keeps spanking your kid then you must stand against that. You must not accept it for any reason. Find a way to talk and persuade your husband, ie show him the scriptures etc.GBU
Some people grow up very bothered and resentful that their parents spanked them growing up. But this is not true of all.
Personally, I knew that my parents loved me and wanted my to grow in obedience to them and God. The spankings I do remember I deserved, for I had sinned and punishment was appropriate. I never was angry or resentful or critical of my parents for spanking me.
Though some, like you, are very against spanking, I do not think that the Scriptures prohibit it as a means to discipline children. It is legitimate for believers to use it in training up their children in the way they should go. It is also legitimate for parents to choose to not spank and employ other means.
As I stated in my response to Confuzzled, spanking is not to be used as an outlet for adult emotions such as anger, frustrations, etc. It is a teaching tool, not a way of dominating a child. We do want to steer them from behaviors that are not good for them or others and those that can grow into behaviors that are very disturbing if left unchecked.
I appreciate that you have expressed how you view spanking. But it is not a fact that spanking children will automatically cause them to be angry and resentful of their parents.
It true that in the past decades parents used to use spanking to discipline their kids. In my country even the teachers in the elementary schools would spank a kid, but that was until the 80's. The past generations favoured a very strict discilpine towards kids. But today that has changed. Why would you use spanking when you can get better results by using other methods? Personally if my father spanked me then I would definitely leave the house and I would cut off any communication with him. But he never did that although I did some terrible things. Similarly many kids would had done the same. I got a few from my mother when I was little but I never got it seriously really, it was like fun to me. And really I loved her very much,
When I got married to my wife and we had our first and only child sometimes I would lay my hand on him when my patience was expiring because he was extremely naughty. But my wife, thanks God, gave me a warning. She wouldn't tolerate it. Thanks God I stopped before it was too late. My wife wouldn't tolerate anything against our son. Now I know she was always right. And my boy is OK now. We have been teaching him the right behavior, sometimes successfully, other times not so. God uses His love to make us obey, nobody will ever go to heaven because they were compelled to do so. He lets us free. He even let the prodigal son free, He never tried to object him leaving the house.
I don't think Jesus or the apostles would ever favour spanking the kids. As I said there are always better methods to discipline them, ie cut off anything they like, God does that to us very often. You will get a better result and they will never ever think that we don't love them.
You know not all kids take spanking the same way. There are sensitive kids that will show a strange behavior when they grow up. In some cases they will show the same behavior to their kids.
Anyway, thanks for you answer but to be honest it didn't change my beliefs about spanking. GBU
As Christian parents we choose how we discipline our children as we are led by the holy Spirit.
for me, spanking is quick, timely to the offense and when it is over, it is over. The punishments you mentioned can be effective for older children but for preschool children, the discipline should be close in time to the offense, short in duration, be uncomfortable enough to cause them to check their behavior, and to not allow for the parent or child to stew" about the incident.
We all make the choices we did according to our own emotional makeup and knowledge of child development.
Have a good weekend, Giannis.
If a young toddler can learn not to touch things that are hot, or stay by you in the store or near the car, or not throw things, hit people, etc in these years, then they will be able to learn more easily things that are of more moral issues. they will..
When my boys were young, they knew that when I said "no" to something, I meant "no" and that I would not give into their pleading, crying, or other methods toddlers and preschoolers use to get one to relent. So, being staunchly resistant to giving in is very important in parenting very young kids. I also found that making it so that I could be available and willing to say "yes" to their needs and normal desires as often as I could was helpful. This way they knew that I was willing and able to meet their reasonable requests and set acceptable parameters to their behaviors and to the environment that they were to operate within.
With my three boys I can say that we never went through the "terrible twos" as many call it because i did not allow the tantrumming and constant disobedience without consequences that deterred them. After my sons turned three they did not need a heavy-handed discipline environment because they had a realm of operation that was comfortable for them, not restrictive concerning what is normal expectations of children. To accomplish this a parent needs to be willing to be inconvenienced by their children's needs and to pay attention to them in the home and away. When at the doctor or other place that was not very easy for children to behave in I always brought books or some small toys for them. I interacted with them and focused on them, not on my phone or with other adults. It was this attentiveness to them that taught them to behave well in situations that were so difficult for young ones to keep occupied in desirable ways. The goal in this was to train them so that we could really take them almost anywhere and they would be well behaved because we met their needs.
This is a difficult topic for many couples when it comes to how to discipline their children..
There is a difference between spanking a child in anger and spanking a child to teach them to stop doing something that is either physically harmful to themselves or others or sinful.
In raising my own children, we did spank them in their early years, but never in anger or because their behavior caused us to be angry or frustrated. They were never responsible for any of our own emotions, so we never wanted to "make them pay" for making us feel certain ways. I think this is a key to using effective discipline for young children. Spanking is a form of aversion therapy in that they will learn to associate certain actions with discomfort and so they will learn to resist their urges to repeat these actions. It is effective in a n atmosphere of love and acceptance along with an understanding of their stage of development .
Young children do not see things as adults do and yet many times adults think that kids are just doing things to be
"bad" or disrupt and adult in their desired activity of the moment. Although this disruption happens often when children are young, they do not have the capacity to think through their actions as adults do and they do not have enough experience or memory to internalize much of what they do. Most actions are done because of a physical need or as an impulsiveness.
Since your child is a toddler (between the ages of 1 and 3) he/she is at a good age to be disciplined this way. I found that with my three boys using spanking during toddlerhood along with other types of discipline eliminated many behaviors that would be come problematic habits if not dealt with at an early age and that after age 3, I hardly had reason to spank them much after that age. They had learned that when I said "No", "Stop", "don't touch" or "Stay by me" they knew I meant it and would make it difficult for them to continue to disobey. This worked.
"He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons." (v.41)
The vineyard is Jerusalem. It is set on a fruitful hill. Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) gives us the key. "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." Prophet Zechariah refers to Jerusalem which is elevated not by natural causes but the day of the Lord calls for their destruction and it is to be let out to other husbandmen. In one level the song "Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard" is about the everlasting covenant and it is this elevated ground called New Jerusalem we are concerned about.
In the previous post we considered the pure water of life with the tree of life on either side of it, and it is how we track house of Israel on a fruitful has its double in the world of the Spirit. Thus the night vision of Daniel shows one like the Son of man is' the well beloved' in the Song of Isaiah. The river coursing through the middle of throne gives the river of time with worlds of the body and of th Spirit carrying the destinies of nations. This key shall explain the last chapter of the Book of Zechariah as well.
"In that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea." This living waters refer the pure water of life in St John's vision.(Ze.14:8-10)
There shall be no more sea (21:1) The waters are for the saved nations. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."(Re.22;17)
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof./ And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder./ And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."
'A nation bringing forth fruits' is not any specific nation but children of light collectively called a nation, and its hallmark is determined by fruits. "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."(12:33). Do we see any nation producing fruits that may be called as good?
Re.21:23 presents us nations walking under the holy city which is set up in mid-air so 12 foundation mentioned earlier gives us a rainbow as token of the everlasting covenant renewed between God and Noah, "for perpetual generations"(Ge.9:17).This is the sign now established by their own merits to which Jesus and his disciples serve for signs and wonders.(Is.8:18). Zion is above and not on the earth. Only those whose names 'are written in the Lamb's book of life,'(21:28) shall have access to it.
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: and the Lamb is the light thereof".
However the pure water of life cannot be hanging in the midair but serves a purpose. There shall be no more curse but healing of nations would require the tree of life. "And on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations".(Re.22:1-3)
"And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain."(Ze.14:17) Gates to New Jerusalem are open (21:25)
"By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?"
The triumphal entry of Jesus moved the city of Jerusalem and the commotion brought chief priests and elders to see it for themselves. "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"(13:55) In his own country the townsfolk were offended and in Jerusalem he was all the more a question mark. "Who gave thee this authority?"
Jesus could have given the same answer he gave John, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see/ The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."(11:4-6) What blessedness was in reducing the power and glory of God into some theorem to be proved? It is what serpent gave Eve asking her to prove God by some established truths. Knowledge of good and evil without the truth was neither here nor there. Ever since the world has been wrestling with it and to what purpose?
Man raises razor-wire fencing to keep migrants out while within wildfires menacingly spread into an inferno does man see any connection? Of course not. His mind has been corrupted by undue stress on reason to see his folly from evidences. Minds that devise nuclear bombs to halt a war in far-off Pacific theater of war may not have foreseen space based nuclear weapons but it has become the reality.
The chief priests without faith could not determine if John's baptism was from heaven or not. They also wanted to please man so they were stumped by the question of Jesus. They were like the proverbial salt having lost savor was good for nothing. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."(He.11:6)
"Minds that devise nuclear bombs to halt a war in far-off Pacific theater of war may not have foreseen space based nuclear weapons but it has become the reality." Don't you think this is God's will. Nothing for true believers to be worried about, except to be praying for our lost loved ones.
Just a little bit of true history:
You're talking about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would not have happened if the Japanese leaders had been willing to surrender but instead they refused, even after we bombed Hiroshima, which, by the way, was detonated high above the city because we didn't want it to hit the ground, it would be much much more devastating. We had to bomb Nagasaki too, because the Japanese, military and civilians, were getting ready to continue to fight, which would have taken years as a ground war and millions of more people would have been killed. We gave them plenty of warning including the first bombing and they still refused to surrender until after we bombed Nagasaki. Also, I advise you to read "Life Atomic: Radioisotopes in Science and Medicine" by Angela Creager to see the many wonderful discoveries that we have today; gleaned from Atomic Technology. The United States could have very easily taken over Japan to "colonized" it but instead we reached out a very large helping hand to help it become the country it is today. That's the TRUE American way.
I love this quote from G. K. Chesterton: "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." God always brings about His will in these things, I'm sure, Bennmkje, you must realize. God Bless :)
Minds that devise nuclear bombs refer to the mind of man. It is all caught up in ideas, and cutting short time and motion. Such reliance on reason than morality takes line of least resistance. His foresight does not match hindsight. So we have micro-plastics even in oceans and in our bodies. Space junk not to mention the garbage left behind the Himalayas and so on. Then we have forever chemicals.
Since you mentioned history Nazi Germany was well advanced onto making a nuclear bomb as well as Japan. One of the last acts of the former was to send all that enriched uranium through a sub- 325 if I remember correctly, to Tokyo which en route was intercepted by the US before Canada could. On the way Germany had surrendered to the Allies. So the crew of the sub readily surrendered to the US. At that time the US were run by decent and morally upright men like FDR,Truman George Marshall. FDR politically savvy could not have got his New Deal through so he packed the Supreme Court with social minded Justices like Brandeis and few others. The same idea in our times have created way for the present impasse. In whichever case God is in control. No nation has been given a blank check to do what it will. Man takes shortcuts while history runs slowly so man often fails to see the connection. Have you seen any policies run to its happy outcome? Did the Civil war free the slaves and the people lived happily ever after?