Man has a bad conscience. It is for this reason David pleads for a clean heart. Hence this blood of the Lamb making the covenant a legal testament. Death of Jesus was a testament, so the Word, or the Law of the Spirit that knows no time element as we understand it, "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Job asks, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"( Job 14:4) Not one.
This book of creation is also a book of remembrance so tears of man from a contrite heart is very much in the sight of God." Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."(Ps.116:15) While we discussed the four and twenty elders we read thus,"and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints."(Re.5:8) This golden vials also explains where do our tears go to. The Spirit instructs us that not a sparrow falls without God noticing it. Our very hairs are counted as our tears are precious in His sight. For this reason we have seven angels as with seven days in the covenant, and they avenge us. "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."(Re.16:1)
"Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: This I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: In the LORD will I praise his word."
Tears are not what the everlasting covenant between God and Man have set out as a blessings. Without God what is the portion of man? "My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"(Ps.42:3)
David understood where his wretchedness came from. Over his adultery he realises that his iniquity had soiled the entire landscape so he prays, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Ps.51:10) The only cleanser is the blood of Jesus, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."( 1 John 1:7) It can blot out 'all' sin.
The element of sin did not come from man's own but from the law of sin that referred to the the angels that did not keep their first estate, ("And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,-Jude v.6). In the covenant God blessed man and woman, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." After their fall we have God warning the woman as to the perils of conception and pangs of labour. "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." (Ge.3:16;1:28) This taint of disobedience places their heart not entirely level with the the intent of the covenant. Man who shall enter into the Fellowship of God with Man has a bad consciousness. It is for this reason David pleads for a clean heart.
Hello!Today the plan of salvation is so complicated.This denomination believes one thing,in this one believes another.How were you taught the simple plan of salvation? Do you believe in the baptism of water in that name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.Also,do you believe you must be baptized in the Holy Ghost to get to the Kingdom of Heaven?
"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me./He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up."
Prayer is confirmation that everlasting covenant is working and also works well. While trouble dby vague fears prayer helps and while beset by disasters. "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the LORD delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken. (Ps.34;18-22). Here we have a Messianic prophesy and it was fulfilled according the Word as was spoken. ( John 19:33)
Psalmist is certain that God performs all things for me/ What is he referencing? The covenant stipulates blessing on man who trusts in him. God has already called, predestined and justified whosoever places his trust in Jesus Christ. "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."(Ps,2:12b)
Heaven is just a cry away as this Psalm tells us, "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears./Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth./There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it....He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters."(Ps.18:12-18) What we require is trust and how he does it is not for us to know. God gave us the indwelling Spirit and we only need place our trust in our Saviour Lord. For every child of God there is a safe place He has created. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." God made angels, spirits 'and his ministers a flaming fire'. "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."(Ps.104:33)
The elders have badges of their office: golden harps. "having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;/And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."(vv.8-10)
They validate the grace poured over the believers from the throne and they are called to be saints, "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage."(119:54) Coupled with this they receive the prayers of saints. These are golden vials, full of odours. What do they tell us? They represent the entire body of the church, as a kind of pledge. These elders confess for them,"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
In short they represent 'first fruits of the word so the earth shall have a form which is conformed to the image of the Son, This representational aspect validates a golden rule, "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) By the same token it bring into shaper relief the role of Atonement. Jesus Christ is the saviour of the whole world." Limited atonement is what imposter church could think of from their fleshy minds. It is a lie.
"And round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
Firstly in terms of life we shall distinguish them apart and they have much to do with man. We shall begin this quote from the Gospel. for man. "In him (the Word) was life; and the life was the light of men." Whereas the vision of Ezekiel refers to the living creatures, "And they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel." and "Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels."(Ez.1:16,.20) The living creatures were led by the Spirit. The body kept as a memorial is set for us how our walk in the world of the flesh differs from them. In Jesus Christ, the word become flesh was life and this life ought to be the light under which we are called to walk.
The difference between the living creatures and the four beast also have a qualitative difference. The living creatures had four wings while the four beasts had six wings. God made angels, spirits and" his ministers a flaming fire." So the wheel in the middle of a wheel make up the difference. These creatures are presented to Ezekiel, "a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire."(1:4)
The wheel within wheel signifies spirit of the creature and the soul respectively. These are signified in the four beasts for example," and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." They are not flying anywhere but as to how our spirit and soul should be, and the Psalmist puts it eloquently,"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?"(Ps.42:1-3)
Provers 8, we assume the Bible is taking about Jesus, but the chapter starts off as if God is referrng to a women, also was before creation as was with Jesus ?
The Israelites loathed manna because their heart was not right before God. In this apathy for wholesome gospel the imposter church is following the same slippery slope to perdition. "But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." (Nu.11:6) The church highjacked from the Apostolic age is a mixed multitude. They serve mammon as well. " "And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?" Their nostalgia for fleshpots of Egypt we see in the manner simplicity in Christ has thrown aboard for several movements that in its merits almost nil. How long shall this silence in heaven last? As with the one week from Seventy weeks in the vision of Daniel this silence in heaven serves as a parenthesis. John tells about it, "and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." The work in heaven goes on despite of what the imposter church may do. It is not the work for the flesh. It is the work according to the Law where the only measurement is by whom God has justified as well as glorified. This glory of God is established in heaven.
"And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles./And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever./And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."(15:6-8)
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour./And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets."
Prior to this in ch.7 we have more or less the same events in heaven as was at the beginning when the new song was sung (5:11-14) The elders once again show foreknowledge this time with regards to the wave of persecutions that were currently going on under Caesar Domitian. The short colloquy between Apostle John and the elder tells us that. "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" It tells us that the elders identified John as coming there from among them. The line,"For the time is at hand."(1:3) sets John as a contemporary, and it is right about the nascent Apostolic age going through some 10 waves of persecution.
Leaving aside the sealing of 144,000 in Ch.7 let us trace backwards where we have the four winds "I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea."(Dan.7:2). The commotion that spawned nations has hit the doldrums by divine command, so this continuity of the nations (that began with the night vision) is now hit a hiatus that explains the nations warring with one another; it is a sure sign to the end times. Jesus warned us. "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places./All these are the beginning of sorrows."(Matt.24:7-8)
This silence in heaven shall be broken by the angel that has everlasting covenant to preach. (Re.14:6-7) What is this everlasting gospel but the same gospel preached by the Apostles, and the Acts is part of the Bible. The everlasting covenant and the gospel go hand in hand. The angel declares it in heaven and man treats it as manna in the wilderness was the angel's food. The silence in heaven refers to the present state.
"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
The Spirit sets the twenty four elders represent the body prepared for the Word become flesh. The Son of man preaches the gospel to the souls in prison for a purpose, "(For Christ) being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:/By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison."(1 Pe.3:18-19) It pleased God that in him all his fulness should dwell. As Word made flesh his fulness covers the heaven, earth and the lower part. The tag for the Son 3x8 makes up the sum of four and twenty elders. This body is one, memorial of which has foreknowledge possible only because the Word was made flesh.
One of the elders, the spokesman refers to him as the root of David, meaning he is the Lord. (Re.22:16;Is.11:10) Alpha and Omega aspect of the Son sets him as the root of Jesse as well as the root of David. This point forms the basis by which Jesus was able to silence the Pharisees, "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?"(Matt.22:45)
We have the Lamb given a body, or rather the divine Will given a tangible form, so the body prepared in the world unseen, is translated into the world (made to appear) is a throne as well. It is thus the throne of God is hyphenated with the throne of the Lamb and consequently both worlds framed by the word of God is completed in heaven and the light of the Lamb is its manifestation.
The number seven, significance of which is same as the seven days in the everlasting covenant. Authority of the covenant between God and Man is established here as well. Thus when the Lamb opens the seal, and it is serially and sequentially as well so we entries and exits through the heaven earth and lower parts. The first seal points to the rider on the white horse, "and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals."
The Spirit uses the right hand to indicate Jesus Chrst as in this Psalm, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."(Ps.16:11). Here are two more references, "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." and "And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself." (Ps.80:17,15). The throne that St John refers to the Lord God. The right hand indicates the Word made flesh in the context, considering that the Lamb slain who shall take the book with seals refers to the body that God has prepared for him. Before the Lamb would open the seals the Spirit is setting the entire day decreed for the Son within the chapter. Thus we shall consider this chapter and the one preceding it as an exercise orienting the readers with the Revelation of Jesus Christ in terms of the body' Thou has prepared me'
The body has a memorial and it is what the four and twenty elders signifies. According to the everlasting covenant God and his Son, the Fellowship of God and Man has a facsimile as it were, enshrined before the throne. To this primary relationship we also have His creation in the four beasts pendent which refers to the last Adam and the four beasts. As with the right hand of him who sat on the throne indicates the Word ecome flesh, the beast with the face of man, the third beast refers to Jesus Christ the Last Adam. This entire scene is set up by the Spirit where the Law of the Spirit has its own logic, time element so we shall benefit only by suspension of disbelief. If we willing accord it to the author of the book we read, is it too much to ask?
In continuation, we can say that faith with works is in shifting our lives from being subject to the flesh and its demands to that of the Spirit. " For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (v.8)
Without being subject to the Law of the Spirit and being led, our protestations that they were serving God 'in thy name' is hypocritical. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matt.7:22-23) How Luther's word on justification has been twisted to mean faith alone is required is what the imposter churches teach. Without being led by the Spirit and treating the flesh as dead they are still creating a wicked and adulterous generation. Without faith their work is that of those that work iniquity.
"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his./ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."(vv.9-10)
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
'In all these things' refers to v.34 "shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Shall these things separate us from the love of Christ?
On one hand we have 'love of Christ' which in the sight of God is what our physical body can quite comprehend but it is faith given its full scope ,- so trust explains our part,- and intercessory aspect of faith is on the other pinion, of our being hid in Christ and it is what the Spirit shall attend to. In vv.26-27 we have this assurance," but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered./And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God".Without faith on our part this love of Christ is merely eyewash. It is not our flesh but faith that makes the connection.Both man and angel have equal part as this verse explains, "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."(Ps.57:1)
Significance of "In the shadow of thy wings" is same as in the Song of Moses,"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty./I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."
There is only one measurement in the world of the Spirit, to which we have been called according to his purpose. So the love of Christ is interchangeable with that of God. This explains the fulness of God in Christ. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,"(v.28)
Without doing the will of God all these profession of faith is merely lip service."Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?
All things associated with the fulness of God in Jesus Christ is the core value. Not material wealth not praise of men but whom God did not spare for our sakes. If the world hated him we also shall be hated. So all things we need consider within the frame of reference to Jesus Christ. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"(v.35).
"It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us," so whatever happens is according to his purpose. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." This is good when we dod share certain things that he also suffered in his body. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."(Col.3:4)
If we are dead to the flesh, is loss if dust to dust returns. It follows law of nature. But we who are in the Spirit are under the Law of the Spirit. " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,/Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " This is what the Law has spoken and it is according to the divine Will.
"If God be for us, who can be against us?/ He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
It is with him that God gives us 'all things'. James in his epistle tells we were made a new creation not of ourselves but of his own will." Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...."(Jas.1:17-18). Firstly these things delineate the fulness of God in him for his glory, so Constantine I using it to ensure his claim to the throne of Caesars, was not according to his purpose. " All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," claimed by the Caesar Constantine did not work together for his son whom on some specious charge he had killed. Neither did it good for the empire since it was soon split into two and the same controversy followed the Mother church at every turn. God had cast off the nation of Israel and as warned by his Son. Yet the Pope would create a holy war in order to retrieve Jerusalem, a conflict that haunts to this day.
The second century church father's homily, coming down to us "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,"has become a double edged sword with the inquisitions, religious wars so the evil that was outside simply got within, so we may well heed the warning of Jesus, "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep./ The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep." ( John 10:12-13) For the robbers and thieves, 'all things' have been what is tangible, wealth titles, landed property megachurches, power over life and death over men and pomp and circumstance of their cloth. Jesus would call them,"for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, "(Matt.23:27)
Do we have to look in the mirror to see how closer we conform in the image of his Son? The Law of the Spirit underpins these growing in grace, being hid in Christ. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty./But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."(2 Co.3:17-18)
There is sequence in the manner the lump of leaven can transform the whole batch of meal. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."(v.30)
His calling and gifts are irrevocable. The Lord is good and he also is co-signatory to the everlasting covenant. So he chided Jonah for putting his personal prejudices before his ministry."And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"( Jonah 4:11) Jonah must been like some of these Evangelicals who let the colour and race come between their own salvation and calling. If one fool of a politician suggest millions of migrants be in one fell swoop be seized by the army and deported, these 'ministers' find that is good. "The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."(Pr.16:4) The Lord alone is good and the manner the rogues have hijacked the word to impose their own prejudices and make evil for good, the Spirit has a warning for them. These wicked who lies and spread disinformation did not get to the position by their merits. God set them up for the day of evil. It has to come before the Age of apostles should continue as before. God knows how to keep His saints in that day.
The word "good" as with "absolutely" are two words in my opinion, the most abused simply because the ungodly use them to mean something else. 'Every home with a carport' was a sign of the good times but now anyone with an axe to grind, simply use one to plough into an unsuspecting crowd crowd, to cause untold damages.God alone is good and absolute but without trusting Him what the godless is what we get. Law of the Spirit use the word of God with a purpose. It is Person specific. Consider this verse."For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."(v.29). God decrees a day,'Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee./Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance." (Ps.2:7-8) If the Son asks 'the heathen' will He not give him just that? The everlasting covenant with which the Bible begins is just that. Without believing it the imposter church has completely disrupted the Age of Apostles with their travesty of 'new norms' and the Christian world is solely to blame if a Christian father gives his son for glock when he asks one. the boy already has been bitten by the 'wannahaves' as influencers. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?(Matt.7:11) Many have problem to understand the idea of predestination. They forget the Word made flesh is the same yesterday, today and forever'. The omnipotent God foreknows those who are His. Jesus asked of Him and given them for his inheritance. I do not find any impossibility here. Jesus makes it clear," For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me."( John 17:8)
Do we have to look in the mirror to see how closer we conform?
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Here we have the two wings of Christian Living. On one hand we have those 'who are called according to his purpose'. On the other those 'who love God'. These are two witnesses: these are like olive trees ,"These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."(Ro.11:4). These two pinions have a body which is the building of God eternal in heavens so being hid in Christ means man called according to God's purpose, and his works while in his vile body are as though Christ in him did. Where is Christ seated? He sat down "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Under the Law of the Spirit he has his covered in the other pinion which establishes his love of Christ. It is what v.27 says, "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." This part is called 'angel.' There is only single measurement for the holy city of God, man-angel ("according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel"-Ro.21:17)
God makes angels spirits, "and his ministers a flaming fire."(Ps.104:4). We see how Moses, Elijah and prophets of old stood upto the wickedness,"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed./These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues." It is what the Law of the Spirit executes. The angel part is witness to the mind of the Spirit,"because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." The man is hid in Christ in heavenly places, his faith meanwhile works as the two witnesses do testify. We are more than conquerors.
"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."
God's covenant is with Man. Our Association with him is in the manner the Law distinguishes between God the Father and Son. He blessed His creation in him. As a living soul God placed His creation in the hands of Adam. God blesses them, "And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."(Ge.1:22). Here also the original covenant is followed. The body of man in the image of God is also "after our likeness". Adam is the double for the Son, whose body formed of the ground rendered their bodies share a common destiny. What is it? How does man replenish the earth? As in the case of the fruit tree,"whose seed was in itself, after his kind," he renewed the earth with the seed of the loins. God uses the seed in the same sense as here when he warns of the enmity "and between thy seed and her seed;"(Ge.3:15) The same gift of propagation after his kind belonged to them."
God blessed man and woman. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. The body has been prepared for his Son so when Word became flesh,"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same."(He.2:14)
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me."(He.10:5). The vile body for the firstfruits have a specific significance. Redemption of their body is glorious as well as spiritual. "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."(1 Co.15:49) The Lamb slain is an emblem. The glory of the throne of God and of the Lamb denotes unity of the Spirit. Signs and wonders He.2:13
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; "
Christ having died once has fulfilled his obligation under the covenant. He dies no more but is seated "on the right hand of the Majesty on High". After he had by himself purged our sins, he continues "all things by the word of his power," and it shall be so till the day decreed for him must be accomplished. In the beginning set the covenant to which the fulness of time marked the testament of Christ to come in effect. So what is holding him up? "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool./The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." (Ps.110:1-2 He.1:3:Ps.2:7)
Having freed from law of sin we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies, the Law of the Spirit has covered by the spirit of adoption so we cry, Abba, Father." Besides Jesus taught us the prayer as to signify what was his Father. "Our Father which art in heaven is our reality under the life in the Spirit. Blood of the Lamb has cleansed us from our former life, in the flesh. Christ of God has come sanctification to us. "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren."(He.2:11-12) The word of God endures forever which is the gospel preached to us. (1 Pe.1:25). We heard while so many heard but dismissed it outright as unnecessary. What made the difference. We heard the gospel in faith. (Ro.10:17) This connects with the Law, forever settled in the heavens. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren./ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Not all who were foreknown simply treated as those in the Parable of the Marriage of the king's Son.
The entire chapter changes into two section. The first section is built over "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (v.10) The second half centres about v.32,"If God be for us, who can be against us?"
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." In order to live a life in the spirit we need step back from the clamour of life that demands our time most of which are distraction than helpful. "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." For one in the flesh his social capital is in his friends and it can unless one is wary can be exhausting. As in the case of the Prodigal son in the parable one builds up friends and keep them often drains his wallet. Come a change in fortune because of pandemic or depression one often realises many of them were fair-weather friends whose socialising was to feather their own nests and higher too. For one who died in the flesh in order to have Christ in him the second part of the Proverb quote is very apt. He is 'closer than a friend.' He died for us and "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."(v.34) We die in order to gain a friend whose fulness covers the earth as well as heaven." For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,/ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Who as a friend can match him who brings along God who shall love you as his very Son?
In vv.1-15 St Paul covered what shall be taken away when you are dead to sin. Carnally minded is enmity to God, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.' This has no place for us.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Glory of God is the expression of Power and Wisdom in their levelling off both facets of holiness so the three entities are not separate but intrinsic quality of God. Wisdom of God renders the Word becoming flesh, for which the slain Lamb is an emblem. The same Lamb when we consider in terms of the Power principle is the Lamb of God, having the power in himself to take away the sin of the world. In his humanity it is what the Power of God has willed. So the Word or the Law of the Spirit remains sacrosanct. Jesus suffered outside the camp, which is his humanity." Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate." (He.13:12) Death could not hold him because the Power of God raised him to life so that the scripture might be fulfilled. That is a sign. What is our glory being adopted in his Son? It is under the umbrella of the throne of the Lamb. This body of the Lamb is expressed in terms of the glory of the light of the Lamb. In short the same suffering such as Jesus suffered in his body is our portion as well. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."(8:7)
Suffering in the flesh can also occur in the world being unequally yoked with godless people.. Jezebel coveted the neighbour's vineyard. King Ahab was not a slumlord but a genuine buyer who wanted to make his property grander. Neboth would not sell. So he is despondent. His happiness is in some one elses hand. The devil has got his hook on him, Jezebel asks, "But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" Flesh suffers because of law of sin, the spirit wants it all. So the law of sin makes the damned all the more wretched. (1 Ki.21)
In continuation then .How can I be His mother? For when Jesus was teaching in a certain place his mother and half brothers came desiring to talk with Him. He replied by denying as it were His flesh and said his true mother and brethren were they " who do the will of God" .
How then can a true born child of God be His mother?
We must look at Mary who received the living Word and conceived a child who in due time brought forth Christ .
We too if born again of that incorruptible seed which is the Word of God by the Holy Spirit that seed will in its proper time bring forth fruit after its own kind . Whereby we are crucified with Christ ever the less I live but not I but Christ that liveth in me"
Jesus speaking of Himself said " unless a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abide the alone but if it does it bringers forth much fruit" what sort of fruit ? After its own kind .
Man was CREATED in the image of God but he is BORN in the image of his father Adam ." Shapen in iniquity"
That image of God was lost or so marred by sin it is now unrecognisable. Did not Jesus say He came to seek and to save that which was lost"?
"Who being the express image of the invisible God" restores or rather makes "a new creation in Christ Jesus "
If a man who stands before God then finds himself in hell ,it will not be so much because he has sinned ( for all have sinned." But because of his rejection of Christ and thus does not bare the image of God in him and is thus rejected ." I never knew you".
And let's face it if a person is forever saying " No God" in his heart is he not simply saying I am not a child of God? But rather a " child of disobedience and a " child of wrath ".?
We need to grow up who profess to know Christ for far too long we have been " little children" who know not Him who is from the beginning "
" For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live./For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
What does it mean to be hid in Christ in heavenly places? " For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."(Col.3:3) No man has seen God, as John says,"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."( John 1:18). The word spoken to us is the truth and 'thy word is truth' makes the testimony of Jesus Christ as first hand account of heavenly realities. Being hid in Christ therefore is total trust in the Apostle sent from heaven. So the only way we can do is follow his example and it as real as being led by the Spirit. "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." Works is in the manner our faith strives to make this as natural and from our heart so there is no room for inconvenient pursuits. As a cartoonist for newspapers my world view centred on observing the quirks in others which is inconvenient in a chid of God. So I let it go. Similarly my growth led by the Spirit has been slow and with experience more easy and I believe his grace has filled in wherever gaps wer, So our Christian Living is not a single linear advancement. Main thing is to stay the course, and quit me as a man, trusting in my Saviour.
Jesus laid down the principle of Association. Matt.10:40;Luke10:16) Up and Down it moves as Jesus is the Lord from heaven; we becoming Christ-like so faithwith works move across. It mirrors heavenly placein the sight of God a Spirit. "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:/Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."Ph.3:17
"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
God a Spirit sets the Law, It is Law of the Spirit. How He works from the world unseen to the world made to appear has only the word to enlighten the consequences of the Law. The writer to the Hebrews explains, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God," If one is in the Spirit does one need aske, What is deep time or the age of the mammoth tusks one digs up from time to time. It is what man in the flesh shall want to ask. His reason puts up a tantrum and what it cannot being an outsider goes on to make answers which can only make the glory of God among the skeptics, a matter of derision. Bishop pf Oxford at the time Darwin's theories defended that only showed one who is in the Spirit ought to let these things alone. St Augustine in his time was stumped to answer the question:which came first: chicken or the egg? God as the creator surely considers it according to his Law so we accept it by faith.
The Spirit instructs us for our spiritual growth set this verse. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Spirit also has set what pleases Him. "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.11:8) It is thus the Spirit has set signposts from first to the last. The simple merely takes a text and interprets literally. The woman's seed cannot be Abraham's seed since man's blessings do not sprnig from Abrahamic promises but from Jesus Christ the Word made flesh. "Thy word is truth" Jesus applies to the word or the Law of the Spirit. It is set down in the covenant. Ep.1:3-4. He chose us according to the pleasure of his will. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,/To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
The Word is GOD,GOD Himself,self-executing,understand?What does the Word of GOD say?
Je.23:29-Is not my Word like as a fire?saith the Lord;and like a hammer that breakes the rock in pieces?
JESUS made it so clear,saying:Lk.12:49-I am come to send fire on the earth;and what will I,if it be already kindled?
JESUS said more:Lk.12:54-57
54...When ye see a cloud rise out of the west,straightway ye say, There comes a shower;and so it is.
55When ye see the south wind blow,ye say,There will be heat;and it comes to pass.
56Ye hypocrites,ye can discern the face of the sky and the earth;but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
57Yea,and why even of yourselves Judge ye not what is right?
Gen.18:17-22-17 The Lord said,Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?20The Lord said,Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great,and their sin is very grievous;21I will go down now,and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it,which is come unto me;and if not,I will know.22And the men turned their faces from thence,and went toward Sodom:but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
Gen.19:1-14
1And there came two men to Sodom at even;and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them;and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
13They said unto Lot:We will destroy this place...the Lord has sent us to destroy it.(NOW THE DEVIL'S WORLD AS A WHOLE)
Lk.17:26-30
26And as it was in the days of Noe,so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man
27They did eat,they drank,they married wives,they were given in marriage,until the day Noah entered into the ark,the flood came,and destroyed them all.
28Also as it was in the days of Lot;they did eat,they drank,they bought,they sold,they planted,they builded;
29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained FIRE and brimstone from heaven,and destroyed them all
30Even thus SHALL IT BE(NOW)in the day when the Son of man is revealed
I would to give my thoughts on "The temptation or testing/proving of Satan" and whether he knew Jesus was the Son of God or not in Luke 4:1-13.
First I would like to say I believe he knew Jesus was the Son of God.
I also believe he knew Jesus was coming to this world by way of the Prophet's and perhaps the first prophecy recorded given to him in Genesis 3:15. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and HER SEED; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Immediately the line by which the seed would come was persecuted from there on.
The seed of the woman is biologically wrong and should raise eyebrows.
This is directly spoken to Eve but also depicts Israel.
Seed of the woman also depicts the father of this child would be God.
When we come to the prophets he can see a clear picture.
So why would Satan even try to test the Son of God?
There's two things here to consider.
1) We have to consider verse 1 if Luke 4. "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS,
This was orchestrated by the Spirit! Jesus was presented to be tested!
Not to see if he would fail it was to show he was who the Scripture say he was.
2) Satan used the same method he used on Eve knowing she was flesh.
He knew Jesus was the Son of God but he tried to see if there was a kink in his humanity.
Man has a bad conscience. It is for this reason David pleads for a clean heart. Hence this blood of the Lamb making the covenant a legal testament. Death of Jesus was a testament, so the Word, or the Law of the Spirit that knows no time element as we understand it, "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Job asks, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"( Job 14:4) Not one.
This book of creation is also a book of remembrance so tears of man from a contrite heart is very much in the sight of God." Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."(Ps.116:15) While we discussed the four and twenty elders we read thus,"and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints."(Re.5:8) This golden vials also explains where do our tears go to. The Spirit instructs us that not a sparrow falls without God noticing it. Our very hairs are counted as our tears are precious in His sight. For this reason we have seven angels as with seven days in the covenant, and they avenge us. "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."(Re.16:1)
"Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: This I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: In the LORD will I praise his word."
Tears are not what the everlasting covenant between God and Man have set out as a blessings. Without God what is the portion of man? "My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"(Ps.42:3)
David understood where his wretchedness came from. Over his adultery he realises that his iniquity had soiled the entire landscape so he prays, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Ps.51:10) The only cleanser is the blood of Jesus, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."( 1 John 1:7) It can blot out 'all' sin.
The element of sin did not come from man's own but from the law of sin that referred to the the angels that did not keep their first estate, ("And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,-Jude v.6). In the covenant God blessed man and woman, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." After their fall we have God warning the woman as to the perils of conception and pangs of labour. "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." (Ge.3:16;1:28) This taint of disobedience places their heart not entirely level with the the intent of the covenant. Man who shall enter into the Fellowship of God with Man has a bad consciousness. It is for this reason David pleads for a clean heart.
"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me./He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up."
Prayer is confirmation that everlasting covenant is working and also works well. While trouble dby vague fears prayer helps and while beset by disasters. "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the LORD delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken. (Ps.34;18-22). Here we have a Messianic prophesy and it was fulfilled according the Word as was spoken. ( John 19:33)
Psalmist is certain that God performs all things for me/ What is he referencing? The covenant stipulates blessing on man who trusts in him. God has already called, predestined and justified whosoever places his trust in Jesus Christ. "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."(Ps,2:12b)
Heaven is just a cry away as this Psalm tells us, "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears./Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth./There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it....He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters."(Ps.18:12-18) What we require is trust and how he does it is not for us to know. God gave us the indwelling Spirit and we only need place our trust in our Saviour Lord. For every child of God there is a safe place He has created. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." God made angels, spirits 'and his ministers a flaming fire'. "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."(Ps.104:33)
Which is correct?
The elders have badges of their office: golden harps. "having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;/And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."(vv.8-10)
They validate the grace poured over the believers from the throne and they are called to be saints, "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage."(119:54) Coupled with this they receive the prayers of saints. These are golden vials, full of odours. What do they tell us? They represent the entire body of the church, as a kind of pledge. These elders confess for them,"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
In short they represent 'first fruits of the word so the earth shall have a form which is conformed to the image of the Son, This representational aspect validates a golden rule, "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) By the same token it bring into shaper relief the role of Atonement. Jesus Christ is the saviour of the whole world." Limited atonement is what imposter church could think of from their fleshy minds. It is a lie.
"And round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
Firstly in terms of life we shall distinguish them apart and they have much to do with man. We shall begin this quote from the Gospel. for man. "In him (the Word) was life; and the life was the light of men." Whereas the vision of Ezekiel refers to the living creatures, "And they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel." and "Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels."(Ez.1:16,.20) The living creatures were led by the Spirit. The body kept as a memorial is set for us how our walk in the world of the flesh differs from them. In Jesus Christ, the word become flesh was life and this life ought to be the light under which we are called to walk.
The difference between the living creatures and the four beast also have a qualitative difference. The living creatures had four wings while the four beasts had six wings. God made angels, spirits and" his ministers a flaming fire." So the wheel in the middle of a wheel make up the difference. These creatures are presented to Ezekiel, "a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire."(1:4)
The wheel within wheel signifies spirit of the creature and the soul respectively. These are signified in the four beasts for example," and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." They are not flying anywhere but as to how our spirit and soul should be, and the Psalmist puts it eloquently,"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?"(Ps.42:1-3)
my question if we are forgiven why would you have to go before a judgement seat?
The Israelites loathed manna because their heart was not right before God. In this apathy for wholesome gospel the imposter church is following the same slippery slope to perdition. "But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." (Nu.11:6) The church highjacked from the Apostolic age is a mixed multitude. They serve mammon as well. " "And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?" Their nostalgia for fleshpots of Egypt we see in the manner simplicity in Christ has thrown aboard for several movements that in its merits almost nil. How long shall this silence in heaven last? As with the one week from Seventy weeks in the vision of Daniel this silence in heaven serves as a parenthesis. John tells about it, "and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." The work in heaven goes on despite of what the imposter church may do. It is not the work for the flesh. It is the work according to the Law where the only measurement is by whom God has justified as well as glorified. This glory of God is established in heaven.
"And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles./And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever./And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."(15:6-8)
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour./And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets."
Prior to this in ch.7 we have more or less the same events in heaven as was at the beginning when the new song was sung (5:11-14) The elders once again show foreknowledge this time with regards to the wave of persecutions that were currently going on under Caesar Domitian. The short colloquy between Apostle John and the elder tells us that. "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" It tells us that the elders identified John as coming there from among them. The line,"For the time is at hand."(1:3) sets John as a contemporary, and it is right about the nascent Apostolic age going through some 10 waves of persecution.
Leaving aside the sealing of 144,000 in Ch.7 let us trace backwards where we have the four winds "I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea."(Dan.7:2). The commotion that spawned nations has hit the doldrums by divine command, so this continuity of the nations (that began with the night vision) is now hit a hiatus that explains the nations warring with one another; it is a sure sign to the end times. Jesus warned us. "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places./All these are the beginning of sorrows."(Matt.24:7-8)
This silence in heaven shall be broken by the angel that has everlasting covenant to preach. (Re.14:6-7) What is this everlasting gospel but the same gospel preached by the Apostles, and the Acts is part of the Bible. The everlasting covenant and the gospel go hand in hand. The angel declares it in heaven and man treats it as manna in the wilderness was the angel's food. The silence in heaven refers to the present state.
"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
The Spirit sets the twenty four elders represent the body prepared for the Word become flesh. The Son of man preaches the gospel to the souls in prison for a purpose, "(For Christ) being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:/By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison."(1 Pe.3:18-19) It pleased God that in him all his fulness should dwell. As Word made flesh his fulness covers the heaven, earth and the lower part. The tag for the Son 3x8 makes up the sum of four and twenty elders. This body is one, memorial of which has foreknowledge possible only because the Word was made flesh.
One of the elders, the spokesman refers to him as the root of David, meaning he is the Lord. (Re.22:16;Is.11:10) Alpha and Omega aspect of the Son sets him as the root of Jesse as well as the root of David. This point forms the basis by which Jesus was able to silence the Pharisees, "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?"(Matt.22:45)
We have the Lamb given a body, or rather the divine Will given a tangible form, so the body prepared in the world unseen, is translated into the world (made to appear) is a throne as well. It is thus the throne of God is hyphenated with the throne of the Lamb and consequently both worlds framed by the word of God is completed in heaven and the light of the Lamb is its manifestation.
The number seven, significance of which is same as the seven days in the everlasting covenant. Authority of the covenant between God and Man is established here as well. Thus when the Lamb opens the seal, and it is serially and sequentially as well so we entries and exits through the heaven earth and lower parts. The first seal points to the rider on the white horse, "and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals."
The Spirit uses the right hand to indicate Jesus Chrst as in this Psalm, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."(Ps.16:11). Here are two more references, "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." and "And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself." (Ps.80:17,15). The throne that St John refers to the Lord God. The right hand indicates the Word made flesh in the context, considering that the Lamb slain who shall take the book with seals refers to the body that God has prepared for him. Before the Lamb would open the seals the Spirit is setting the entire day decreed for the Son within the chapter. Thus we shall consider this chapter and the one preceding it as an exercise orienting the readers with the Revelation of Jesus Christ in terms of the body' Thou has prepared me'
The body has a memorial and it is what the four and twenty elders signifies. According to the everlasting covenant God and his Son, the Fellowship of God and Man has a facsimile as it were, enshrined before the throne. To this primary relationship we also have His creation in the four beasts pendent which refers to the last Adam and the four beasts. As with the right hand of him who sat on the throne indicates the Word ecome flesh, the beast with the face of man, the third beast refers to Jesus Christ the Last Adam. This entire scene is set up by the Spirit where the Law of the Spirit has its own logic, time element so we shall benefit only by suspension of disbelief. If we willing accord it to the author of the book we read, is it too much to ask?
In continuation, we can say that faith with works is in shifting our lives from being subject to the flesh and its demands to that of the Spirit. " For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (v.8)
Without being subject to the Law of the Spirit and being led, our protestations that they were serving God 'in thy name' is hypocritical. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matt.7:22-23) How Luther's word on justification has been twisted to mean faith alone is required is what the imposter churches teach. Without being led by the Spirit and treating the flesh as dead they are still creating a wicked and adulterous generation. Without faith their work is that of those that work iniquity.
"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his./ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."(vv.9-10)
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
'In all these things' refers to v.34 "shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Shall these things separate us from the love of Christ?
On one hand we have 'love of Christ' which in the sight of God is what our physical body can quite comprehend but it is faith given its full scope ,- so trust explains our part,- and intercessory aspect of faith is on the other pinion, of our being hid in Christ and it is what the Spirit shall attend to. In vv.26-27 we have this assurance," but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered./And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God".Without faith on our part this love of Christ is merely eyewash. It is not our flesh but faith that makes the connection.Both man and angel have equal part as this verse explains, "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."(Ps.57:1)
Significance of "In the shadow of thy wings" is same as in the Song of Moses,"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty./I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."
There is only one measurement in the world of the Spirit, to which we have been called according to his purpose. So the love of Christ is interchangeable with that of God. This explains the fulness of God in Christ. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,"(v.28)
Without doing the will of God all these profession of faith is merely lip service."Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?
All things associated with the fulness of God in Jesus Christ is the core value. Not material wealth not praise of men but whom God did not spare for our sakes. If the world hated him we also shall be hated. So all things we need consider within the frame of reference to Jesus Christ. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"(v.35).
"It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us," so whatever happens is according to his purpose. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." This is good when we dod share certain things that he also suffered in his body. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."(Col.3:4)
If we are dead to the flesh, is loss if dust to dust returns. It follows law of nature. But we who are in the Spirit are under the Law of the Spirit. " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,/Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " This is what the Law has spoken and it is according to the divine Will.
"If God be for us, who can be against us?/ He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
It is with him that God gives us 'all things'. James in his epistle tells we were made a new creation not of ourselves but of his own will." Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...."(Jas.1:17-18). Firstly these things delineate the fulness of God in him for his glory, so Constantine I using it to ensure his claim to the throne of Caesars, was not according to his purpose. " All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," claimed by the Caesar Constantine did not work together for his son whom on some specious charge he had killed. Neither did it good for the empire since it was soon split into two and the same controversy followed the Mother church at every turn. God had cast off the nation of Israel and as warned by his Son. Yet the Pope would create a holy war in order to retrieve Jerusalem, a conflict that haunts to this day.
The second century church father's homily, coming down to us "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,"has become a double edged sword with the inquisitions, religious wars so the evil that was outside simply got within, so we may well heed the warning of Jesus, "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep./ The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep." ( John 10:12-13) For the robbers and thieves, 'all things' have been what is tangible, wealth titles, landed property megachurches, power over life and death over men and pomp and circumstance of their cloth. Jesus would call them,"for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, "(Matt.23:27)
Do we have to look in the mirror to see how closer we conform in the image of his Son? The Law of the Spirit underpins these growing in grace, being hid in Christ. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty./But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."(2 Co.3:17-18)
There is sequence in the manner the lump of leaven can transform the whole batch of meal. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."(v.30)
His calling and gifts are irrevocable. The Lord is good and he also is co-signatory to the everlasting covenant. So he chided Jonah for putting his personal prejudices before his ministry."And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"( Jonah 4:11) Jonah must been like some of these Evangelicals who let the colour and race come between their own salvation and calling. If one fool of a politician suggest millions of migrants be in one fell swoop be seized by the army and deported, these 'ministers' find that is good. "The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."(Pr.16:4) The Lord alone is good and the manner the rogues have hijacked the word to impose their own prejudices and make evil for good, the Spirit has a warning for them. These wicked who lies and spread disinformation did not get to the position by their merits. God set them up for the day of evil. It has to come before the Age of apostles should continue as before. God knows how to keep His saints in that day.
The word "good" as with "absolutely" are two words in my opinion, the most abused simply because the ungodly use them to mean something else. 'Every home with a carport' was a sign of the good times but now anyone with an axe to grind, simply use one to plough into an unsuspecting crowd crowd, to cause untold damages.God alone is good and absolute but without trusting Him what the godless is what we get. Law of the Spirit use the word of God with a purpose. It is Person specific. Consider this verse."For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."(v.29). God decrees a day,'Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee./Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance." (Ps.2:7-8) If the Son asks 'the heathen' will He not give him just that? The everlasting covenant with which the Bible begins is just that. Without believing it the imposter church has completely disrupted the Age of Apostles with their travesty of 'new norms' and the Christian world is solely to blame if a Christian father gives his son for glock when he asks one. the boy already has been bitten by the 'wannahaves' as influencers. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?(Matt.7:11) Many have problem to understand the idea of predestination. They forget the Word made flesh is the same yesterday, today and forever'. The omnipotent God foreknows those who are His. Jesus asked of Him and given them for his inheritance. I do not find any impossibility here. Jesus makes it clear," For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me."( John 17:8)
Do we have to look in the mirror to see how closer we conform?
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Here we have the two wings of Christian Living. On one hand we have those 'who are called according to his purpose'. On the other those 'who love God'. These are two witnesses: these are like olive trees ,"These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."(Ro.11:4). These two pinions have a body which is the building of God eternal in heavens so being hid in Christ means man called according to God's purpose, and his works while in his vile body are as though Christ in him did. Where is Christ seated? He sat down "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Under the Law of the Spirit he has his covered in the other pinion which establishes his love of Christ. It is what v.27 says, "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." This part is called 'angel.' There is only single measurement for the holy city of God, man-angel ("according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel"-Ro.21:17)
God makes angels spirits, "and his ministers a flaming fire."(Ps.104:4). We see how Moses, Elijah and prophets of old stood upto the wickedness,"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed./These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues." It is what the Law of the Spirit executes. The angel part is witness to the mind of the Spirit,"because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." The man is hid in Christ in heavenly places, his faith meanwhile works as the two witnesses do testify. We are more than conquerors.
"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."
God's covenant is with Man. Our Association with him is in the manner the Law distinguishes between God the Father and Son. He blessed His creation in him. As a living soul God placed His creation in the hands of Adam. God blesses them, "And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."(Ge.1:22). Here also the original covenant is followed. The body of man in the image of God is also "after our likeness". Adam is the double for the Son, whose body formed of the ground rendered their bodies share a common destiny. What is it? How does man replenish the earth? As in the case of the fruit tree,"whose seed was in itself, after his kind," he renewed the earth with the seed of the loins. God uses the seed in the same sense as here when he warns of the enmity "and between thy seed and her seed;"(Ge.3:15) The same gift of propagation after his kind belonged to them."
God blessed man and woman. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. The body has been prepared for his Son so when Word became flesh,"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same."(He.2:14)
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me."(He.10:5). The vile body for the firstfruits have a specific significance. Redemption of their body is glorious as well as spiritual. "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."(1 Co.15:49) The Lamb slain is an emblem. The glory of the throne of God and of the Lamb denotes unity of the Spirit. Signs and wonders He.2:13
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; "
Christ having died once has fulfilled his obligation under the covenant. He dies no more but is seated "on the right hand of the Majesty on High". After he had by himself purged our sins, he continues "all things by the word of his power," and it shall be so till the day decreed for him must be accomplished. In the beginning set the covenant to which the fulness of time marked the testament of Christ to come in effect. So what is holding him up? "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool./The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." (Ps.110:1-2 He.1:3:Ps.2:7)
Having freed from law of sin we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies, the Law of the Spirit has covered by the spirit of adoption so we cry, Abba, Father." Besides Jesus taught us the prayer as to signify what was his Father. "Our Father which art in heaven is our reality under the life in the Spirit. Blood of the Lamb has cleansed us from our former life, in the flesh. Christ of God has come sanctification to us. "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren."(He.2:11-12) The word of God endures forever which is the gospel preached to us. (1 Pe.1:25). We heard while so many heard but dismissed it outright as unnecessary. What made the difference. We heard the gospel in faith. (Ro.10:17) This connects with the Law, forever settled in the heavens. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren./ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Not all who were foreknown simply treated as those in the Parable of the Marriage of the king's Son.
Overview of vv.16-39
The entire chapter changes into two section. The first section is built over "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (v.10) The second half centres about v.32,"If God be for us, who can be against us?"
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." In order to live a life in the spirit we need step back from the clamour of life that demands our time most of which are distraction than helpful. "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." For one in the flesh his social capital is in his friends and it can unless one is wary can be exhausting. As in the case of the Prodigal son in the parable one builds up friends and keep them often drains his wallet. Come a change in fortune because of pandemic or depression one often realises many of them were fair-weather friends whose socialising was to feather their own nests and higher too. For one who died in the flesh in order to have Christ in him the second part of the Proverb quote is very apt. He is 'closer than a friend.' He died for us and "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."(v.34) We die in order to gain a friend whose fulness covers the earth as well as heaven." For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,/ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Who as a friend can match him who brings along God who shall love you as his very Son?
In vv.1-15 St Paul covered what shall be taken away when you are dead to sin. Carnally minded is enmity to God, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.' This has no place for us.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Glory of God is the expression of Power and Wisdom in their levelling off both facets of holiness so the three entities are not separate but intrinsic quality of God. Wisdom of God renders the Word becoming flesh, for which the slain Lamb is an emblem. The same Lamb when we consider in terms of the Power principle is the Lamb of God, having the power in himself to take away the sin of the world. In his humanity it is what the Power of God has willed. So the Word or the Law of the Spirit remains sacrosanct. Jesus suffered outside the camp, which is his humanity." Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate." (He.13:12) Death could not hold him because the Power of God raised him to life so that the scripture might be fulfilled. That is a sign. What is our glory being adopted in his Son? It is under the umbrella of the throne of the Lamb. This body of the Lamb is expressed in terms of the glory of the light of the Lamb. In short the same suffering such as Jesus suffered in his body is our portion as well. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."(8:7)
Suffering in the flesh can also occur in the world being unequally yoked with godless people.. Jezebel coveted the neighbour's vineyard. King Ahab was not a slumlord but a genuine buyer who wanted to make his property grander. Neboth would not sell. So he is despondent. His happiness is in some one elses hand. The devil has got his hook on him, Jezebel asks, "But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" Flesh suffers because of law of sin, the spirit wants it all. So the law of sin makes the damned all the more wretched. (1 Ki.21)
How then can a true born child of God be His mother?
We must look at Mary who received the living Word and conceived a child who in due time brought forth Christ .
We too if born again of that incorruptible seed which is the Word of God by the Holy Spirit that seed will in its proper time bring forth fruit after its own kind . Whereby we are crucified with Christ ever the less I live but not I but Christ that liveth in me"
Jesus speaking of Himself said " unless a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abide the alone but if it does it bringers forth much fruit" what sort of fruit ? After its own kind .
Man was CREATED in the image of God but he is BORN in the image of his father Adam ." Shapen in iniquity"
That image of God was lost or so marred by sin it is now unrecognisable. Did not Jesus say He came to seek and to save that which was lost"?
"Who being the express image of the invisible God" restores or rather makes "a new creation in Christ Jesus "
If a man who stands before God then finds himself in hell ,it will not be so much because he has sinned ( for all have sinned." But because of his rejection of Christ and thus does not bare the image of God in him and is thus rejected ." I never knew you".
And let's face it if a person is forever saying " No God" in his heart is he not simply saying I am not a child of God? But rather a " child of disobedience and a " child of wrath ".?
We need to grow up who profess to know Christ for far too long we have been " little children" who know not Him who is from the beginning "
" For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live./For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
What does it mean to be hid in Christ in heavenly places? " For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."(Col.3:3) No man has seen God, as John says,"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."( John 1:18). The word spoken to us is the truth and 'thy word is truth' makes the testimony of Jesus Christ as first hand account of heavenly realities. Being hid in Christ therefore is total trust in the Apostle sent from heaven. So the only way we can do is follow his example and it as real as being led by the Spirit. "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." Works is in the manner our faith strives to make this as natural and from our heart so there is no room for inconvenient pursuits. As a cartoonist for newspapers my world view centred on observing the quirks in others which is inconvenient in a chid of God. So I let it go. Similarly my growth led by the Spirit has been slow and with experience more easy and I believe his grace has filled in wherever gaps wer, So our Christian Living is not a single linear advancement. Main thing is to stay the course, and quit me as a man, trusting in my Saviour.
Jesus laid down the principle of Association. Matt.10:40;Luke10:16) Up and Down it moves as Jesus is the Lord from heaven; we becoming Christ-like so faithwith works move across. It mirrors heavenly placein the sight of God a Spirit. "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:/Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."Ph.3:17
"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
God a Spirit sets the Law, It is Law of the Spirit. How He works from the world unseen to the world made to appear has only the word to enlighten the consequences of the Law. The writer to the Hebrews explains, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God," If one is in the Spirit does one need aske, What is deep time or the age of the mammoth tusks one digs up from time to time. It is what man in the flesh shall want to ask. His reason puts up a tantrum and what it cannot being an outsider goes on to make answers which can only make the glory of God among the skeptics, a matter of derision. Bishop pf Oxford at the time Darwin's theories defended that only showed one who is in the Spirit ought to let these things alone. St Augustine in his time was stumped to answer the question:which came first: chicken or the egg? God as the creator surely considers it according to his Law so we accept it by faith.
The Spirit instructs us for our spiritual growth set this verse. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Spirit also has set what pleases Him. "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.11:8) It is thus the Spirit has set signposts from first to the last. The simple merely takes a text and interprets literally. The woman's seed cannot be Abraham's seed since man's blessings do not sprnig from Abrahamic promises but from Jesus Christ the Word made flesh. "Thy word is truth" Jesus applies to the word or the Law of the Spirit. It is set down in the covenant. Ep.1:3-4. He chose us according to the pleasure of his will. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,/To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
Je.23:29-Is not my Word like as a fire?saith the Lord;and like a hammer that breakes the rock in pieces?
JESUS made it so clear,saying:Lk.12:49-I am come to send fire on the earth;and what will I,if it be already kindled?
JESUS said more:Lk.12:54-57
54...When ye see a cloud rise out of the west,straightway ye say, There comes a shower;and so it is.
55When ye see the south wind blow,ye say,There will be heat;and it comes to pass.
56Ye hypocrites,ye can discern the face of the sky and the earth;but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
57Yea,and why even of yourselves Judge ye not what is right?
Gen.18:17-22-17 The Lord said,Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?20The Lord said,Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great,and their sin is very grievous;21I will go down now,and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it,which is come unto me;and if not,I will know.22And the men turned their faces from thence,and went toward Sodom:but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
Gen.19:1-14
1And there came two men to Sodom at even;and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them;and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
13They said unto Lot:We will destroy this place...the Lord has sent us to destroy it.(NOW THE DEVIL'S WORLD AS A WHOLE)
Lk.17:26-30
26And as it was in the days of Noe,so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man
27They did eat,they drank,they married wives,they were given in marriage,until the day Noah entered into the ark,the flood came,and destroyed them all.
28Also as it was in the days of Lot;they did eat,they drank,they bought,they sold,they planted,they builded;
29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained FIRE and brimstone from heaven,and destroyed them all
30Even thus SHALL IT BE(NOW)in the day when the Son of man is revealed
The Word is GOD,GOD Himself,self-executing
Get ready
I would to give my thoughts on "The temptation or testing/proving of Satan" and whether he knew Jesus was the Son of God or not in Luke 4:1-13.
First I would like to say I believe he knew Jesus was the Son of God.
I also believe he knew Jesus was coming to this world by way of the Prophet's and perhaps the first prophecy recorded given to him in Genesis 3:15. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and HER SEED; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Immediately the line by which the seed would come was persecuted from there on.
The seed of the woman is biologically wrong and should raise eyebrows.
This is directly spoken to Eve but also depicts Israel.
Seed of the woman also depicts the father of this child would be God.
When we come to the prophets he can see a clear picture.
So why would Satan even try to test the Son of God?
There's two things here to consider.
1) We have to consider verse 1 if Luke 4. "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS,
This was orchestrated by the Spirit! Jesus was presented to be tested!
Not to see if he would fail it was to show he was who the Scripture say he was.
2) Satan used the same method he used on Eve knowing she was flesh.
He knew Jesus was the Son of God but he tried to see if there was a kink in his humanity.
God bless.