Jesus the festivals and the law.

Source: Jesus the festivals and the law.

Jesus the festivals and the law.

I read something today that stirred my spirit. There seems to be a grave misconception about Jesus keeping the feasts and festivals. The misconception is that because Jesus kept the feast and festivials that we as Christians should as well. This is a circular argument at best and couldn’t be further from the truth. The problem with this type of argument is that it lacks biblical and covenant understanding and most of all the truth. The first thing we need to understand is that Jesus who came to fulfill the law has not yet done so when he was honoring the feasts. One particular scripture that is used is John 7:6-30. The misconception here is because Jesus went to the feast that means we should still honor them today.  The only problem is, his fulfillment of ghe law had not been completed yet as stated in vs 30 in this passage of scripture.  So my perplexity to this position is high because of the fact of what the scripture states.

Why is this important?  Well it is important because most don’t understand or seem to not want to understand is that the feasts ans festivals were part of the law. We know this by simply reading the entire chapter of Leviticus 23. This entire chapter is dealing with the law of the festivals. Here is a small sample:

The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord ‘ s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations-My appointed times are these:  ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.  ‘These are the appointed times of the Lord , holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord ‘ s Passover. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord ; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord . On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'”  Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord . You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an  ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord . Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord , with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord . You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord ; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.  ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the Lord your God.'”  Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord .'”  The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord . You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

Leviticus 23:1-9, 15-29, 31 NASB

http://bible.com/100/lev.23.1-31.NASB

This lets us know that the feast and festivals were a part of the law and the original or old covenant.  We understand as Christians that Jesus had to be perfect in the law in order to fulfill it based on the law of the Jews that a lamb without blemish be sacrificed for the sins of the people on the day of atonement (Yom Kippur). Jesus could not, I repeat COULD NOT violate any one iota of the law before he fulfilled it because he would then not be sinless and his sacrifice would be. null and void and his fulfillment not complete. Which would mean no atonement for our sins which meanswe die in our sins because no o e is sacrificing lambs for this purpose any longer.

The covenant was purposed to change as written in Jeremiah 31. However this change was only to happen with death of Christ as written in Hebrews 9:6-18.

Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.

Hebrews 9:6-18 NASB

http://bible.com/100/heb.9.6-18.NASB

Therefore just as all things in the Old covenant the feasts and festivals were a SHADOW of the real things that were done in Christ. Hebrews 9:19-28 Colossians 2:8-19 John 5:39 1 Corinthians 5:7 others attest to this fact. JESUS had to die a sinless life in order for the new covenant to begin.  In this new covenant we are not under the bondage of the law. The Grace of God was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. The creator of thr first covenant, Jesus our Lord had to die to change it to bring in the new covenant and do away with the types ans shadows.  So yes Jesus honored the feast and festivals but we are no where commanded to do so in the New Testament or New Covenant.

Why the Apocrypha is not inspired Scripture

Why the Apocrypha is not scripture…

There is a big misconception surrounding the Jewish Apocrypha. There are those who seem to think it was taken out of scripture or that it is actually divinely inspired scripture. I will outline several reasons why it should have never been added to scripture and why it is not inspired scripture.

First what is the Apocrypha? The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish writings that were written between 400-200 B.C. Although the give a great historical account of things that went on they themselves say they are not divinely inspired.

The Apocrypha was not officially added to the cannon of scripture until the Council of Trent (1546 AD). This happened because the Roman Catholic church knew that it contained information that supported some of their doctrines that were disputed like praying for the dead, purgatory and treasurer of merit . Also not one of these writings is written in Hebrew, they were added to the Greek Septuagint. Well some will ask what is the issue. The issue is that all of the Old Testament (OT) Books are written in Hebrew. The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek because of so many Jews during their persecution by the Persians and Greeks has lost the ability to speak Hebrew (Nehemiah 13:24). So the Apocrypha was not translated to be added to the Septuagint it was written in Greek and then added. Hebrew alone was the language used by the inspired writers, Historians and Poets of the Jewish OT.

NOT ONE OF THE APOCRYPHA WITERS CLAIMS THEIR WRITINGS ARE INSPIRED. 

The OT writers routinely claimed divine inspiration with statements such as “Thus Saith the LORD.” This is how the Jews considered something scripture most were written by prophets which was another confirmation that scripture had been written. The Apocrypha says in 1 Maccabees 4:46/9:27 and 14:41

1 Maccabees 4:46 and they laid p in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them.

1 Maccabees 9:27 and there was a great tribulation in Israel, such as was not since the day, that there was no prophet seen in Israel.

1 Maccabees 14:41 and that the Jews and their priests, had consented that he should be their prince and high priest forever, til there should arise a faithful prophet.

This shows here the Apocrypha itself unlike other scripture makes a claim that it IS NOT DIVINELY INSPIRED.

The other thing is that the Jews never looked at the Apocrypha as inspired scripture.  Ist Century Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus wrote in Against Apion 1:8 that the Jewish Cannon of Scripture had only 22 books. We have in ours 39 because the Jewish cannon was organized differently and some books like Ruth and Judges were considered one book as were Lamentations and Jeremiah. They however contain ALL the material in our 39 books.  Also the Manual of Discipline in the DEAD SEA SCROLLS rejected the Apocrypha as inspired scripture. So if the Jews in BC times and in the 1st Century AD reject the Apocrypha why should we now accept it? 2 Maccabees also alludes to the fact that it is not divinely inspired. 2 Maccabees 2:24-32  and 2 Maccabees 15:39-40.

The Apocrypha also has offensive content toward women which is not in coherence with Gods authorship.

Ecclesiasticus 25:19 Any Iniquities is insignificant to a wife’s  iniquity

Ecclesiasticus 25:24 From a Woman sin had its beginning because of her we all die

Neither of these to me are worse than

Ecclesiasticus 22:30 it is a disgrace to  be the father of an undisciplined, and the Birth of a daughter is a loss.

WHAT????? I have 4 daughters and no son so basically this is saying my daughters are useless to society or they are a waste of my sperm.  Why would anyone feel this is divinely inspired?

The Apocrypha also teaches immoral practices such as lying, suicide, assassinations and magical incantations. Not to mention it has contradictions within perfect example of this is how in the 2 books of Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three different deaths in three different places.

How did the early Church View the Apocrypha?

First and foremost the New Testament (NT) has 263 quotations and 370 allusions to the OT and NOT ONE REFERS TO THE APOCRYPHA. Therefore the NT writers must not have seen this known document to be part of inspired scripture. Almost every book of the OT is quoted in the NT except Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. The difference in these Books compared to the Apocrypha is that they were ALWAYS included in the History Collection of the Jewish Cannon. Whereas the Apocrypha were not even allowed to be placed among the sacred text.

Melito (170 AD) and Origen both rejected the Apocrypha as scripture(Eccl. Hist. VI.25, Eusebius) and Origen was a known heretic who would have had reason to accept it but he knew better. Also the Muratorian Cannon rejects it as well.

Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate vigorously resisted adding the Apocrypha to his translation. It however was added in later Vulgate manuscripts (Not Jerome’s) by the Roman Catholic Church. Jerome was the first to describe the 7 books as the “Apocrypha” (doubtful Authenticity).

In Closing

I have shown several reasons why the Apocrypha was never seen as divine scripture. There are more this is just a scratch of the surface. IT IS NOT DIVINELY INSPIRED. The Apocrypha in several of its books it says such of itself. This in contrast to the NT in several verse and books alludes to its inspiration Matthew 10:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 just to name a few. The NT also Alludes to the OT as divinely inspired scripture. So before we say something was removed from the Bible Cannon or that it should be considered scripture and is important to understanding other scripture let’s do proper research and not lean to our own  understanding.  Just because “IT IS WRITTEN” doesn’t mean its divinely inspired.

The Truth about Hams’ Son Canaan

I picked this topic because of some incorrect information that I learned from the cults that I used to be a part of. Canaan the son of Ham who was cursed by Noah in Genesis 9:25 is taught by many cults like the Ansaar, Nuwapu and others that this curse turned his skin white or pale that this is the beginning of the white race. These same people who teach this racism also teach that the Egyptians and Cushites who they adore are also descendants of Ham. Both of these groups being descendants of Ham is True but one being cursed and their skin turning pale is not. We are not even one hundred percent on the race of these ancient people it’s all speculation.1st  After the curse is mentioned in Genesis 9:25 there is nothing else mentioned about it except that it was a curse which leads to my second point. 2nd It was never mentioned in the Bible “WHAT THE CURSE WAS!!!” How does anyone get that Canaan was cursed either turning his skin white or black? The Canaanites lived in the land that was promised to the Jews Just between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. What country is that? ISRAEL/PALESTINE!!!! Which is not that far from Egypt that these cultist love so much. Canaan was the father of 11 clans Genesis 10:15-18 15Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth16and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite 17and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite 18and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. So which of these were the white race and which were the black race? Which was cursed with a so called skin curse? 3rd God did not Curse Canaan Noah did how much power did Noah have to change the race of and entire tribe of people?

The other issue is these cult groups say that God told the Jews not to mix with the Canaanites because they were white. This again is not biblical, Deuteronomy 7:1-4 Says God was going to destroy the Canaanites and the other -ites and that Israel was not to mix with them because they would turn them away from serving him to serving idols!!! The Canaanites were Idolaters! Deut 7:5 tells us this. Deuteronomy 7:1-5    1″When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.3Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. Where does their race come in at?

Then you have the groups like the Hebrew Israelites who claim this same thing and then take it into the New Testament and claim Jesus was racist toward them as well. They use Matthew 15:21-26

The Syrophoenician Woman

21Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And a Canaanite woman from that region came out andbegan to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

They always seem o stop at this verse and never go any further. They say, see Jesus called her a dog, she was a white devil dog. What we have here is the Jewish culture coming into play. The Canaanites were idol worshipers as I pointed out earlier. They despised the Jews for what God took from them and the Jews despised them for their pagan practices. This is the reason she was most likely called a dog not because she was white. We also must finish this scripture and read the last 2 verses in this exchange. 27But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.”And her daughter was healed at once.

Regardless if Jesus Called her a dog or not he recognized how great her faith was and healed her daughter as she had asked!!!

So in conclusion there is absolutely no where in the Bible where is says the Canaanites are cursed to have pale or white skin. Jesus was not being racist when he called the Syrophoenician Woman a dog. God did not tell Israel not to mix with the Canaanite because they were white. These are things that have been read into the scriptures by racist supremacist Black Cult leaders.

Are you Worshiping the right Jesus???

I have a saying that I like to say to others who are bringing people to Christ. That saying is “ Are you sure you and others are bringing people to the right Jesus?” There are a lot of people who ask me what it is that I mean when I say this, well I will start with scripture…. Jesus himself said that there would be false Christs to arise Matthew 24:23-24:
²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So if the Christ himself says there will be false Christ why don’t we think there are?  These are people in this world who portray Christ as something that he is not. Well if Jesus wasn’t enough his Apostles agreed and knew of some in their time after Christs death and resurrection.  Paul wrote in his second Epistle to the Corinthians about people coming Preaching another Jesus. 2 Corinthians 11:4:
⁴For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him

Again, why are we so surprised when someone like me says or asks are we worshipping the right Jesus? This is a legitimate question according to scripture.

Now the question becomes who is the right Jesus and who is the wrong Jesus. I think I will start with the wrong Jesus. There are sects who say that Jesus is not the 2^nd Person in the Trinity i.e. Jehovah’s witnesses, Apostolic and united Pentecostals organizations just to name a few. Not to mention Islam and other cults who say the Jesus is only a Prophet. Some say his name is the only divine name to be called or baptized in, some say he is A God and not God. Mormons believe we can be God like he was. THESE ARE ALL THE WORG JESUS AND THE OTHER OR ANOTHER JESUS THAT PAUL WAS SPEAKING OF. THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY STATE THAT JESUS IS GOD AND THE 2^ND PERSON IN THE GODHEAD OF THE TRINITY WHICH I S EXPLAINED IN AN EARLIER BLOG.

If you have a Pastor or biblical teacher who does not believe in the Trinity then he is teaching you the wrong Jesus. If he teaches that Jesus wants you to be rich or enables you to speak things into existence he is teaching you the wrong Jesus. IF JESUS IS THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT THEN YOU ARE WORSHIPPING THE WRONG JESUS.

So if you are not worshipping the right Jesus you will not enter into the kingdom! The bible asks us to study to show thyself approved. Test all spirits but we just listen to whatever we are told and we follow it. So if we do this we are not doing God’s will for us. We must read the bible for our understading with God not someone else’s understanding!

The Gloves are off for Christ!!

Okay the Gloves are off!!  What I mean by this is I’m going to be pretty sharp in my statements but I’m not trying to destroy anyone or anything just trying to edify 2 Corinthians 13:10!!! 2 Corinthians 13:10:

¹⁰Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

I have been insulted by a Pastor of a church, which in no way is acceptable on any level! The Bible clearly states how we as Christians should operate

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11         and

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. – Colossians 3:12

This Pastor shows none of these qualities! He is arrogant, boastful, prideful and not gentle at all!

Here is the basis of it, we were having a discussion on a status of another Facebook friend of mine about Pastors and them teaching entrepreneurship and I said I was against it. This is in no way a dividing issue because I am not against entrepreneurship being taught to anyone even member of the church. I just believe someone else should do it not the Pastor. I also used Scripture in the discussion to back this up.

Here is the issue that I have with the pastor during the discussion he began to say that I was not bright. This is after he used no scripture to back up what he was trying to convey because he couldn’t. He then goes on to use a term that I wasn’t familiar with (and because I’m humble I admit these things), the term is “Hidden Curriculum.” Well if you know me you know that I am the ultimate student, so what do I do? I research the term and low a behold I find that it is a term used in education which can be used in Theology as well.

The term means that some things are not on the surface or not written in rule but they are in the context of rules or reading such as the Bible. The Hidden Curriculum can just as much weight as the words or rules that are written. Wait I’m not bright enough to have found this out in just the last hour while watching Espn and Dr. Walter martin Videos!!! LOL Back to topic now.

I realize that this along with other rules like it can be abused and has been by certain Cultic organization to keep their members blind to their and to hide their real doctrine! So here is where the discussion took a turn he used to term and applied it to Acts Chapter 4, where the disciples were converting new followers and these followers were selling their possessions and giving to them to the disciples and a show of commitment to the faith and understanding that they all were one and needed to help each other not need or want for anything. This is the part of Chapter 4 I am referring to: Acts 4:32-37:

³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

³⁵And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

³⁶And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

³⁷Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

This Scripture is about “The Community of Possessions” which is how the church should operate. These people were follow somewhat of a direct commandment from Christ I say this as I ask you to check Matthew 19:21

Matthew 19:21:
²¹Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

We see here that there is no hidden curriculum here because everything is written in the text and we know why they did what they did.

Here in lies the issue…. The Pastor insists that the hidden curriculum is the fact that the people owned things and that this is very important to the scripture as well. My question to him is Why is it relevant that they owned things when they sold them for the greater good it the theme of the scripture. When Jesus down played the fact that the rich young ruler owned things? In fact Christ told him to sell them!!! Which is what the new followers of Christ did in Acts!!! But remember I’m not bright.

I’m not bright enough to see that this type of theology lines right up with the “Prosperity doctrine!!!”  This let’s me know what type of church he is running and most likely “Word Faith Doctrine. “ What he is doing is what the Apostle Paul warns us against in Galatians 1:6-10 So he is to be condemned Which is to suffer divine damnation.  This is because this constitutes altering the Gospel which we know can’t be done.  Jude verse 3 tells us

Jude 1:3:
³Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

So Yes during the discussion I called this Pastor a false teacher and said that he was twisting the scriptures. I ask you now, are I wrong for making this statement about him?

We cannot ad our own interpretations to scripture and ad this Hidden Curriculum to all Scripture!! Certain things are said and meant just as they are written in Scripture.

Amen Saints, I hope that this is help full!

Signed the not so bright Facebook Preacher! He called me that too!!

Is The Trinity Biblical????

We have this question of if the trinity is biblical. This has been a question or should I say debate amongst believers since the 2^nd century early church.  We have the Pentecostal and Apostolic faiths that claim the ones theology of God being one and his eternal name is Jesus which is true in a sense but not totally biblical.  Then we have the Holy Spirit which they say is the Spirit of God or as the Jehovah’s Witnesses say the active force of God, well this is not true biblically at all. So the question becomes, how do we prove the trinity biblically and are we able to? Well the answer is a resounding YES.  

I will start in the Old Testament and probably not the verse you may think, Isaiah 9:6

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

This verse describes that Christ would be Called “The mighty God” now although is may seem to coincide with the ness doctrine, it doesn’t and it completely dis-credits Jehovah’s witnesses claims that he isn’t Jehovah God. WE know for a fact that God the Father was never born, that he transcends time and creation all together. So how can one truthfully dis-credit this verse and being about Jesus Christ?

2 Peter 1:17 separates the two divine person of the father and son ¹⁷For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.   

We see this yes we don’t want to admit the obvious. John another apostle also gives us the distinction between the son and the father. Here in 1 John 1:1-3 he says   ¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

   ²(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

   ³That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

These statements here from apostles close to Jesus and his ministry show us distinction between God the Father and God Jesus Christ the Son. We must then wonder what Jesus himself said. In my last post we saw how Jesus said he was God and he and the Father were one. Did Jesus ever give a clear distinction that he and the father were separate persons? Again we answer this with a resounding YES!!  In John 17:5 Jesus provides a distinction  ⁵And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

This verse is important because it correlates with John 1:1-3 these verses tell us that these distinct People were together before time began!!  Jesus made a distinction here and in Matthew 28:18-19 Matthew 28:19:
  ¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Now if you notice there is a third distinction here, the “Holy Ghost” !!! We will get into the Holy Ghost in a minute. There is also anoter verse of distinction between the God the Father and God Jesus. We find in Hebrews 11-10 that the Father calls the Son Godn and says that he should be worshipped! Hebrews 1

   ¹God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

   ²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

   ³Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

   ⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

   ⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

   ⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

   ⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

   ⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

   ⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

   ¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

 These verses correlate with John 17:5 as well! This is good to because it totally dis-credits the Jw’s and 7^th day Adventist claim to Jesus being the archangel Michael.

Now back to the third person of the trinity the “Holy Ghost!” We find that the Pentecostals say that Jesus “is” the holy spirit as well, but the Jehovah’s witnesses say “it’s just and active force of God.” Jesus however in John14:26 16:7-8 that the Holy Ghost is a person he describes the Holy Ghost as he or himJohn 14:26:
 ²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:7:

   ⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

These verse is important because of the active force argument by the JW’s, right here Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a he or Him not an It! This provides distinction of person between himself and the spirit!!! Now the question becomes did the disciples understand this as a distinction in the God head? A resounding YES is in order again. Peter in Acts when speaking to Ananias says to him  ³But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

   ⁴Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Peter called the Holy Spirit God, not an active force! He also didn’t say that it was Jesus or the Father! Luke also writes in Acts 13:2 that the Holy Ghost Spoke!! How does an active force speak? Luke didn’t write here that Jesus Spoke!

We see in several places that the Bible whether it was the father, Jesus or the disciples separated the Father son and Holy Spirit and three distinct persons of the one true God. WE know that the word trinity does not exist in the text of scripture but we know that the theology does. This theology gets hammered home no better than in 1 John 5:7
 ⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

We must remember that God tells us who he is and never did he ask us to figure out how he is! He tells us in his word in Isaiah 40:28 that there is no searching for his understanding and in Isaiah 55:8-9 that our ways are not his ways and his thoughts are higher than ours. WE have to just have faith is who he tells us he is and not begin to try to understand how can this be aand start adding human attributes to an all-powerful God!!! Peace and Blessings Saints I hope this was informative!! 

 

Did Jesus say that He was God???

There is this question that I see Christians stumbling over every time they get asked. That question is Did Jesus say that he was God? Most Christians can’t answer this in confidence and emphatically with YES!!! Well we will give you the information to make such a YES happen.  I get the question all the time Did Jesus say that “I am God worship me?” Well Not that I have ever read, but that doesn’t mean in any way that he never claimed to be God and those he said it too understood the claim he was making.  I’m going to start with Matthew 41-45, here Jesus is asking the Pharisees about who did they think the Messiah was the son of. They answered the “Son of David” and Jesus quickly reminded them about the Psalm of David Psalms 110:1. David calls the Messiah “Lord” in this text.  This next text is when Jesus was arrested with and presented before Caiaphas Mark 14:60-64. What is important to note here is that in Verse 61 Jesus was asked if he was the Christ the Son of the Blessed and in verse 62 he answered Mark 14:62:
⁶²And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. What is important here is that he said he was the Son of Man which correlates with Daniel 7:13-14, so the Jews were upset at this and the high priest ripped his clothes off saying why do we need any more witnesses. This was Blasphemous to them because the son of man was to have an everlasting kingdom and everyone would serve him. The Jews knew this but we act as though now we cannot comprehend this fact. Now Let’s visit Luke 5:20-24 and Mark 2:5-11 here is where Jesus tells the with Palsy that his sins are forgiven and the Pharisees said Who is that that speaks blasphemies because only God can forgive sins!!! Wow Jesus is doing Godly actions, which is staking his claim as God. John 8:48-58 is so powerful in this claim to Deity especially verse 58 when He says Before Abraham was, I am!!! The Jews again went to stone him. Finally so I won’t post every scripture pertaining to this which could be a lot of writing, John 10:14-38 Jesus extensively says that he and Jehovah are ONE and the Jews again went to stone him. We must as Christians no what we believe and why we believe it and how to explain it and prove it to other while defending the faith. Peace and Blessings Saints.

Do Christians have the Power to Decree and Promised Increase?

I hear a lot of Christians say things like “Increase” or “Speak it  to existence” and “Decree” as in what they themselves can decree or speak into existence or the increase that God has promised them.  Well as you know we must always go on “WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.” Well the Bible speaks to increase in several Scriptures and Books in different instances of what the increase was for. However most refer to this as a sort of promise or guarantee that God gives to us. There is a promise of increase from just being a God fearing person Psalms 115:14.  Sure the Bible says this but we must understand that this is not the doctrine of God!!!  This is what I am always trying to say. Increase is not a Doctrine of God. WE cannot come to God shouting increase this or increase that because we know that all things are done according to his Will. I Corinthians 3:6-7 States that it is God that gives the increase.  Also the Bible speaks about increasing the fruits of your righteousness which was speaking to the ministering to others the Gospel. Now for the whole speak it into existence or decree statements.  Well unless we are God which we are not the scripture clearly states in Lamentations 3:37 that No one is able to say anything and it comes to pass and the Lord has not commanded it or DECREED it. There is nowhere in the scriptures where it tells us that we as humans are able to this.  WE CANNOT DECREE ANYTHING! We are missing the point here people! The whole purpose of the Doctrine!! It is not to use God as our personal genie or ATM machine. We have to remember that God wants our faith in him! He wants our Love! WE cannot please him without faith and faith does not require us asking him for things of our carnal heart!!! Jesus Says in Mathew 6: 32-33That God knows what we need and that we should seek his kingdom and righteousness first and foremost. Instead we go right into asking him for things when we haven’t even sought out God first. WE teach these corrupt doctrines in the church and to those that we are trying to bring to Christ as well. In James 4:3-4 he says that we ask and receive not because we ask after our own lusts! So if you are asking for things out of your lusts and you receive them… WHO GAVE THEM TO YOU? HE also says that lovers of the world is the enemy of God and most of what people ask for are things about the world that they  love or should I say lust.  We must all be careful of false doctrines and perversions of the doctrine. WE must stand strong in the faith and the understanding and teaching of sound doctrine.

Hebrews 11:1 What is Faith???

OKAY ANOTHER SCRIPTURAL LESSON!!! Hebrews 11:1 I have heard the scripture time and time again mistranslated or better yet taken totally out of context!! the scripture reads.. Hebrews 11

1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Now this in no way means that you can CLAIM ANYTHING OR BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING YOU WANT(WORDLY THINGS) IS GOING TO BE YOURS i.e. house, car, husband, wife etc… YOUR FAITH DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU THESE THINGS AT ALL!!! This Scripture in essence is explaining what true faith is, It is not an actual SUBSTANCE. IT IS NOT A TANGIBLE REALITY. TRUE FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF A LIVING TRUST BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL AND GOD!!!

SEE WE KNOW THAT JESUS WAS HERE AND THAT HE DIED FOR OUR SINS AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD THREE DAYS LATER!! THAT’S THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR FAITH. THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN MEANS THAT WE HAVE THE FAITH(TRUST) THAT HE WILL RETURN IN ALL OF HIS GLORY TO SAVE US FROM THE ILLS OF THIS WORLD!! WE TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO PUT OUR FAITH IN HIM THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT SEEN THIS HAPPEN. THIS IS THE ONLY GUARANTEE THAT WE GET FROM OUR FAITH!!

OTHERS THINGS “MAY” COME FROM OUR FAITH BECAUSE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD.. JESUS “WILL” COME THIS IS THE ONLY PROMISE THAT WE GET! THIS IS WHAT WE HOPE FOR!! NOT CARNAL THINGS!!!

IF YOU READ THE FOLLOWING VERSES HEBREWS 11:2-40 WE SEE THE FAITH THAT IS SPOKEN OF THAT TELLS US HOW THESE SAINTS HAD FAITH, BUT THEIR FAITH WAS NOT ON THINGS THAT THEY WANTED FROM GOD. THEIR FAITH WAS IN THAT FACT THAT GOD ASKED SOMETHING OF THEM AND THEY FOLLOWED FAITHFULLY BECAUSE THEY HAD FAITH (TRUSTED) IN GOD!!!

I HOPE THAT THIS WAS INFORMATIVE PEACE AND BLESSINGS SAINTS!!!