Common Christian Faith: Wiki 3 of 5 by David Brown

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Common Christian Faith: Wiki Welcome to the Common Christian Faith: Wiki Jude v.3 Beloved, 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. Website is Closed 10/05/2012 Update: The Basic Christian Ministry 2000 to 2012 material has for the most part concluded. When I

originally started the internet ministry I thought it would be about a 3 to 4 year project and gratefully it has been closer to a 12 year project. Though now to continue adding material to the same files making them larger would just become counterproductive. -- I'm going to spend some time reorganizing some of the material and continue to refine the ideas, the theology and the presentation and start fresh with some more material probably later this year while still keeping the existing 2000-2012 material available. -- Most importantly I want to spend a lot of time in personal devotions, prayer, fellowship and just in seeking a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ and considering if I should continue in ministry and really what kind of ministry to be involved in. -- All the best, God bless everyone! ~ David Anson Brown

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Basic Christian: blog Bible Study - New Testament From Common Christian Faith: Wiki

Introduction

The Bible study is dedicated in the name of Jesus, Christ, God, Son, and Savior May the Lord Jesus Christ be honored by our devotions, our study and in our fellowship. May all the people be blessed and grow in the grace and knowledge of the love and presence of God our creator and our savior. Amen! blog Bible Study - Complete blog Bible Study - Old Testament blog Bible Study - New Testament The 'blog Bible Study' was completed in 10 segments 01. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua 02. Matthew, James, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews 03. Judges, Ruth, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings 04. Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum {Early period Prophets - Assyrian activity, attack on Jerusalem thwarted} 05. Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Obadiah, Daniel, Ezekiel {Middle period Prophets - destruction of Jerusalem, Solomon's Temple destroyed and the Babylonian captivity} 06. Luke, Acts, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Thessalonians, 2nd Thessalonians 07. Mark, 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1st Peter, 2nd Peter 08. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations 09. 1st Chronicles, 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Malachi {Later period Prophets - The return from Babylon, awaiting the coming Messiah} 10. John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, Jude, Revelation

blog History Study - Complete 11. The 8 Global Kingdoms of the World 12. Christian Church History

SAINT MATTHEW MATTHEW 1 - MATTHEW THE FIRST OF THE EYEWITNESS GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF THE PHYSICAL LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST [THE GOSPELS ARE PLACED IN THE BIBLE IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WERE WRITTEN, (THE EPISTLE 'BOOK OF JAMES' WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENT WRITTEN) THE EPISTLES (LETTERS) ARE PLACED ACCORDING TO THEIR SIZE - LARGEST TO SMALLEST - THEN THE BOOK OF REVELATION COMPLETES AND CLOSES THE BIBLE SCRIPTURES] - MATTHEW IS GOING TO PROVE BEYOND A REASON OF DOUBT THAT JESUS IS THE JEWISH MESSIAH (CHRIST) BY DOCUMENTING JESUS' BIRTH AND DESCENDANCY FROM KING DAVID VIA THE JEWISH TEMPLE GENEALOGY SCROLLS AND ALSO BY REFERENCING THE PROPHECIES AND SCRIPTURE DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEBREW BIBLE FORETELLING HIS COMING - MATTHEW HAVING ESTABLISHED THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST THEN NARRATES THE DIVINE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST - THE MINISTRY OF JESUS IN TRANSITIONING THE JEWISH NATION FROM FAITH AND TRUST IN EXCLUSIVELY FOLLOWING THE LAW TO FAITH AND TRUST IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD THE MESSIAH (CHRIST) - 'MATTHEW 1:1 THE BOOK OF THE GENERATION OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF [KING] DAVID ...' - 'MATTHEW 1:18-22 NOW THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS ON THIS WISE ... NOW ALL THIS WAS DONE, THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED WHICH WAS SPOKEN OF THE LORD [GOD] BY THE PROPHET ...' Eligible to be King: The genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew is given because any future King in Israel would have to show their relationship and eligibility to the previous throne of King David. In modern times an eligible relationship to King David could not be established as the Jewish Temple genealogy scrolls were destroyed in the 70 AD destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. The possibility does not exist of having a modern, post 70 AD, Messiah because it would not be possible for a person to confirm the required King David genealogy [for a King and also the promised Messiah] and it would be impossible in modern times for a person to fulfill the Old Testament laws, prophecies and Biblical accounts that substantiated Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Christ. -- 'Matthew 1:1-16 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; ... And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.' -- 'Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.'

RAY STEDMAN - ADVENTURING THROUGH THE BIBLE - THE MESSAGE OF MATTHEW: BEHOLD YOUR KING! - PEOPLE OFTEN WONDER WHY WE HAVE FOUR GOSPELS - THERE IS A VERY GOOD REASON FOR THIS - IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT EACH OF THESE GOSPELS IS A DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXCLAMATORY STATEMENT THAT IS FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES -AND ONLY FOUR TIMES -- IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE WAS AN EXCLAMATORY STATEMENT MADE CONCERNING THE MESSIAH, INTRODUCED ALWAYS BY THE WORD ***BEHOLD - IN ONE OF THE PROPHETS (ZECHARIAH 9:9) WE READ, "BEHOLD THY KING, O ISRAEL!" IN ANOTHER PLACE (ZECHARIAH 6:12) WE READ, "BEHOLD THE MAN!" IN A THIRD PLACE (ISAIAH 42:1) WE READ, "BEHOLD MY SERVANT!" IN STILL A FOURTH PLACE (ISAIAH 35:3, AMOS 4:12) WE READ, "BEHOLD THY GOD!" THESE FOUR STATEMENTS ARE AMPLIFIED AND DEVELOPED IN THE FOUR GOSPELS -- MATTHEW, THE GOSPEL OF THE KING; MARK, THE GOSPEL OF THE SERVANT; LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF THE SON OF MAN; AND JOHN, THE GOSPEL OF GOD, THE PRESENTATION OF THE SON OF GOD (MP3S) Beginning in the New Testament we move from the realm of shadow, type, and prophecy, into the full sunshine of the presentation of the Son of God. The Old Testament speaks of him on every page, but speaks in shadows, in types, in symbols, and in prophecies -- all looking forward to the coming of Someone. You cannot read the Old Testament without being aware of that constant promise running through every page -- Someone is coming! Someone is coming! Now,

when we open the Gospels, that Someone steps forth in the fullness of his glory. As John says, "We have beheld his glory...as of the only Son from the Father," (John 1:14 (RSV). I love the Gospels. They are to me one of the most perennially fascinating sections of the Bible. There you see Christ as He is. Remember that what He was is what He is; and what He is is what you have, if you are a Christian. All the fullness of His character and being and life is available to us, and we only learn what those resources are as we see Him as He was and is. That is why the Gospel records are so important to us. People often wonder why we have four Gospels. There is a very good reason for this. It is interesting to note that each of these Gospels is a development of an exclamatory statement that is found in the Old Testament. Four different times -- and only four times -- in the Old Testament there was an exclamatory statement made concerning the Messiah, introduced always by the word behold. In one of the prophets we read, "Behold thy king, O Israel!" In another place we read, "Behold the man!" In a third place we read, "Behold my servant!" In still a fourth place we read, "Behold thy God!" These four statements are amplified and developed in the four Gospels -- Matthew, the Gospel of the King; Mark, the Gospel of the Servant; Luke, the Gospel of the Son of man; and John, the Gospel of God, the presentation of the Son of God. These four Gospels give us four aspects of our Lord's character and person. They are not, strictly speaking, biographies. They are really sketches about the Person of Christ -- eyewitness accounts by those who knew him personally, or those immediately associated with them. Therefore, they have the ring of authenticity, and they carry to our hearts that first and marvelous impression that our Lord made upon his own disciples, and then upon the multitudes that followed him. No more amazing character has ever walked among men. As you read the Gospel accounts, I hope something of this fascination breaks upon your own heart as you see him stepping forth from these pages, revealed to you by the Spirit, when you see Him as He is. The first book of the New Testament is Matthew, and this is the place where most people start reading the Bible. I think more people begin reading in the New Testament than the Old, therefore, that would make Matthew the most widely read book in all the world. In fact, Renan, the French skeptic, said of this book, "This is the most important book of all Christendom." He also said, "The most important book that has ever been written is the Gospel of Matthew." But it has its critics, too. There are those who claim that this book contains nothing but the early legends of the church which grew up around Jesus, that these accounts are not historical, and that this book was not actually written until the fourth century A.D. Therefore, they say, we are uncertain as to how much is really true. Other critics make the claim that this is only one of many gospels that were circulated. Now, it is true that there are other gospels besides the four in the New Testament. There is the Gospel of Barnabas, for instance, and the Gospel of Peter, and yet other gospels. They can be found in a book called "The New Testament Apocrypha" if you would like to read them. The critics say that it is mere chance that these four Gospels survived. There is a legend that began with a German theologian named Pappas in about the 16th century who said that the Gospels were selected at the Council of Nice in 325 A.D. by gathering together all the many gospels that were circulating at that time, throwing them all under a table, and then reaching in and pulling out four which happened to be Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The foolishness of such a claim is evident to anyone who reads the Gospels with thoughtfulness. They are stamped with the fingerprints of God. The very pattern of these books reflects the divine imprint, and you cannot read them or compare them with the Old Testament without seeing that they come from an inspired source. Furthermore, you have merely to compare them with the Apocryphal gospels to see how foolish such a claim is. [link]

WHICH LANGUAGE DID JESUS SPEAK - ARAMAIC OR HEBREW? - THERE IS NO GROUND FOR ASSUMING THAT JESUS DID NOT SPEAK HEBREW; AND WHEN WE ARE TOLD (ACTS 21:40) THAT [APOSTLE] PAUL SPOKE HEBREW [TO THE CROWD IN JERUSALEM], WE SHOULD TAKE THIS PIECE OF INFORMATION AT FACE VALUE" - WE ALSO HAVE THAT OF THE CHURCH FATHERS - EIGHT EARLY WRITERS ASSERT THAT MATTHEW WROTE HIS GOSPEL IN HEBREW - THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE TESTIMONIES IS THAT OF PAPIAS (BIRTH ABOUT 60 AD - 135 AD, SOURCE WIKI.COM), A SECOND CENTURY CHURCH FATHER "MATTHEW RECORDED IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE THE WORDS [OF JESUS], AND EVERYONE [EGYPTIAN, GREEK, ROMAN, ETC.] INTERPRETED THEM AS HE IS ABLE" A Final Witness: In addition to the witnesses of the New Testament itself, archaeology, and linguistic scholarship, we also have that of the Church Fathers. Of them, Jean Carmignac says, "Eight early writers assert that Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew: altogether there are over thirty formal assertions that this was so in the works of Papias, Hegesippus, Irenaeus, Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius and Jerome". The most important of these testimonies is that of Papias, a second century Church father: "Matthew recorded in the Hebrew language the words [of Jesus], and everyone interpreted them as he is able". Dr. Brad Young sums up the importance of considering the Jewish background of Jesus' life and teachings: "...without consideration of the Jewish parallels, the Gospels will forever be

filtered through Western culture, and Jesus will be completely missed or greatly misunderstood...The world...including church leaders and outstanding scholars, often has missed Jesus. The original Jewish environment of his life promises to reveal a new vision of Jesus and his message" (Jesus the Jewish Theologian, p. xxxvi). [link]

RAYSTEDMAN.ORG: ADVENTURING THROUGH THE BIBLE BY RAY C. STEDMAN - #40 THE 400 YEARS BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS (MP3) Sunday evening services at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, were the setting for a series of 67 messages on the entire Bible preached by Ray C. Stedman. One book of the Bible was covered per message, with an additional message inserted to cover the history of the "400 Silent Years" between the close of the Old Testament canon (Malachi) and the First Gospel (Matthew). This series commenced June 28, 1964 and was completed on August 4, 1968. These sermons constitute Discovery Papers #201-267 inclusive. The book version, "Adventuring Through the Bible," was released in late 1997 and is currently in print. [link]

APOCRYPHA - DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS OF THE BIBLE APOCRYPHA (TEXT) The Project Gutenberg Etext of Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible also known as the Apocrypha [Book titles added as there were none in the files we received. One typo of Ezra to Esdr was changed as were some of the marginations. The books were each received as an Etext file, and have been put here into one single file for utilty and they are placed in an order suggested by one of our advisors--we would be happy to post indices of other suggested orderings and other commentaries.] [link]

GENERATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST - IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MATTHEW 1:17 - THESE ARE FOURTEEN OF THE GENERATIONS FROM ABRAHAM TO KING DAVID - MATTHEW OMITS THREE GENERATIONS (KINGS) AFTER JORAM -- NAMELY AHAZIAH, JOASH, AND AMAZIAH (1 CHRON. 3:11-12) AND FOURTEEN FROM KING DAVID'S TIME TO THE EXILE - AND FOURTEEN FROM THE EXILE TO CHRIST {MATTHEW OMITTED THE DESCENDANTS OF JEZEBEL [REMOVED BY GOD] FROM THE GENEALOGY. KING DAVID IS COUNTED TWICE AND THERE ARE OTHER KNOWN JUMPS IN THE MATTHEW GENEALOGY OF JOSEPH [THE STEPFATHER OF JESUS] AS WELL.} The genealogy (Heb. yachas, Gr. genealogia) is listed as such : Genealogy of Jesus Christ is divided into three sets of fourteen generations each, probably to aid memorization. - Judah was only the fourth son of Jacob. Matthew omits three generations (Kings) after Joram -- namely Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah (1 Chron. 3:11-12). Even in Ezra 7:1-5, six generations of priesthood are omitted, compared to 1 Chron. 6:3-15, thus such an omission in Hebrew genealogies is not peculiar to Matthew's religious considerations. He names Zerah (Za'ra) as well as Perez (Pha'res) and mentions the brothers of Judah and of Jeconiah, which is unusual. [Tamar], Ra'chab and Ruth are gentiles. Abiud through Matthan are not found in the Old Testament, but taken from a public registry. Matthew gave the names of those who were heirs to the Davidic throne, compared to Luke's [Mary] genealogy from Jesus to Adam that records that of the physical descent with his humanity. Both make plain his virgin birth, and therefore his deity. [link]

JOSH MCDOWELL - THE NEW EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT - PART ONE (YOUTUBE) Josh McDowell is regarded by most Christians and theologians as one of the most effective apologetics speakers around. When McDowell published his first powerful defense of the Bible in his book, "The Evidence That Demands A Verdict," it became a national bestseller within a matter of months. McDowell's writings contained a body of undeniable evidence on the validity of Holy Scripture. More recently McDowell has added even more solid information to his thesis, and, to the dismay of agnostics and atheists, made the validity of the Bible even MORE undeniable. This is the special television version of that powerful information presented by McDowell himself. [link]

JOSH MCDOWELL - THE NEW EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT - PART TWO (YOUTUBE) Josh McDowell is regarded by most Christians and theologians as one of the most effective apologetics speakers around. [link]

JOSH MCDOWELL - EVIDENCE FOR YOUR FAITH (MP3'S) Former skeptic Josh McDowell examines the evidence about Jesus. Is this first century Hebrew carpenter truly the God he claimed to be? Or was he just a good man and maybe a little crazy? More than a Carpenter offers arguments for faith from a skeptic turned believer and now includes new content that addresses questions raised by today's popular atheist writers. [link]

MATTHEW 2 - THE BIRTH OF JESUS - THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH (CHRIST) - BALAAM'S PROPHESIED CHRISTMAS STAR APPEARS WISE MEN FROM THE EAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM - KING HEROD THE AREA'S ROMAN APPOINTED GENTILE KING THEN ALSO INQUIRES ABOUT THE NEWBORN KING - HEROD A BUILDER OF STONE AND A DESTROYER OF MEN SOUGHT THE DEATH OF THE NEWBORN KING - JOSEPH, MARY AND JESUS FLEE ISRAEL TO LIVE IN EGYPT UNTIL THE DEATH OF HEROD WHEN THEY CAN SAFELY RETURN TO ISRAEL -- 'MATTHEW 2:1-2 NOW WHEN JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM OF JUDAEA [JUDAH] IN THE DAYS OF HEROD THE KING, BEHOLD, THERE CAME WISE MEN FROM THE EAST TO JERUSALEM, SAYING, WHERE IS HE THAT IS BORN KING OF THE JEWS? FOR WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR IN THE EAST, AND ARE COME TO WORSHIP HIM [THE MESSIAH]' Three Wise Gifts: Wise Men of the East journeyed a long distance to find the newborn King of the Jews and to 'Worship Him' upon being led to the young Jesus [about one year old by the time the Wise Men arrived] the Wise Men presented Jesus with three Worship gifts to honor His unique standing among mankind. 1. Gold - the gift and possession for a King and the covering on the Ark of the Covenant [Exodus 25:11] for the Tabernacle and the Temple. 2. Frankincense - the gift of the Priesthood used by priests in an aroma sacrifice offering to God and as an incense [Exodus 31:34] in offering a sweet smoke aroma to God within the Holy place of both the Tabernacle and later the Temple. 3. Myrrh - the gift of an anointing oil for anointing a Prophet [particularly the 'man of sorrows,' 'acquainted with grief' Prophet [Isaiah 53:3] 'the oil of joy for mourning' Isaiah 61:3] and as oil to anoint the Holy objects of the Tabernacle and later also for the Temple 'oil of holy ointment ' [Exodus 30:25]. - 'Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.'

KING HEROD THE GREAT - THE ROMAN APPOINTED KING OF ISRAEL IN THE DAYS OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS Herod (73-4 BCE) was the pro-Roman king of the small Jewish state in the last decades before the common era. He started his career as a general, but the Roman statesman Mark Antony recognized him as the Jewish national leader. ... On moments like that, it was clear to anyone that Herod was not a Jewish but a Roman king. He had become the ruler of the Jews with Roman help and he boasted to be philokaisar ('the emperor's friend'), entertaining Agrippa, Augustus' right-hand man. On top of the gate of the new Temple, a golden eagle was erected, a symbol of Roman power in the heart of the holy city resented by all pious believers. Worse, Augustus ordered and paid the priests of the Temple to sacrifice twice a day on behalf of himself, the Roman senate and people. The Jewish populace started to believe rumors that their pagan ruler had violated Jewish tombs, stealing golden objects from the tomb of David and Solomon. ... Herod's reign ended in terror. The monastery at Qumran, the home of the Essenes, suffered a violent and deliberate destruction by fire in 8 BCE, for which Herod may have been responsible. When the king fell ill, two popular teachers, Judas and Matthias, incited their pupils to remove the golden eagle from the entrance of the Temple: after all, according to the Ten Commandments, it was a sin to make idols. The teachers and the pupils were burned alive. Some Jewish scholars had discovered that seventy-six generations had passed since the Creation, and there was a well-known prophecy that the Messiah was to deliver Israel from its foreign rulers in the seventy-seventh generation. The story

about the slaughter of infants of Bethlehem in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is not known from other sources, but it would have been totally in character for the later Herod to commit such a terrible act. [link]

MATTHEW 3-4 - JESUS BEGINS HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY BY BEING BAPTIZED [WASHED - PUBLIC TESTIMONY] BY JOHN THE BAPTIST JESUS WAS BAPTIZED NOT UNTO REPENTANCE BUT AS A TESTIMONY [EXODUS 29:4] TO THE PEOPLE THAT HIS MINISTRY HAD BEGUN JESUS IS THEN LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT INTO THE DESERT FOR FORTY DAYS OF FASTING AND TO BE TEMPTED BY SATAN - 'MATTHEW 3:16-17 AND JESUS, WHEN HE WAS BAPTIZED, WENT UP STRAIGHTWAY OUT OF THE WATER: AND, LO, THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED UNTO HIM (JOHN THE BAPTIST), AND HE SAW [TESTIMONY] THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDING LIKE A DOVE, AND LIGHTING UPON HIM: AND LO A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, SAYING, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED' Matthew 4:1-3 Then was Jesus led up of the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter (Devil) came to Him, he said, If [Since, lit. Greek] thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' - Satan unsuccessfully tempted Jesus three times and all three times Jesus replied to Satan with a quote from the Bible. 1. Turning stones to bread: Satan encourages Jesus to immediately satisfy His hunger by turning rocks to bread. Jesus had been led by the Holy Spirit to go into the desert to fast [and pray] - this was simply who is Jesus going to follow God for eternity or Satan for a moment. [Deut 8:3] Jesus did not even hesitate and would not even consider the suggestion of the Devil. 2. Satan wanted Jesus to test God's loyalty to Jesus by having Jesus jump from the top of the Temple building forcing God to react to the situation in saving Jesus from bodily harm. Jesus said "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord they God" [Deut 6:16]. Again Jesus did not even consider Satan's proposal. Finally Satan told Jesus that if Jesus would "fall down" and worship Satan that Satan would give Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world. Note: 'Revelation 17:10 And there are seven kings [kingdoms of the world]: five are fallen [Nimrod, Egypt, Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Greece], and one is [Rome], and the other [Antichrist] is not yet come; and when he [Antichrist] cometh, he must continue a short space [3 Â˝ years].' Jesus again [Deut 6:13] declined to submit to Satan and Satan immediately departed from the presence of Jesus. - 'Matthew 4:11 Then the Devil (Satan) leaveth Him (Jesus), and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.'

MATTHEW 5 - JESUS BEGINS HIS 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHINGS [IT'S BEEN ABOUT ONE YEAR SINCE THE BAPTISM OF JESUS THE GOSPEL OF JOHN COVERS THE FIRST YEAR'S EVENTS WITH JESUS MORE FULLY THAN THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS] - THE 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHINGS ARE TO ORIENTATE MANKIND AWAY FROM HUMAN INDUCED CUSTOMS, RITUALS AND FABLES INTO A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'MATTHEW 5:2-12 AND HE (JESUS) OPENED HIS MOUTH, AND TAUGHT THEM, SAYING, BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT: FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN: FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH DO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS: FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL: FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART: FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS: FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD. BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE: FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE YE, WHEN MEN SHALL REVILE YOU, AND PERSECUTE YOU, AND SHALL SAY ALL MANNER OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY, FOR MY SAKE. REJOICE, AND BE EXCEEDING GLAD: FOR GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN: FOR SO PERSECUTED THEY THE PROPHETS WHICH WERE BEFORE YOU' 'Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I (Jesus) am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle [strokes of the pen] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.' - The law has been compared to a blueprint that you have to follow in order to build a life pleasing to God. However the law is more of a painting and an illustration (drawing) than a blueprint. The Laws of God and the Prophecies of God are the Image [painting] of the true God that has always existed [John 1:14 And the Word [Law and the Prophets] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth] not a blueprint or a ritual that Jesus needed to conform Himself into. The Law [Leviticus 19:34] says to 'Love your neighbor' "and thou shalt love him (neighbor/stranger) as thyself" because God

is Love. Jesus didn't come to learn how to love one another Jesus came to teach us how to love one another. Also Note: Jesus then instructs that the law is external that it is words and ideas written down on paper and that what mankind needs is both the living example in Jesus Himself and mankind also needs a step further than the example of Jesus Christ mankind needs to be enabled internally, in the human spirit, to be like Jesus has always been and for mankind to become the Law unto themselves [obeying and following the law on their own] to actually become in the image, the ability, of God in Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit newly residing inside of the regenerated individual human enabling a human to now become pleasing to God and capable of having an intimate individual relationship with the Holy God.

MATTHEW 6 - JESUS CONTINUES HIS 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHING - THE LORD'S PRAYER [MORE ACCURATELY CALLED THE DISCIPLE'S PRAYER AS IT IS A PRAYER FORMAT THE LORD JESUS TAUGHT THE DISCIPLES TO FOLLOW - THE ACTUAL LORD'S PRAYER IS IN JOHN 17:1-26] 'Matthew 6:9-15 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed [Holy] be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread [needs]. And forgive us our debts [sins], as we forgive our debtors [those who sin against us]. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' - The Disciples Prayer is a model prayer it is not a rote, repetitive prayer though you can pray it word for word at times [often in congregations] it is not intend for individuals to constantly repetitively pray this prayer. 1. Acknowledge that God is in Heaven that He is our Father and that He is Very Holy. 2. That God's will is to be accomplished on earth as well just as much as in Heaven. 3. That God will meet our needs and also that we are to present our needs to God and ask God to meet our needs. 4. That we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that we also need to forgive others of their wrongs against us. Our request to God, for God to keep us from our own internal temptations and also for God to deliver us from external evil that does exist in this world. 5. Affirming that God has the power, authority and glory thought the entire universe.

MATTHEW 7 - JESUS

-- 'MATTHEW 7:24-29 THEREFORE WHOSOEVER HEARETH THESE SAYINGS OF MINE, AND DOETH THEM, I WILL LIKEN HIM UNTO A WISE MAN, WHICH BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON A ROCK: ... AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN JESUS HAD ENDED THESE SAYINGS, THE PEOPLE WERE ASTONISHED AT HIS DOCTRINE: FOR HE TAUGHT THEM AS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY, AND NOT AS THE SCRIBES.' CONCLUDES

HIS 'SERMON

ON THE

MOUNT'

TEACHING

Enter into Heaven via the Straight and Narrow Way of Jesus Christ: The way to Heaven is straight and it is narrow but it is also open and unrestricted as everyone can enter and everyone has access all the way to Heaven. The way to Heaven is open in the cross of Jesus Christ and accessible via the living resurrection of Jesus Christ. No other way apart from Jesus Christ exists for our entrance into Heaven because no other way is needed for our entrance into Heaven. - 'Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye [you] in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life [eternal Spiritual life], and few there be that find it.'

MATTHEW 8 - JESUS COMES DOWN THE MOUNTAIN FROM HIS 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHING [IN GOING UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP TO TEACH JESUS IS SIGNIFYING THAT THE PEOPLE ARE NOW HEARING THE SAME VOICE THAT MOSES HEARD - JESUS IS THE VOICE THAT MOSES HEARD WHEN HE CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN TOP AT MT. SINAI TO HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD] - JESUS PERFORMS A MIRACLE [HEALING A MAN WITH LEPROSY] THE FIRST OF JESUS' MIRACLES RECORDED IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 'Matthew 8:1-4 When He (Jesus) was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And, behold, there came a leper and *worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, *thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the Priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.' - Jesus told the man that he had just healed to "tell no man" the ultimate ministry of Jesus Christ was His

cross and His resurrection. Jesus didn't want people talking about Him publically apart from the context of His cross and His resurrection. In telling the man to go to the Temple and to make the offering required [Leviticus 14:1-32] for being healed of leprosy Jesus was directing the man to be a witness to the Temple Priests that the Messiah had arrived. Ultimately Jesus was directing all of the people; the man healed, the Temple Priests and the crowds that were following Him to keep His ministry, His actions and most importantly His miracles in the proper Biblical context.

MATTHEW 9 - JESUS HAS TAKEN THE DISCIPLES TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SEA OF GALILEE - ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF CAPERNAUM IN THE GALILEE REGION AS A BASE FOR MOST OF HIS 3½ YEARS OF EARTHLY MINISTRY - RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION TO JESUS BEGINS AS JESUS FORGIVES THE SINS OF A MAN OBVIOUSLY CRIPPLED FROM A SINFUL [VENEREAL DISEASE] CONDITION - 'MATTHEW 9:2-7 AND, BEHOLD, THEY [FOLLOWERS] BROUGHT TO HIM (JESUS) A MAN SICK OF THE PALSY [AN ADVANCED CRIPPLING SEXUAL DISEASE], LYING ON A BED: AND JESUS SEEING THEIR FAITH SAID UNTO THE SICK OF THE PALSY; SON, BE OF GOOD CHEER; *THY SINS BE FORGIVEN THEE. AND, BEHOLD, CERTAIN OF THE SCRIBES SAID WITHIN THEMSELVES, THIS MAN BLASPHEMETH [MARK 2:8 WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ONLY?]. AND JESUS KNOWING THEIR THOUGHTS SAID, WHEREFORE THINK YE EVIL IN YOUR HEARTS? FOR WHETHER IS EASIER, TO SAY, THY SINS BE FORGIVEN THEE; OR TO SAY, ARISE, AND WALK? BUT THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN (JESUS) HATH POWER ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS, THEN SAITH HE TO THE SICK OF THE PALSY, ARISE, TAKE UP THY BED, AND GO UNTO THINE HOUSE. AND HE AROSE, AND DEPARTED TO HIS HOUSE.' For I (Jesus) am not come to call the [Jewish] righteous, but [Jewish] sinners to repentance: 'Matthew 9:12-13 But when Jesus heard that [people complained because He ate with sinners], He said unto them [Pharisees], They that be whole (able, strong) need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn [Hosea 6:6] what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not [Levitical] sacrifice: for I am not come to call the [Jewish] righteous, but [Jewish] sinners to repentance.' Jesus is establishing His ministry while on the earth to mankind, first to the Jewish people then [after His cross and resurrection] to the rest of the world, all the Gentile nations. The righteous Jews [and righteous Gentiles i.e. the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8:5)] are those who desire God, who have a heart for God and for the things of God. Without reading too much into the scriptures it is interesting that Jesus did not go into the faithful family homes but He went to the lost of Israel; to the compromised people, the unscrupulous tax collectors, the unlawful pig farmers, the demon possessed and to the professional religious and political leaders of the day to call them to repentance.

SEA OF GALILEE - ALSO KNOWN AS BAHR TUBARIYA, GINNOSAR, LAKE OF GALILEE, LAKE OF GENNESARET, LAKE OF GENNESAR, SEA OF CHINNERETH, SEA OF CHINNEROTH, SEA OF KINNERETH, SEA OF TIBERIAS, LAKE OF TIBERIAS, WATERS OF GENNESARET, YAM KINNERET (PHOTOS) The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side. More properly designated a lake, the Kinneret (the OT and modern name) is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. At its deepest point the lake is only 150 feet deep. The rabbis said of it, "Although God has created seven seas, yet He has chosen this one as His special delight." [link]

CITY OF CAPERNAUM - JESUS MADE CAPERNAUM HIS HOME DURING MOST [ESPECIALLY THE FIRST PART] OF THE [3½] YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY - JESUS WALKED THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL VISITING MANY CITIES AT FIRST THE JEWISH CITIES THEN LATER THE MIXED AND GENTILE CITIES IN ISRAEL [HE ENTERED JERUSALEM THE LAST WEEK, HOLY WEEK]: "LEAVING NAZARETH HE WENT AND LIVED IN CAPERNAUM" MATT 4:13 (PHOTOS) Jesus made Capernaum his home during the years of his ministry: "Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum" (Matt 4:13). Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew the tax collector also dwelt here. Capernaum is one of the three cities cursed by Jesus for its lack of faith. [link]

MATTHEW 10 - JESUS SENDS OUT 12 OF HIS DISCIPLES AS CHOSEN APOSTLES -- 'MATTHEW 10:5-8 THESE TWELVE [APOSTLES] JESUS SENT FORTH ... AND AS YE GO, PREACH, SAYING, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.' 'Matthew 10:5-8 These twelve [Apostles] Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not [until later]: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.' - Where the perceivable presence of God is available it is called Heaven even on earth [hell is where the perceivable presence of God is not available]. Jesus is God who has come to mankind and therefore 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand' in Jesus Christ the Kingdom of Heaven is now available to mankind. - While Jesus was personally discipling His Disciples and sending them out as His Apostles they were given authority to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead as a way of authenticating their message that the Messiah had arrived. Now the witness to the Messiah (Jesus) is primarily the written Bible and not signs and wonders. However many of the verses of the New Testament Bible were written by the Apostles who were sent out by Jesus including Matthew and his Gospel of Matthew so we still have the Testimony 'Preaching' of the Apostles but the miracles of the Apostles are deemphasized in the modern Church while the Bible and particularly Bible prophecy is now emphasized [2 Peter 1:19] in authenticating to mankind the message that Jesus the Messiah has arrived to save mankind.

MATTHEW 11 - JOHN THE BAPTIST IS PLACED IN PRISON FOR DENOUNCING THE IMMORTALLY OF HEROD WHO HAD TAKEN HIS BROTHER'S WIFE (HERODIAS) [HEROD'S BROTHER PHILIP WAS AN ADMINISTRATOR IN ROME AND AFTER A VISIT TO ROME HEROD RETURNED TO JERUSALEM WITH HERODIAS) - WHILE IN PRISON JOHN THE BAPTIST WONDERS WHY JESUS DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY BEGIN HIS KINGDOM [EARTHLY] REIGN - JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS ARE CONTRASTED - JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD AN EARTHLY, HERE AND NOW PROPHETIC MINISTRY THAT WAS VERY POLITICAL - JESUS HAD A SPIRITUAL, ETERNAL TEACHING MINISTRY THAT WAS APOLITICAL -- 'MATTHEW 11:2-3 NOW WHEN JOHN HAD HEARD IN THE PRISON THE [SPIRITUAL] WORKS OF CHRIST, HE SENT TWO OF HIS DISCIPLES, AND SAID UNTO HIM, ART THOU HE (MESSIAH) THAT SHOULD COME, OR DO WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?' 'Matthew 11:11-14 Verily I (Jesus) say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater [in prophetic knowledge of the Messiah] than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the [born again] Kingdom of Heaven is greater [in experiential knowledge of the Messiah] than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the [physically] violent take it by force [not knowing the Kingdom is Spiritual]. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John [John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament Prophets]. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias (Elijah, 'my God is Jehovah'), which was for to come.' - John the Baptist although appearing with Jesus in the time and days of Jesus, John is an Old Testament person because John the Baptist lived and died before the cross and resurrection of Jesus, before the formation of the Christian Church by Jesus giving of His Spirit to each Disciple [John 20:22] on the day of the resurrection. John the Baptist died before receiving the 'born again' Holy Spirit that makes a person a New Testament Christian therefore John the Baptist remained an Old Testament figure. - John the Baptist was the greatest among all the prophets in that John had all of the knowledge from the Scriptures of the previous prophets plus John had his own prophesy revelations about the coming of Jesus and John saw the witness of the Father and the Holy Spirit at the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist had the accumulated knowledge of the Old Testament and John like all the other Old Testament prophets had the Holy Spirit upon him but John the Baptist did not have the experience of the Holy Spirit inside of him in the 'born again' Christian way therefore the least person in the [born again] Kingdom of God is greater in experiential knowledge of God than the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. - John the Baptist was the forerunner and announcer of the coming Messiah Jesus and in that role John fulfilled the spirit of Elijah 'my God is Jehovah /Yahweh'. The [Malachi 4:5] prophecy where Elijah himself will return 'before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD' is probably physically fulfilled by the return of Elijah [and Moses] in the Revelation time period [Revelation 11:3].

MATTHEW 12 - JESUS CONTINUES INSTRUCTING AND TEACHING THE DISCIPLES - JESUS IS BEGINNING TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE PEOPLE TO BE THE MESSIAH - 'SON OF DAVID' IS A TERM FOR THE MESSIAH AS ACCORDING TO PROPHECY [2 SAMUEL 7:12-13, ISAIAH 7:13] THE MESSIAH HAS TO BE A DESCENDANT OF KING DAVID -- 'MATTHEW 12:23 AND ALL THE PEOPLE WERE AMAZED, AND SAID, IS NOT THIS THE SON OF DAVID?' Jesus came to be the light of salvation to both the Jews and to the Gentiles. Jesus is the light to the entire world. The whole world is included in the plans of God carried out through His Son Jesus Christ. - 'Matthew 12:17-21 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, Behold My Servant (Jesus), whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break [Jesus came to heal not to damage], and smoking flax shall He not quench [Jesus came to give light not extinguish light], till He send forth judgment unto [Revelation] victory. And in His Name (Jesus) shall the Gentiles trust [for eternal salvation].' - He (Jesus) 'shall show judgment to the Gentiles' and in His Name 'Shall the Gentiles trust' Jesus came into the Jewish culture in His visit to mankind yet He is also the light to the Gentile world as well. 'Revelation 2:23 and all the churches shall know that I Am He (Jesus) which searcheth the reins [our determination] and hearts [our soul]: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.'

MATTHEW 13 - JESUS NOW BEGINS TEACHING IN PARABLES - A SERIES OF SEVEN KINGDOM PARABLE TEACHINGS ARE GIVEN PARABLES ARE A WAY TO DESCRIBE THE UNKNOWN USUALLY HEAVEN AND THE ETERNAL SPIRITUAL REALM BY USING KNOWN EXAMPLES LIKE FISHING AND FARMING ... "THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE ..." -- 'MATTHEW 13:2-11 AND GREAT MULTITUDES WERE GATHERED TOGETHER UNTO HIM, SO THAT HE WENT INTO A SHIP [BOAT], AND SAT; AND THE WHOLE MULTITUDE STOOD ON THE SHORE. AND HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES, SAYING, ... AND THE DISCIPLES CAME, AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHY SPEAKEST THOU UNTO THEM [US] IN PARABLES? HE ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, BECAUSE IT IS GIVEN UNTO YOU [RIGHT NOW] TO KNOW THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BUT TO THEM IT IS NOT [YET] GIVEN. {NOTE: EVEN THE DISCIPLES DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PARABLES UNTIL AFTER THE RESURRECTION AND THE GIVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [LUKE 24:45 ] THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING.} The Seven Parables of Jesus from Matthew Chapter 13 are from the teaching ministry of Jesus during His physical time on earth. The Seven Parables of Jesus also parallel the comments made by the Resurrected Jesus in His opening statements to each of the Seven Churches in His 'Book of Revelation.' The Epistles of the Apostle Paul also parallel both the Seven Parables of Jesus and the Seven Letters of the Resurrected Jesus. The Seven Parables of Jesus are from the teaching ministry of Jesus during His physical time on earth, the letters of the Apostle Paul are from a representative of Jesus on earth after the ascension of Jesus back up into Heaven and finally the Seven Letters of Revelation are teachings and instruction from the resurrected Jesus Christ. Three groups of teachings spanning three timeframes with the one unique message of Jesus Christ and His eternal Kingdom. - The Apostle Paul wrote a group of [New Testament] letters addressed to various Churches in existence throughout Asia. The letters are comprised of six Church letters and two letters written to individuals as a group (Romans, Hebrews) for a total of 7 Church group messages by the Apostle Paul. -- *Revelation Letter (Revelation 2:1-3:22) --> *Instruction & Correction Epistle [New Testament] --> *Parable Teaching (Matthew 13:1-50) --- 1. The Church at Ephesus --> 1st & 2nd Corinthians --> The Parable of the Sower. 2. The Church at Smyrna --> Galatians --> The Parable of Wheat and (Weeds) Tares. 3. The Church at Pergamos --> Ephesians --> The Parable of A Mustard Seed. 4. The Church at Thyatira --> Philippians --> The Parable of Leaven. 5. The Church at Sardis -> Colossians --> The Parable of A Buried Treasure. 6. The Church at Philadelphia --> Romans & Hebrews --> The Parable of The Pearl of Great Price. 7. The Church at Laodicea --> 1st & 2nd Thessalonians --> The Parable of A Large Net.

MATTHEW 14 - THE TRANSITION FROM OLD TESTAMENT TO NEW TESTAMENT CONTINUES - JOHN THE BAPTIST IS BEHEADED AT THE REQUEST OF HERODIAS THE NEW WIFE OF HEROD WHO HAD INSTRUCTED HER DAUGHTER TO MAKE THE REQUEST OF HEROD AFTER HAVING HER DAUGHTER DANCE FOR HEROD IN A SEDUCTIVE WAY DURING HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY - THE FAME OF JESUS REACHES THE PALACE OF HEROD ANTIPAS [SON OF KING HEROD THE GREAT, MATTHEW CHAPTERS 1-2]

'Matthew 14:10-12 And he (Herod) sent, and beheaded John [the Baptist] in the prison. ... and his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.' - The transition from the Old Testament age to the New Testament age continues. Had the Prophet John the Baptist remained it would have been confusing to the people as people continued to follow John the Baptist while the ministry of Jesus Christ was just now coming into its true focus that Jesus was to die for the sins of every person. Soon even the Temple itself and the Levitical Priesthood would like John the Baptist have successfully completed their purpose and having fulfilled their need will be removed from the scene in order to clear up any confusion that a functioning Levitical Temple and sacrificing Priesthood would create. John the Baptist prepared the hearts of the Nation of Israel to receive their Messiah and they did as the Disciples and Apostles of Jesus Christ began and laid the foundation of the Christian Church that continues on to this day. The Levitical Priesthood as well brought forth all that it was intended to do as it provided the atoning blood sacrifices to enable God to dwell in their midst in a time before the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The vestiges of the Levitical Priesthood continues to provide an astounding array of examples, types, illustrations and shadows of the Atonement process for our understanding and for our edification. Both John the Baptist and the Levitical Priesthood are gone but their legacy will continue on for eternity.

THE

DEATH OF JOHN THE

BAPTIST - BY

THE JEWISH HISTORIAN FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS

(37 AD - 100 AD)

DESCRIBES IN HIS JEWISH

ANTIQUITIES [97 AD] THE AUTHENTICITY OF JOSEPHUS' WORDS ON JOHN HAS NEVER BEEN DOUBTED

The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-c.100) describes in his Jewish antiquities the destruction of the army of the Jewish leader Herod Antipas. Many people thought that this was a divine punishment, because Antipas had ordered the execution of a just man, John the Baptist. The incident is hard to date; the story assumes that Antipas' brother Philip had already died (which he did in 34 AD), but this seems too late, because John was already arrested before Jesus of Nazareth was executed (which probably happened in 30 AD [to 34 AD]). Unlike the Testimonium Flavianum, the authenticity of Josephus' words on John has never been doubted. The strongest argument for their authenticity is that they are not connected to Christian interpretations. If a Christian author would have inserted a story on John, he would have retold the stories found in the gospels of Mark and Luke. ... 'Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God as a just punishment of what Herod had done against John, who was called the Baptist. For Herod had killed this good man, who had commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, righteousness towards one another and piety towards God. ...' [link]

MATTHEW 15 - JESUS CONTINUES TO TEACH, INSTRUCT AND DIRECT THE DISCIPLES - CONFLICT WITH THE ESTABLISHED RELIGIOUS LEADERS CONTINUES TO GROW - JESUS MIRACULOUSLY FEEDS THE MULTITUDES [5,000 JEWISH FOLLOWERS, AND LATER 4,000 PRIMARILY GENTILE FOLLOWERS] Jesus' Miraculous Feeding of the Multitudes: The first miracle [Matthew 14:13-21] fed over five thousand Jews and was in an open place near Bethsaida (house of mercy). The second miracle [Matthew 15:29-39] fed over four thousand mostly Gentiles and was located on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee in the area of the 10 Greek remnant cities [Greek Decapolis Cities in Israel] left over from the Greek Dynasty that ruled over Israel prior to the Roman Dynasty ruling over Israel in the time Jesus. In the previous feeding of the five thousand Jews [five represents grace] the Disciples gathered in 12 baskets [the complete Nation of Israel, one basket for each of the 12 Tribes of Israel] while in the later Gentile feeding of four thousand [four represents the whole world, the four corners - quadrants of the globe; E,W,N,S] the Disciples gathered in seven baskets [seven represents complete] and of note the type of Gentile baskets that were used were two to three times the size of the previous Jewish baskets used so although only seven baskets were gathered in more material was gathered in the Gentile feeding than the Jewish feeding though in both feedings all the people were completely filled and all of the remnants were completely gathered in. - 'Matthew 15:29-39 And Jesus departed from [northern most Mediterranean Sea coast of Israel, Tyre and Sidon] thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great [Gentile] multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and He healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they [Gentiles] glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called His disciples unto Him, and said, I

have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And His disciples say unto Him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven [Gentile] baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And He sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala [home of Mary Magdalene 'Mary of Magdala' located on the Sea of Galilee, by Mount Arbel].'

CITIES OF ANCIENT ISRAEL - DECAPOLIS - DECAPOLIS WAS A GREEK NAME FOR A LEAGUE OF APPROXIMATELY TEN (DEKA) HELLENISTIC OR HELLENIZED CITIES WITH THEIR TERRITORIES - IN ROMAN TIMES WITH SOME JEWS LIVING THERE (MAP) Region. Decapolis was Greek name for a league of approximately ten (deka) Hellenistic or Hellenized cities with their territories, in Roman times (with some Jews living there). All of them, except Scythopolis, were on the Transjordan side of the River. The New Testament (Matt 4:25; Mark 5:20) is the earliest mention of Decapolis revealing it as largely a gentile territory bordering Galilee and Perea: [Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31]. It is very difficult to say which cities were part of the league at one time or another. Pliny (Nat. Hist. 5, 74) mentions Damascus, Philadelphia (Rabbath-Ammon), Raphana, Scythopolis (Beth Shan), Gadara, Hippos (Susita), Dium, Pella (Pehel), Gerasa and Canatha (Kanath), yet he admits that his list is different from that of other writers. Ptolemy (Geography v, 14, 18) lists different cities, omitting Raphana and adding Abila, Lycianae, and Capitolias. Stephan of Byzantium (Gerasa) mentions 14 cities rather than the original 10. [link]

MAGDALA, HOME OF MARY MAGDALENE (PHOTO) On the Sea of Galilee, near the base of towering Mount Arbel, lie the ruins of the ancient city of Magdala. Today the remains of the city can be found by traveling north about six kilometers on the coastal road from Tiberias. Magdala was placed on the map forever because of its most famous first-century resident. We know her from the dozen references in the New Testament as Mary Magdalene. We also know from the Gospels that Jesus (Yeshua) delivered this woman from a demonized life (Mark 16:9). Thereafter, she became a disciple par excellence. Mary accomplished something that the twelve selected disciples did not accomplish. She followed Jesus all the way to the cross (John 19:25), and three days later she was the first witness to the resurrection of the Lord (John 20:14-18). Mary's city, Magdala, is mentioned only once in scripture, in Matthew 15:39. Here it is stated that Jesus came to the region of Magdala. However, even in this instance, the NIV translates Magdala as Magadan. The area of Magdala is also associated in the New Testament with the name Dalmanutha, as seen in Mark 8:10. All other references to the city are indirect ones. Like so many other ancient cities, Magdala was rediscovered in the past century. In 1971-74, the city was excavated by Corbo and Loffreda. In their excavations they discovered a mini-synagogue, a water reservoir and some mosaics. One of the mosaics, now on display at Capernaum, depicts an ancient boat with both sails and oars, not unlike the famous boat actually discovered in the general area in 1986. [link]

MATTHEW 16 - JESUS WARNS HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT BEING INFLUENCED BY THE WORLDLY TEACHINGS [LEAVEN] OF THE PHARISEES AND THE SADDUCEES - IN CAESAREA PHILIPPI [LOST CITY OF PAN, POSSIBLY THE MOST WICKED PLACE ON EARTH] JESUS CONTINUES SEEKING THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND JESUS ASKS THE DISCIPLES WHO THEY THOUGHT HE IS - PETER REPLIES 'YOU ARE THE CHRIST (MESSIAH) {NOT THE FALSE SATAN GOD PAN}, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD' - HAVING BEGUN TO ESTABLISH HIS DIVINE NATURE JESUS THEN TELLS THE DISCIPLES OF HIS NEED TO GO TO JERUSALEM AND BE SACRIFICED - 'MATTHEW 16:21 FROM THAT TIME FORTH BEGAN JESUS TO SHEW UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, HOW THAT HE MUST GO UNTO JERUSALEM, AND SUFFER MANY THINGS OF THE ELDERS AND CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES, AND BE KILLED, AND BE RAISED AGAIN THE THIRD DAY'

Who do people say that Jesus is? Matthew 16:13-19 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the 'Son of man' am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias (Elijah); and others, Jeremias (Jeremiah), or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon (Peter) Barjona [Peter 'son of Dove' (i.e. the same Holy Spirit Dove that John the Baptist saw), Holy Spirit grace]: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this [confession that Jesus is the Messiah] Rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys [knowledge that Jesus is the Christ] of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven [spiritual warfare prayer]: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven [intercessory prayer]. - People were saying that Jesus might be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of several prophets even the Christ. Included in this wide display of options of who Jesus might be is that Jesus encompassed the emotions and attributes of a wide variety of people. Jesus being God has all of the emotions and attributes that each human has only a part of. For instance John the Baptist and Jeremiah had completely different personality traits. John the Baptist was very public, outgoing and confidant while Jeremiah was introverted. For the people observing and spending time with Jesus to reach such broad based conclusions about Jesus really means that the people also saw themselves and their own personalities in the person of Jesus. Jesus is completely able and capable of fellowshipping with each individual regardless of personality types or individual traits.

2008.12.07 THE ANTICHRIST [PART 9 OF 12] - THE TRIBE OF DAN, MOUNT HERMON 'MOUNTAIN OF FORBIDDEN PLACE' A THREE PEAKED MOUNTAIN ALSO CALLED BAAL-HERMON JUDGES 3:3, MT. SION DEUTERONOMY 4:48 BUT NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MT. ZION LOCATED IN JERUSALEM - 'HERMES' IN GREEK - ['CAESAREA PHILIPPI' RENAMED MANY TIMES 200 B.C. CAESAREA PAN (PAN, SATAN WORSHIP), CAESAREA BANIAS {ARABIC} - LOST CITY OF PAN (SATAN WORSHIP) HUMAN SACRIFICE ON THE HIGH PLACE OF MT. HERMON - WHERE THE FALLEN ANGELS OF GENESIS 6 CAME DOWN TO], FALLEN ANGELS - THE GIANTS NEPHILIM - SCOTT A JOHNSON (MP3S) Brief Sermon Overview: Several obscure prophecies in the Bible point to the possibility that the Antichrist may (in part) descend from the Tribe of Dan. The Merovingians claim to come from the tribe of Judah through Jesus Christ. However, the weight of evidence indicates that they descended from the tribe of Dan. Although Scripture states that Samson was "of the family of the Danites" [Judges 13:2], Yair Davidy of Brit-Am Israel claims that Sampson's lineage includes the Messianic tribe of Judah: "Samson...came from the Tribe of Dan but his mother was from Judah. Samson, in some respects, was considered a forerunner of the Messiah who will come from Judah but his mother will be of the Tribe of Dan." [Brit-Am Israel newsletter, 2/9/99] The Tribe of Dan also is missing from Rev. 7 regarding the 12 tribes (144,000) sealed during the Tribulation and the half tribe of Manasses takes their place: "And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribes of Juda... Reuben... Gad... Aser... Nepthalim... Manasses... Simeon... Levi... Issachar... Zabulon... Joseph... Benjamin were sealed..." Revelation 7:4-8 According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Hermon means "Forbidden Place." Mount Hermon may of been the port of entry for the wicked angels, who corrupted the human race in the days of Noah. Moses wrote: "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose .... There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them... Gen. 6:1-3. [link]

MATTHEW 17 - JESUS TRAVELS OUTSIDE OF ISRAEL 'INTO AN HIGH MOUNTAIN APART' [IT IS THE ONLY KNOWN TIME OF JESUS GOING OUTSIDE OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL] - JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED INTO HIS HEAVENLY (SPIRITUAL) BODY IN THE SIGHT OF THREE OF THE 12 APOSTLES [PETER, JAMES, JOHN (GOSPEL OF JOHN)] - AFTER THE TRANSFIGURATION A DEMON ATTACKS A CHILD AND THE DISCIPLES ARE UNABLE TO CAST IT OUT OF THE CHILD - JESUS 'REBUKED THE DEVIL' AND IT DEPARTED - JESUS TOLD THE DISCIPLES THAT THEIR UNBELIEF [TAKING THEIR FOCUS AWAY FROM JESUS] ALLOWED THE DEVIL TO REMAIN IN THE CHILD -- 'MATTHEW 17:19-21 THEN CAME THE DISCIPLES TO JESUS APART, AND SAID, WHY COULD NOT WE CAST HIM (DEVIL) OUT? AND JESUS SAID UNTO THEM, BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF [DISTRACTION FROM JESUS]: ... AND NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE UNTO YOU. HOWBEIT THIS KIND GOETH NOT OUT BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING'

'Matthew 17:1-8 And after six days [six, incomplete not yet a permanent transfiguration] Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart [outside of Israel], And was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses [Law] and Elias (Elijah) [Prophets] talking with Him. ... While he (Peter) yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I Am well pleased; hear ye Him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise [Resurrection], and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.' Jesus was without sin and therefore could be bodily Transfigured something sinful humans cannot do we need to first die and separate from our physical body of sin (Romans 8:3) and then we Christians receive our new transfigured (1 Corinthians 15:35-55) bodies. - Mt. Nebo [where Moses died] located outside of Israel separated from the Holy Land was also very likely the location of the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matt 17:1, Mark 9:1; Luke 9:28) because the Transfiguration of Jesus took place before the cross of Jesus and therefore the sins that kept Moses out of the Promise Land the first time would also keep Moses out of Israel this second time. If Moses is one of the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1-12) in Jerusalem during the Revelation Period it will be because it is after the cross of Jesus and the sins of Moses are now gone having been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14) with all the other sins of humanity and now Moses can enter the Promise Land of Israel. Note: Peter, James and John are often set apart from the other disciples as they are representational of the three 'Last Days' - 'End Time' groups. Peter represents the Jews [Galatians 2:7 the gospel of the circumcision (Jews) was unto Peter], James was beheaded and represents the Martyred Saints of Revelation [Acts 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword], and John represents the Born Again Raptured Christian Church [Revelation 4:1 I (John) looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven].

Elijah was headed in the direction of Mt. Nebo when he was taken and Jeremiah hid the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo. In 2 Kings 2:1 Elijah starts from Gilgal in the hill country of Ephraim. He went about 8 miles south to Bethel. From there, he journeyed 13 miles east-southeast (ESE) to Jericho. From there, he continued on to the Jordan, if he continued ESE he came to the Jordan at 7 miles. He crossed the Jordan on dry land and continued. If he continued ESE in 14 miles, he would reach the summit of Mt. Nebo also known as Pizgah. This is speculative scenario, but is possible and even likely. Jeremiah hid the tabernacle, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo. If Moses and Elijah both departed from Mt. Nebo how appropriate, that Jesus' departure discussed there. Peter called the mount of transfiguration a holy mountain-and Maccabees states Mt. Nebo was sanctified to God or made holy. It is also stated that the majesty of the LORD shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also shown to Moses. These events fit the transfiguration-the disciples saw Jesus' majesty and the cloud. Jesus and the apostles then journeyed four days, about 90 miles south, then they rested near the Jericho on the Sabbath. The next day the transfiguration occurredSunday Omer/Easter Nisan. Went to a high mountain to pray-could they have prayed all night. Transfiguration occurred "as he was praying". Peter and his companions were very sleepy-an indication that the transfiguration occurred during the night-when they came fully awake they saw. The request to build shelters could imply a place to sleep as opposed to a tabernacle for the feast of Booths [more likely Peter was attempting to build shrine like structures to commemorate the people and the event an idea that Jesus did not seem to approve of]. This mention by Peter of booths has caused commentators to place this event near the feast of Booths or Tabernacles in the fall. The feast of Tabernacles must be celebrated in Jerusalem not on some high mountain, six days or less journey from Caesarea Philippi. This mountain is normally taken to be on or near Mt. Hermon, which dominated the area around that town. Peter's mention of booths has no connection with the feast of booths. In the gospel of John, the feast of Tabernacles follows the feeding of the 5000. But we know from Matthew's gospel that Jesus returned to Capernaum immediately following the Transfiguration incident because there was an attempt to collect the two-drachma tax. This tax was normally paid before Passover. Therefore, this cannot be occurring just before the feast the feast of Tabernacles because they leave from here and go to Capernaum rather than Jerusalem. It cannot be occurring after the feast because they are all the way up in Caesarea Philippi and have spent at least two weeks traveling about. [link]

MATTHEW 18 - JESUS PLACES A SPECIAL INTEREST IN THE SAFETY, WELL-BEING AND CARE OF ALL CHILDREN -- 'MATTHEW 18:6 BUT WHOSO SHALL OFFEND ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES [CHILDREN] WHICH BELIEVE IN ME, IT WERE BETTER FOR HIM THAT A MILLSTONE WERE HANGED ABOUT HIS NECK, AND THAT HE WERE DROWNED IN THE DEPTH OF THE SEA' Matthew 18:7-10 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! ... Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones [children]; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.' - It isn't the will of God to let evil happen in the world. Those who commit evil are not doing it for God and they are certainly not doing it on behalf of God. Evil is allowed to happen even to children but only momentarily because along with the evil a corresponding judgment is also occurring as well. - Guardian Angels: Angels are watching over us. Note: Holy Angels are always in the presence of God in Heaven but Heaven is not a faraway place [Heaven is a near place it is just a different realm that we cannot see] so actually Angels are both in the presence of God in Heaven and they are simultaneously watching over each of us. It is considered that Angels in the spirit realm travel faster than the speed of sound and at least as fast as the speed of light and possibly travel as fast as the speed of thought. A final note in the Bible the (Septuagint) Scriptures use some of the words Angels, stars in heaven, Saints and grains of sand 'upon the sea shore' interchangeably alluding that there are as many holy Angels as there are stars in heaven and as many people as there are grains of sand 'upon the sea shore' and that they all equal each other [probably to the exact number] we now know that there are billions of stars and billions of grains of sand and billions of people exist and billions more have existed on the planet [more people lived from the time of Adam to Noah than at any other time and also the time from Adam to Noah was a long time lasting some two thousand years]. With the number of holy Angels equaling the number of people it does seem to be designed that each child [biblically every human is a child until we become sons (adults) only once we enter into Heaven and the perceivable presence of God] meaning that each person does have their own Guardian Angel or at least an angel and even several angels to assist God in watching out for us, helping to protect us, encouraging us to take holy action while departing from evil and also actually fighting for us in keeping evil spirits and demonic entities away from us physically for most of our time helping to enabling us so that we can interact with God and with one another in a holy, often unrestricted manner.

MATTHEW 19 - JESUS CONTINUES TO TEACH, INSTRUCT AND LEAD THE DISCIPLES REGARDING BOTH HIS CROSS TO COME AND HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM - EMPHASIZED AND BROUGHT INTO VIEW FOR THE DISCIPLES TO LEARN ABOUT, TO UNDERSTAND, TO APPRECIATE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR THE DISCIPLES TO LIVE ETERNALLY WITHIN -- ' MATTHEW 19:26 BUT JESUS BEHELD THEM (DISCIPLES), AND SAID UNTO THEM, WITH MEN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE; BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE' 'Matthew 19:28-30 And Jesus said unto them (Disciples), Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration [resurrection] when the Son of Man (Jesus) shall sit in the throne of His Glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My Name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But [follow Jesus as a servant because] many that are first [among men] shall be last; and the last [among society] shall be first.' - In saying to 'sit upon twelve thrones' Jesus is telling the Disciples that one system, the New Testament system is replacing the old system the Old Testament (Levitical) system and that the new system is superior to the old system. Also Note: 'in the regeneration' meaning that both system so have eternal ramifications and an eternal being as adherents to both systems combing in the resurrection to come because both systems are actually covered by the one oath, blood and ministry of Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW 20 - JESUS

HIS ULTIMATE STATED PURPOSE AND DESTINY THAT OF HIS CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION IN JERUSALEM -- 'MATTHEW 20:17-19 AND JESUS GOING UP TO JERUSALEM TOOK THE TWELVE DISCIPLES APART IN THE WAY, AND SAID UNTO THEM, BEHOLD, WE GO UP TO JERUSALEM; AND THE SON OF MAN SHALL BE BETRAYED UNTO THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND UNTO THE SCRIBES, AND THEY SHALL CONDEMN HIM TO DEATH, AND SHALL DELIVER HIM TO THE GENTILES TO MOCK, AND TO SCOURGE, AND TO CRUCIFY HIM: AND THE THIRD DAY HE SHALL RISE AGAIN' NOW MOVES

HIS

MINISTRY FROM PRIMARILY TEACHING, HEALING, MIRACLES AND LEADERSHIP INTO

'Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister [to others], and to give His *life (lit. Soul) a ransom for many.' - 'Isaiah 53:10-11 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him (Jesus); He (Father) hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His *Soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed [Kingdom inheritors], He shall prolong His days [eternity], and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his Hand. He (Father) shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied [the cross is a complete sacrifice, humans can add nothing to the cross or take anything away from the cross of Jesus]: by His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant (Jesus) justify [make right with God] many; for He shall bear their iniquities.' - Jesus the 'son of Man' came to give His Soul as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus physically died on the cross but His Soul was also a sacrifice on the cross for us as well. The cross of Jesus Christ was a physical, emotional and Spiritual sacrifice for each of us. We are each healed spiritually, emotionally and eternally physically [new body] by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was so immense that it will take a finite mankind an eternity to even begin to grasp and understand the enormity of the love and of the sacrifice of the cross of Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW 21 - JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ARE NOW NEAR JERUSALEM - JESUS SENDS TWO OF HIS DISCIPLES TO A DONKEY WITH ITS YOUNG OFFSPRING - THE DISCIPLES BRING THE LORD [ULTIMATE OWNER] HIS DONKEY [THE GUY PROBABLY DIDN'T REDEEM HIS DONKEY ACCORDING TO THE LAW (EXODUS 13:13) AND AS A FIRST BORN COLT IT DID BELONG TO GOD] - JESUS THEN ENTERS INTO JERUSALEM RIDING UPON AN UNTAMED COLT [UNTAMED TO MAN BUT TAME TO GOD] -- 'PSALM 118:23-29 THIS IS THE LORD'S DOING; IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES. THIS IS THE DAY [TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM] WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE; WE (KINGDOM DISCIPLES) WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT. SAVE [SALVATION] NOW, I BESEECH THEE, O LORD: O LORD, I BESEECH THEE, SEND NOW PROSPERITY [HEALING]. BLESSED BE HE (JESUS) THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD: WE HAVE BLESSED YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE [TEMPLE WORSHIP] OF THE LORD. *GOD IS THE LORD, WHICH HATH SHEWED US LIGHT: BIND THE SACRIFICE [JESUS] WITH CORDS, EVEN UNTO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR. THOU ART MY GOD, AND I WILL PRAISE THEE [WHILE JESUS IS ENDURING HIS SUFFERING HE WILL PRAISE HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN]: THOU ART MY GOD {MY FATHER}, I WILL EXALT [HONOR] THEE. O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD; FOR HE IS GOOD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER.' {NOTE: THE 70 WEEKS OF DANIEL ARE COUNTING THE DAYS OF GENTILE KINGDOMS STARTING AT "THE COMMANDMENT [BY KING ARTAXERXES TO NEHEMIAH TO REBUILD THE

JERUSALEM WALL ABOUT 445 B.C. (SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.BEREANWATCHMEN.COM/J.R.LAWENDOWSKI/DANIELS-70WEEKS.HTML) - FOLLOWING THE EARLIER KING CYRUS 538 B.C. COMMAND FOR THE JEWS TO RETURN BACK TO JERUSALEM FROM BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY - BOTH COMMANDS WERE GIVEN DURING THE GENTILE PERSIAN EMPIRE OF THE 4TH GLOBAL GENTILE KINGDOM] TO RESTORE AND TO BUILD JERUSALEM UNTO THE MESSIAH" -- THE 69TH WEEK CONCLUDED ON SATURDAY [NOT SUNDAY BUT (PALM SATURDAY)] THE DAY OF THE [JEWISH] TRIUMPHAL ENTRY [FULFILLMENT OF THE FEAST OF SABBATH] OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM [ENDING GLOBAL GENTILE KINGDOM REIGN (THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF 1 NATION GENTILE GLOBAL REIGN UNTIL THE 7TH KINGDOM, THE GLOBAL KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST)]. ALSO NOTE: THE 70TH AND FINAL WEEK OF DANIELS' 70 WEEKS IS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION DURING THE GENTILE ANTICHRIST GLOBAL REIGN WHILE THE TIME PERIOD BETWEEN THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS (COMPLETED IN RESURRECTION SUNDAY) IS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AGE (ACTS 15:14-18) UNTIL THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE 1 ANTICHRIST GLOBAL KINGDOM.} A Day foretold by the Prophets and the Scriptures: The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was foretold throughout the Hebrew Old Testament. The Psalms particularly Psalm 118, the Prophets Daniel and Ezekiel and in fact all of Heaven and all of creation desired to see the Day that the LORD had made the day that God came and established His Holy, just and righteous Kingdom among all mankind. - 'Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass [donkey], and upon a colt the foal [baby donkey] of an ass.' - 'Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass [donkey], and upon a colt the foal [baby donkey] of an ass.' - **'Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy Holy City [Jerusalem], to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision [Law] and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy (Jesus). Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah (Jesus) the Prince shall be seven weeks [seven Jewish decades 49 years - these weeks were the Jewish decade of seven years the Levitical decade seventh year of release], and threescore and two weeks [62 Jewish decades 434 years]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks [the 434 years] shall Messiah be cut off [crucifixion], but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And He [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [the 70th and final week regarding Jerusalem]: and in the midst of the week at [3Â˝ years] he [Antichrist] shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation [in the rebuilt 3rd Temple] to cease, and for the overspreading [saturation] of abominations [evil] he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation [end of the Book of Revelation], and that determined shall be poured [bowl judgments of Revelation 16:1] upon the desolate.' [article link]

MATTHEW 22 - JESUS IS NOW IN JERUSALEM - HIS VERY PRESENCE CREATES A DILEMMA FOR BOTH THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND THE POLITICAL LEADERS - A DILEMMA THAT WILL ULTIMATELY RESULT IN THE REJECTION, BETRAYAL AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF MAN AND ALSO THE SON OF GOD - 'MATTHEW 22:46 AND NO MAN WAS ABLE TO ANSWER [DISCREDIT] HIM A WORD, NEITHER DURST ANY MAN FROM THAT DAY FORTH ASK HIM ANY MORE [DISCREDITING] QUESTIONS.' Matthew 22:41-45 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of (Messiah) Christ? whose son is He [is the Messiah the Son of God]? They say unto Him, The Son of David [a human]. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit [anointed prophesying] call Him Lord [superior], saying, The LORD (God) said unto my Lord (the promised offspring Messiah of King David), Sit thou on My right hand [in Heaven], till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call Him (Jesus) Lord, how is he his son [Jesus has always existed]? - In the patriarchal (father) system of the Bible and of humanity the father would never call a child 'Lord' or owner. The father is the lord (authority) and owner of the estate then the father passes on his estate to his sons in their inheritance. For King David to call a future descendant, not even yet born, his 'Lord' his authority, King David was acknowledging that he had inherited his throne, authority and kingdom from a future descendant the Messiah. King David made no claim of having established his throne to pass long to God but that God had established his throne for him to pass along to the Messiah Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW 23 - JESUS

HAD ENTERED JERUSALEM AS THE

KING

UNIVERSE IN HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY WHEN JESUS BRIEFLY LOOKED AROUND IN THE TEMPLE AND DEPARTED - THE NEXT DAY JESUS RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE AND REMOVED THE MERCHANDISERS [PEOPLE WHO WERE WRONGLY USING THE TEMPLE] FROM THE TEMPLE, HIS FATHER'S HOUSE - THE TEMPLE IS STRICTLY FOR MINISTRY AND WORSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE AND NOT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSES - JESUS THEN RETURNED THIS FOLLOWING DAY TO TEACH IN THE TEMPLE TO THE PEOPLE WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS FROM THE MERCHANTS OF THE

This current Generation and the destruction of both Jerusalem and the Temple: 'Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I (Jesus) unto you [Pharisees], The Kingdom of God [evidence of God in their midst] shall be taken from you, and given to a Nation [Gentiles] bringing forth the fruits thereof.' Note: In the Gospel of Matthew the Kingdom of Heaven is the eternal Kingdom while the Kingdom of God is evidence of God being in their midst here on earth i.e. Matthew 12:28. - 'Matthew 22:14 For many [all] are called, but few [answer the call and] are chosen.' Note: All are called by God to enter into a relationship with God [John 12:32] those who respond to the call like Abraham did become the 'chosen' of God. Being chosen [as Isaac was chosen over Ishmael] is a package deal and includes being elect [Jacob was elect, assigned a specific task to accomplish in becoming the father of 12 Tribes], justified [Jacob became Israel when he was justified by God and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel], predestined [Joseph was predestined to be changed into the image of Jesus as Joseph wore the multicolored coat Genesis 37:3] and glorified (changed into the [spiritual body] image of Jesus) [Joseph a Biblical type of Jesus was glorified (accomplished in his task he was elected to do) and ruled over both the Jewish nation and the Gentile world; all the Tribes of Israel bowed down to Joseph and Joseph was appointed authority in Egypt]. - 'Matthew 23:36 Verily I (Jesus) say unto you, All these things [destruction of Jerusalem and destruction the Temple] shall come upon this generation. Matthew 23:38-39 Behold, your house [Temple] is left unto you desolate [because the Spirit of the Living God (Jesus) is permanently departing the Temple - The Spirit of the Living God also departed the first Temple in Jerusalem [Ezekiel 10:18] before the destruction of the first Temple]. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me (Jesus) henceforth, till [second coming when] ye shall say, Blessed is He (Jesus) that cometh in the Name of the Lord.'

MATTHEW 24 - JESUS HAVING JUST PERMANENTLY DEPARTED FROM THE TEMPLE AND AFTER TELLING OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE TO HIS DISCIPLES - JESUS THEN WENT AND SAT BY HIMSELF AT HIS FAVORITE LOCATION A HILLSIDE OF OLIVE ORCHARDS CALLED THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (MT. OLIVET) - THE DISCIPLES HAVING JUST SEEN JESUS DEPART FROM THE TEMPLE [HIS FATHER'S HOUSE] FOR THE LAST TIME AND HAVING JUST HEARD JESUS TELL THEM OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE CAME TO JESUS AND ASKED HIM WHEN AND WHERE HE INTENDED TO RULE HIS KINGDOM FROM SINCE THE TEMPLE WAS GOING TO BE DESTROYED JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES TO BE CAREFUL THAT NO ONE DECEIVED THEM ABOUT HIS KINGDOM - THAT INITIALLY HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD BUT THAT AFTER A LONG TIME AND A LONG SERIES OF EVENTS MANY OF THEM SUPERNATURAL THAT HIS KINGDOM WOULD THEN BE USHERED INTO THIS WORLD

The coming Generation and the fulfillment of all the events of the Book of Revelation: 'Matthew 24:34 Verily I (Jesus) say unto you, This [End Time] generation shall not pass, till all these things [mainly the book of Revelation] be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.' - Jesus has already said that the Temple was to be destroyed "There shall not be left here one (Temple) stone upon another" and that later the Antichrist (abomination of desolation) was to sit in the Temple "holy place" [rebuilt Temple] 'Matthew 24:15 When ye {presumably the End Time readers} therefore shall *see the abomination of desolation (Antichrist), spoken of by Daniel the prophet [Daniel 9:27], stand in the holy place [inside the 3rd veil in the rebuilt Temple], whoso *readeth, let him understand' Note: The event of the Antichrist is possibly going to be a televised type of event 'When ye therefore shall *see the abomination.' Events inside the Temple were not to be seen by the outside world and are enclosed y walls and curtains however Jesus seems to be alluding that this Temple event will be seen by everyone either in some televised format or possibly even in some demonic projection capabilities or possibly some massive demonic telepathic hallucinogenic type of event. Jesus began His discussion with His Disciples in warning them to not be deceived and Jesus reiterated several times that deception and demonic activity would increase around the time of the Antichrist. - The majority of the last generation End Time events of the book of Revelation are to be centered around the Jews and in the city of Jerusalem including a rebuilt Temple. 'Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem) ...' It seems that Jesus is summarizing all of the Jerusalem End Time Antichrist events into a Parable about a Fig Tree

[Matthew 24:32-35]. The original Fig Tree was in Genesis 3:7 and was used by Adam and Eve in an attempt to cover their own sin. The Fig Tree in the Parable of Jesus is most probably the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem because the type of Temple worship that is trying to be recreate has become obsolete by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ so in a sense the 3rd Temple is a recreation of the Fig Tree because like the Fig Tree of Genesis the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem is going to be stitched together by human hands and it will absolutely not cover or remove any sin. However the Antichrist will invade the 3rd Temple and enter into the holy place and attempt to proclaim himself to be God from within the Temple as everyone alive and on the earth at that time will probably witness and *see somehow either by televised technology or a type of demonically spiritual activity.

MATTHEW 24 - JESUS CONTINUES HIS MOUNT OLIVET DISCUSSION "MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE" END TIME TEACHINGS WITH HIS DISCIPLES -- 'MATTHEW 24:3-6 AND AS HE (JESUS) SAT UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THE DISCIPLES CAME UNTO HIM PRIVATELY, SAYING, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE? AND WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING [KINGDOM REIGN], AND OF THE END OF THE WORLD? AND JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU. FOR MANY SHALL COME IN MY NAME, SAYING, I AM CHRIST; AND SHALL DECEIVE MANY. AND YE SHALL HEAR OF WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS: SEE THAT YE BE NOT TROUBLED: FOR ALL THESE THINGS MUST COME TO PASS, BUT THE END IS NOT YET' The Elect of God: All the people throughout time who like Abraham have answered the call of God become the elect of God. 'Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those [End Time - war and famine - seven seal judgments - the book of Revelation] days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven [seven trumpet judgments - the book of Revelation], and the [Satanic] powers of the heavens shall be shaken [seven bowl judgments - the book of Revelation]: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming [Second Coming] in the clouds of heaven with Power and Great Glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His *elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.' --- There are actually two groups of *elect people and this stems from the 'Firstborn' inheritance that Jesus Christ is to receive. - 'Deuteronomy 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated {divorced wife} for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; *the right of the firstborn is his.' - 'Colossians 1:18 And He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the *firstborn [Resurrection] from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.' The Biblical inheritance of the firstborn is a double portion and as an inheritance Jesus is to receive both the Jews and the Nations (Gentiles) two inheritances and therefore two groups of called and two groups of those who answer the call of God and become the chosen, elect, justified, predestined and glorified by God. Note: Jesus is to inherit the Jews and the Gentiles this does include all of those who have ever existed it includes the Righteous Gentiles of Lot's day before Abraham, all the time up until the Christian [mostly Gentile] Church and the future Gentile Martyred Saints of Revelation. Also Note: The inheritance of Jesus does include the earth, all creation and all possessions, the earth will pass away and there will be a new earth so primarily The Kingdom of Jesus is uniquely about people and about God's love for people. Jesus came to save the people and His plan for eternity is centered and oriented only around the people of His creation. --- Israel is one portion of inheritance for the firstborn Jesus Christ: 'Isaiah 19:25.. and Israel my Inheritance.' - 'Zechariah 2:12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah (Jewish nation) His portion in the holy land and shall choose [to reign from] Jerusalem again.' - 'Psalms 78:70-71 He chose David (king David) also His servant and took him from the sheepfolds [David was a shepherd]: From following the ewes (female sheep) great with young he brought him to feed Jacob His people [Jews] and Israel His (God's) inheritance. {Jacob and Israel are both mentioned both referring to the Jewish nation, this is a poetic way of emphasizing the Jewish nation.} --- Israel is the Elect of God: 'Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.' --- The Gentiles are the second [double portion] of inheritance for the firstborn Jesus Christ: 'Psalms 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.' - 'Psalms 2:7,8 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee [both physical birth of Jesus in the manger and Resurrection day of Jesus] Ask of Me (Father) and I shall give thee the heathen (Gentiles) for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.' - 'Isaiah 54:3 For thou shall break forth on the right hand and on the left [the Jewish nation is not going to get wiped out but is going have a great population]; And thy seed (Jesus) shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate to be inhabited.' --- The [Gentile in nature] Christian Church is also the elect of God: 'Titus 1:1-2 [Apostle] Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith

of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began ...'

MATTHEW 24 (PART 2) - JESUS CONCLUDES HIS "MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE" BY TELLING HIS DISCIPLES SOME MORE PARABLES ABOUT THE END TIMES AND ABOUT HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM - JESUS BEGAN HIS MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE TALKING ABOUT DECEPTION AND THE END TIMES AND JESUS ENDS HIS FINAL MOUNT OLIVET WORDS BY TALKING ABOUT ETERNAL JUDGMENT AND ETERNAL LIFE -- 'MATTHEW 25:46 AND THESE SHALL GO AWAY INTO EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT: BUT THE RIGHTEOUS INTO LIFE ETERNAL' The Second Coming of the Lord: Matthew 24:44-51 Therefore be ye [Disciples] also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh [Second Coming]. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom His Lord hath made ruler over His household [Church], to give them meat [Bible study] in due season [every day]? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That He shall make him ruler over all His [Heavenly] goods. But and if that evil servant [backslider] shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth His [2nd] coming; And shall begin to smite [abuse] his fellowservants [Disciples], and to eat and drink with the drunken; The Lord of that servant shall come [Second Coming] in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion [eternal damnation] with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - The teaching of Jesus Christ is about Heaven and the open opportunity for people to spend eternity in heaven and His teaching is also about hell and the very real possibility of people spending eternity in hell. God created mankind for a purpose and God came to a separated mankind with His purpose to reunite mankind back together with Himself in Heaven where it has always been intended for mankind to be in fellowship and in communion with the Holy God.

MATTHEW 25-26 - JESUS HAS CONCLUDED HIS MOUNT OLIVET TEACHINGS AND DISCOURSE WITH HIS DISCIPLES - JESUS NOW COMPLETELY SETS HIS MIND ON THE EVENTS OF THE COMING FEASTS OF THE PASSOVER WEEK - EVENTS THAT WILL INCLUDE INITIATING AND INSTITUTING THE NEW TESTAMENT WITH HIS COMMUNION BREAD AND WINE OFFERING TO THE DISCIPLES - HIS SELF-SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS AND THREE DAYS LATER HIS GLORIOUS ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION 'Matthew 26:17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread [The Passover is an unleavened bread feast and the unleavened part starts on the 14the day of Nisan (the selection of the lamb is on the 10th) then the feast continues with the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened bread starting on the 15th of Nisan for a total of eight straight days of unleaded bread] the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? And He said, Go into the city (Jerusalem) to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover. Now when the even was come, He (Jesus) sat down with the twelve (Apostles). And as they did eat [the Passover], He said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you [Judas] shall betray Me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, Lord, is it I? And He answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me. The Son of Man goeth [to the cross] as it is written of Him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed Him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto Him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took Bread, and Blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the Disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My Body. And He took the Cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many [all] for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit [grape] of the vine, until that day when I drink it New with you in [Heaven] My Father's Kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.' - The Communion of Jesus Christ: The sacrifice offering of Jesus Christ was His physical body, His mind (soul) and His Spirit [Jesus was separated from the Father while on the cross]. The Communion Bread and the Communion Cup that Jesus is offering His disciples to partake in references both the physical sacrifice offering of Jesus on and the cross and it also represents the Resurrected Eternal Spiritual Body and Spiritual Life Blood of the Resurrected Jesus. When we take and break the Unleavened Bread of Communion we are referencing the physical body of Jesus Christ and when we take the Wine of the Communion of Jesus Christ and mingle it with the water we are referencing the physical blood of Jesus Christ. When we eat the bread of the body of Jesus Christ

we are internalizing the Resurrection and the eternal Spiritual body of Jesus and likewise when we drink of the Wine of Jesus we are drinking and internalizing the Resurrection and the eternal Spiritual life blood of Jesus. In a sense we are breaking the physical and taking on the Spiritual. -- '1 Corinthians 11:23-28 For I [Apostle Paul] have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night [Passover] in which He was betrayed [by Judas] took [physical] bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the Cup, when He had supped, saying, This Cup is the [Resurrection] New Testament in My Blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye do shew the Lord's [physical] death till He come [2nd coming]. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the [physical and Spiritual resurrection] Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself [Melchizedek Priesthood], and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.' -- 'Deuteronomy 32:9-14 For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance ... and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.'

MATTHEW 27 - AFTER THE COMMUNION (PASSOVER) CELEBRATION JESUS AND NOW ELEVEN OF HIS APOSTLES GO TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WHILE JUDAS HAD DEPARTED EARLIER TO BETRAY JESUS - JESUS SUFFERS BETRAYAL, ARRESTS, REJECTION, MOCKERY AND FINALLY CRUCIFIXION AND PHYSICAL DEATH

The Atonement Sacrifice of Jesus Christ: 'Matthew 27:33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They [Romans] gave Him (Jesus) vinegar to drink mingled with gall [extreme bitterness]: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink [Jesus had said during Communion that the next wine He would drink would be sweet wine in Heaven with His disciples, Jesus had no intention of drinking the bitter cup from Rome and mankind (the myrrh also in the wine revealed it to be Roman wine as adding myrrh to wine was a common Roman practice)] and they crucified Him ...' - 'Romans 5:11 And not only so [we have eternal life], but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the atonement.' - The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the start a part of the fulfillment of the Atonement sacrifice for the Day of Atonement Feast [Leviticus 16:1-34] a Feast that is actually a Fall Feast and will have its complete fulfillment in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. - In corresponding with the Atonement Sacrifice Barabbas is the Scapegoat who was set free while Jesus was the permanent sacrifice offering. In Hebrew Barabbas (Bar = son and Abba = Father) literally means son of the father and is actually a duplicate claim to the true status of Jesus Christ as Jesus is the Son of the Father. Barabbas in name is actually also claiming to be the son of the father therefore claiming to be the replacement of Jesus and Barabbas is actually a type of the Antichrist [anti in Greek is 'instead of' and means replacing] and it is possible even plausible that Barabbas may actually be the Antichrist. - When the scapegoat was released as Barabbas was released the scapegoat was to take with it all the sins of the Nation of Israel and if at any time the scapegoat returned all of the sins of the Nation of Israel returned with it. Jesus Christ is Atonement offering for all the sins of the world and therefore Barabbas as the scapegoat was departing with all the sins of the world. When the scapegoat Barabbas as the Antichrist returns to mankind claiming to be the son of the father instead of Jesus the Antichrist will bring with him all of the sins of the world all of the sins ever committed. Note: The custom of the Roman Governor to release one condemned Jewish prisoner during the Passover was a custom of the Roman Governor playing God saying to the Jews that they think their God will provide Passover life but instead the Governor was showing the people that he believed Rome to be God as Rome could grant life and pass over death so it was actually a mocking gesture from Rome towards the Jews and their customs as the people of God.

CLONED ANTICHRIST BEAST REVEALED 8/12 - CLONED FROM BLOOD REMOVED [1978] FROM THE SHROUD OF TURIN [POSSIBLY CLONED/GENE-SPLICED WITH PRINCE CHARLES SPERM AND] USED TO IMPREGNATE PRINCESS DIANA (MARRIED 1981 TO PRINCE CHARLES 13 YEARS HER SENIOR) FOR THE 1982 TIMED BIRTH [30 IN 2012] OF PRINCE WILLIAM {PRINCESS DIANA'S SON WILLIAM TURNING 30 IN 2012. THE AGE OF 30 IS THE BIBLICAL LEGAL PRIESTLY AGE (BEFORE 30 A LEVITE COULD ONLY BE AN ASSISTANT PRIEST), BOTH JOHN THE BAPTIST (LEVITICAL AND JESUS [MELCHIZEDEK PRIEST]) BEGAN THEIR MINISTRIES AT THE LEGAL AGE OF 30 [JOHN'S MOTHER AND MARY WERE OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID/JUDAH BUT JOHN'S FATHER WAS A LEVITICAL PRIEST (LUKE 1:8) A DESCENDANT OF AARON FROM THE HOUSE OF LEVI]. ALSO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS THE XXX OLYMPIAD (UNHOLY TRINITY OLYMPIAD) IS DELIBERATELY TIMED AND PLACED TO BE IN LONDON IN 2012 THE BIRTH OF THE NEW AGE, FOR A DESIRED

SATANIC AWAKENING IN 2013 [FOX NEWS USES THE NUMBER 13 IN EVERYTHING NOW]. IT WILL ALSO PROBABLY COME OUT THAT PRINCE CHARLES IS UNABLE TO NATURALLY HAVE CHILDREN AS HENRY, THE YOUNGER BROTHER OF PRINCE WILLIAM IS ALREADY CONSIDERED BY MOST NOT TO BE THE SON OF PRINCE CHARLES BUT THE SON OF JAMES HEWITT.}[NOTE: ITS POSSIBLE AND PROBABLE THAT SATAN QUICKLY REALIZED WHO HIS SCAPEGOAT WAS IN BARABBAS AND THAT BARABBAS SOON AFTER HIS PASSOVER RELEASE WAS RECAPTURED BY ROMAN SOLDIERS AND QUICKLY CRUCIFIED AS JESUS HAD JUST RECENTLY BEEN CRUCIFIED AND THAT SATAN WOULD DEVISE A WAY TO KEEP SOME OF THE BLOOD [LIFE] OF BARABBAS FOR FUTURE END TIME USE AND THAT THE IMAGE CREATED ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN AND THE BLOOD ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN ARE THAT OF BARABBAS. THE UNIQUE IMAGE AND BLOODSTAINED SHROUD CLOTH COULD BE OF BARABBAS AND HAVING BEEN KEPT AND PASSED ON BY THE FOLLOWERS OF BARABBAS UNTIL ULTIMATELY IT CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF THE CRUSADERS AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN ABOUT 1300 A.D. THE SHROUD OF TURIN POSSIBLY BEING A CLOTH AND IMAGE OF BARNABAS IT'S CERTAINLY NOT THE IMAGE AND BLOOD OF JESUS.] (YOUTUBE) Dr. Joye shocks George Noory on Coast-to-Coast - February 9, 2009. [link]

FOXNEWS.COM: ITALIAN SCIENTISTS REPRODUCES SHROUD OF TURIN - A PROFESSOR OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

PAVIA - GARLASCHELLI MADE AVAILABLE TO REUTERS THE PAPER HE WILL DELIVER AND THE ACCOMPANYING COMPARATIVE PHOTOGRAPHS - BUT SCIENTISTS HAVE THUS FAR BEEN AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN HOW THE [ORIGINAL SHROUD OF TURIN] IMAGE WAS LEFT ON THE CLOTH

ROME - An Italian scientist says he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin, a feat that he says proves definitively that the linen some Christians revere as Jesus Christ's burial cloth is a medieval fake. The shroud, measuring 14 feet, 4 inches by 3 feet, 7 inches bears the image, eerily reversed like a photographic negative, of a crucified man some believers say is Christ. "We have shown that is possible to reproduce something which has the same characteristics as the Shroud," Luigi Garlaschelli, who is due to illustrate the results at a conference on the para-normal this weekend in northern Italy, said on Monday. A professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, Garlaschelli made available to Reuters the paper he will deliver and the accompanying comparative photographs. The Shroud of Turin shows the back and front of a bearded man with long hair, his arms crossed on his chest, while the entire cloth is marked by what appears to be rivulets of blood from wounds in the wrists, feet and side. Carbon dating tests by laboratories in Oxford, Zurich and Tucson, Arizona in 1988 caused a sensation by dating it from between 1260 and 1390. Skeptics said it was a hoax, possibly made to attract the profitable medieval pilgrimage business. - But scientists have thus far been at a loss to explain how the image was left on the cloth. Garlaschelli reproduced the full-sized shroud using materials and techniques that were available in the middle ages. They placed a linen sheet flat over a volunteer and then rubbed it with a pigment containing traces of acid. A mask was used for the face. PIGMENT, BLOODSTAINS AND SCORCHES: The pigment was then artificially aged by heating the cloth in an oven and washing it, a process which removed it from the surface but left a fuzzy, half-tone image similar to that on the Shroud. He believes the pigment on the original Shroud faded naturally over the centuries. They then added blood stains, burn holes, scorches and water stains to achieve the final effect. The Catholic Church does not claim the Shroud is authentic nor that it is a matter of faith, but says it should be a powerful reminder of Christ's passion. One of Christianity's most disputed relics, it is locked away at Turin Cathedral in Italy and rarely exhibited. It was last on display in 2000 and is due to be shown again next year. Garlaschelli expects people to contest his findings. [link]

THE SHROUD OF TURIN - THE IMAGE ON THE SHROUD IS UNIQUELY THREE-DIMENSIONAL - THE LIFE-SIZE IMAGE ON THE CLOTH IS NOT THE RESULT OF PIGMENT, STAIN, *ACID, DYE, OR ANY APPLIED MATERIAL - THE IMAGE ITSELF IS CONFINED TO THE TOP-MOST FIBRILS OF THE CLOTH'S FIBERS - WHATEVER MADE THE IMAGE DID NOT PENETRATE THE FIBERS OF THE CLOTH AS ALL KNOWN ARTISTIC MATERIALS WOULD - THE EXACT WAY THE MAN WAS CRUCIFIED CLOSELY MATCHES BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS OF JESUS'S CRUCIFIXION. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THERE ARE 120 LESIONS, THE SHAPE OF DUMBBELLS, DISTRIBUTED OVER THE BACK AND RUNNING AROUND THE FRONT OF THE BODY--PROBABLY CAUSED BY A ROMAN WHIP CALLED A FLAGRUM WHOSE THONGS WERE TIPPED WITH BITS OF LEAD OR BONE. THERE IS A DEEP WOUND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BODY BETWEEN THE RIBS WHICH BLED PROFUSELY (WHICH IS WHAT BIBLICAL RECORDS INDICATE HAPPENED WHEN A SPEAR WAS THRUST INTO CHRIST'S SIDE). THERE ARE THORN-LIKE MARKS ON THE VICTIM'S HEAD (POSSIBLY FROM A CROWN OF THORNS). AND THE VICTIM'S LEGS WERE NOT BROKEN (WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT BOTH BECAUSE ROMAN-

STYLE CRUCIFIXIONS ENDED WITH THEIR VICTIM'S LEGS BEING BROKEN AND BECAUSE THE

NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNT OF CHRIST'S DEATH INDICATES THAT THIS WAS A ROMAN CUSTOM WHICH JESUS WAS SPARED FROM) - THE BEARD AND HAIR STYLE OF THE CRUCIFIED MAN WERE NOT COMMON ANYWHERE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE EXCEPT PALESTINE. THE IMAGE HAS SEMITIC FEATURES, INCLUDING SIDELOCKS AND A UNPLAITED PONYTAIL

The Shroud Of Turin by David Sunfellow: The Shroud of Turin is one of the most venerated, most remarkable, most mysterious, most thoroughly studied artifacts in the world today. Believed by many to be the actual burial cloth of Christ, the Shroud made its first recorded appearance in 14th century France. Housed in the Italian city of Turin since 1578, renewed interest was generated in 1898 when the first photographs were made of the relic and it was discovered that the image on the Shroud was a photographic negative! How was such an image made? And how does one explain the incredibly life-like details which are remarkably consistent with Biblical accounts of Christ's crucifixion? Historians, pathologists, linguists, biblical scholars, textile experts, chemists, physicists, photographic specialists, artists, botanists, microbiologists and other scientists from around the world have been trying to answer these important questions for decades. Over the centuries, dozens of shrouds--some with images and some without--have surfaced claiming to be the burial cloth of Jesus. In the case of the Shroud of Turin, it has been publicly declared a forgery by both Roman Catholic Church officials and prominent scientists. In 1389 the local bishop of Troyes denounced the Shroud claiming an artist had confessed to forging it. More recently, in 1988, after three different laboratories Carbon-14 dated the Shroud and found it to be some 1200 years younger than it should have been, the Roman Catholic Church announced to the world the results of the test. As word spread that the Shroud of Turin was, after all, a medieval forgery, a firestorm was created in the Shroud community. While scores of Shroud scientists hotly challenged the entire Carbon-14 testing procedure, as well as the test results, lay people around the world had to wrestle with what appeared to be solid scientific proof that the Shroud was a fake. -- So where are things at now? Is the Shroud of Turin authentic, or not? Could a medieval artist, or for that matter, any artist, have forged it? And if the Shroud is an authentic burial cloth from the first century, is the man whose crucified image appears on the Shroud actually that of Jesus Christ? Combining ongoing discoveries about ancient Palestine with cutting-edge scientific analysis, a growing number of scientists (Christian, Jewish, agnostic and otherwise) are coming to the conclusion that the Shroud is indeed the actual burial cloth of Jesus Christ. If this is true, then not only does the Shroud bear witness to the fact that a man named Jesus actually lived and died in ancient Palestine, but it may also present physical proof that some kind of miraculous event took place after his death which caused his image to be imprinted on the Shroud! What's more, we may also be able to learn something about Jesus himself: What his physical characteristics were like, what kind of Jewish traditions he adhered to and rejected, how he, and his body, faced a horribly violent death. -- So what, exactly, do we know about the Shroud of Turin? Here are some of the astonishing findings that modern day science has uncovered so far: The body that appears on the Shroud is naked. Under Roman law, criminals were whipped and executed in the nude. (These are facts that most medieval artists would not have known, or if they had known, would not have dared to publicly reproduce.) The man that appears on the Shroud was crucified with nails driven through his wrists. Although artists throughout the centuries (and even stigmatists) have traditionally thought that Christ was nailed to the cross through his palms, it is now known that crucifixion victims were nailed to crosses through their wrists. This is supported both by archeological digs that discovered crucifixion victims with spike marks on their wrists (not palms) and also by studies that were conducted on corpses which proved that nails in palms will not support the weight of a body. The life-size image on the cloth is NOT the result of pigment, stain, acid, dye, or any applied material. The image itself is confined to the top-most fibrils of the cloth's fibers. Whatever made the image did not penetrate the fibers of the cloth as all known artistic materials would. The image on the Shroud is uniquely three-dimensional. Although most scientists believe that the image was made by the body emitting a burst of energy of some kind (which caused the body's image to be lightly burned onto the Shroud), they have no idea how this could have been done. Efforts to lightly burn images into shroud-like fabrics have all failed to reproduce the extraordinarily delicate, detailed, three-dimensional effect found on the Shroud. The way the image was burned onto the Shroud is also flawlessly accurate in terms of how a body emitting energy would imprint itself on a cloth that was covering it. The image of the Shroud is absolutely accurate in both anatomical and physiological details. The anatomical and physiological details of the Shroud accurately record what would happen to a man who experienced a Roman-style crucifixion (see Robert Bucklin's pathological report at the end of this summary). -- The Shroud is stained by human blood that has run out of the image's wounds. The way the blood flowed, puddled and stained the Shroud are perfectly correct. Unlike the Shroud's image which only appears on the topmost fibrils of fabric, the blood on the Shroud soaked deeply into the fabric. The exact way the man was crucified closely matches biblical accounts of Jesus's crucifixion. Among other things, there are 120 lesions, the shape of dumbbells, distributed over the back and running

around the front of the body--probably caused by a Roman whip called a flagrum whose thongs were tipped with bits of lead or bone. There is a deep wound on the right side of the body between the ribs which bled profusely (which is what Biblical records indicate happened when a spear was thrust into Christ's side). There are thorn-like marks on the victim's head (possibly from a crown of thorns). And the victim's legs were not broken (which is significant both because Romanstyle crucifixions ended with their victim's legs being broken and because the New Testament account of Christ's death indicates that this was a Roman custom which Jesus was spared from). -- The beard and hair style of the crucified man were not common anywhere in the Roman Empire except Palestine. The image has Semitic features, including sidelocks and a unplaited ponytail. The Shroud itself was woven with techniques common to the first century. The Shroud's distinctive weave is so rare that researchers seeking to find a control sample could not find one anywhere in the world. A dirt sample taken from near the Shroud image's feet was identified as a relatively rare form of calcium carbonate. Samples of dirt taken from Jerusalem revealed an unusually close match. This strongly suggests the man pictured on the Shroud was crucified in Palestine. 58 varieties of pollen were discovered on the Shroud. 11 of the pollen samples were from plants that do not exist in Europe, but which do exist in the Near East. The pollen samples also indicated that the fabric of the Shroud had to have been made in Palestine before circulating in Europe. Pollen samples also helped trace the Shroud's route from Palestine through Anatolia and Constantinople into Europe. Furthermore, two of the pollen samples that were discovered on the Shroud coincided with highly distinctive plants found in the region surrounding Jerusalem. The pollen study concluded that the Shroud itself was probably made near Jerusalem and that it had been in the vicinity of the Holy City for some time before being transported out of the area. Images of 28 different types of flowers, small bushes, and thorns have been detected in bunches around the Shroud image. All 28 grow in Israel, either in Jerusalem or in the nearby desert or Dead Sea area. Most of them are not found in Europe. 25 of the 28 flowers matched the pollen samples found on the Shroud. 27 of the 28 plants bloom during March and April, which corresponds to the time of the crucifixion. An image of a coin appears over the right eye of the Shroud image. This coin, a very rare Pontius Pilate lepton struck in 29 to 32 A.D., was not found until 1977. Tests which were conducted in 1993 on a piece of first century fabric similar to the Shroud's now indicate that a fire the Shroud passed through in 1532 corrupted the October 1988 Carbon-14 dates that concluded the Shroud was not authentic. According to these recent tests, which were conducted by scientists at the University of Arizona and Russian scientists in Moscow, the 1988 Carbon-14 dates were some 1200 years in error. This dates the Shroud back to the first or second century. Some historians believe the Shroud of Turin may be The Mandylion, or Edessa Portrait, a holy relic mentioned in some accounts as early as the first century. If this is so, then the Shroud can be traced, through various legends and stories, all the way back to first century Jerusalem. [link]

ANTICHRIST - PRINCE WILLIAM 2012 - IS PRINCE WILLIAMS SHROUD THE ANTICHRIST - THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST? (YOUTUBE)

THE FACE ON THE SHROUD OF

TURIN? IS

THE IMAGE ON THE

This video is intended to be just a "teaser" to the very real possibility that Prince William is the Beast of Revelation. Comments: Of course, his name is Will-I-Am; a play on the words of what God Himself said, "I Am." [link]

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS REAL BLOOD (AND NOT PAINT OR A STAIN) ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN? - 1980 THEY (GILBERT AND GILBERT) CONCLUDED THAT THE BLOOD FLECKS ARE REAL BLOOD - SEVERAL CLAIMS HAVE BEEN MADE THAT THE BLOOD HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE TYPE AB - THE BLOOD APPEARS TO BE SO OLD THAT THE DNA IS BADLY FRAGMENTED Alan Adler was an expert on porphyrins, the types of colored compounds seen in blood, chlorophyll, and many other natural products. He and Dr. John Heller, MD, studied the blood flecks on the STURP sampling tapes [Heller and Adler, Applied Optics 19, (16) 1980]. They converted the heme into its parent porphyrin, and they interpreted the spectra taken of blood spots by Gilbert and Gilbert. They concluded that the blood flecks are real blood. In addition to that, the x-ray-fluorescence spectra taken by STURP showed excess iron in blood areas, as expected for blood. Microchemical tests for proteins were positive in blood areas but not in any other parts of the Shroud. -- Several claims have been made that the blood has been found to be type AB, and claims have been made about DNA testing. We sent blood flecks to the laboratory devoted to the study of ancient blood at the State University of New York. None of these claims could be confirmed. The blood appears to be so old that the DNA is badly fragmented. Dr. Andrew Merriwether at SUNY has

said that "... anyone can walk in off the street and amplify DNA from anything. The hard part is not to amplify what you don't want and only amplify what you want (endogenous DNA vs. contamination)." It is doubtful that good DNA analyses can be obtained from the Shroud. It is almost certain that the blood spots are blood, but no definitive statements can be made about its nature or provenience, i.e., whether it is male and from the Near East. [link]

JULY 08, 2009: BRITISH SCIENTISTS CLAIM TO CREATE HUMAN SPERM - BRITISH SCIENTISTS CLAIM SPERM FROM STEM CELLS. BUT OTHER EXPERTS HAVE QUESTIONED THEIR DATA

THEY HAVE CREATED HUMAN

LONDON - British scientists claim they have created human sperm from stem cells. But other experts have questioned their data. Researchers at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute say they used a new technique to derive what they described as sperm cells from embryonic stem cells. ... But many other British experts say they are unconvinced by the research. They also say the sperm cells created in the laboratory were clearly abnormal. [link]

IUC WORLD EXCLUSIVE: PRINCE CHARLES NOT HARRY'S REAL FATHER - THE FACT THAT DIANA'S EX LOVER JAMES HEWITT IS THE HARRY'S REAL FATHER - DIANA STOPPED HAVING SEX WITH CHARLES YEARS BEFORE HARRY WAS BORN - JUST THE WAY THEY KILLED DIANA THEY'LL KILL JAMES A longtime employee of Harry's mother Princess Diana told IUC that the Royal Family was involved in a massive cover-up to hide the fact that Diana's ex-lover James Hewitt is the Harry's real father. According to the source Prince Philip threatened Hewitt's life if he didn't go along with the cover-up. "They made him lie about the timeline," the source told IUC. "Prince Philip told Hewitt he would destroy him if it ever leaked out. It's impossible that Charles is Harry's real father. Hewitt was on the scene as Diana's lover two years before Harry was born. Diana stopped having sex with Charles years before Harry was born. Harry looks exactly like Hewitt." -- The massive cover-up involved Hewitt lying to the world about when his dalliance actually began with Diana. Originally he told the world he met Diana in 1986. Harry was born in 1984. Under hypnosis for a TV interview Hewitt admitted he met Diana in 1981 or 1982, had sexual relations with her then - some two years before Harry was born. A relative of Hewitt told IUC that privately Hewitt has always believed he's Harry's dad but has denied it in public because he fears for his life. He also wants to protect his son from being dethroned. ... The relative added that this is another example of why the Royal Family should be abolished. "They're the biggest crooks and liars in the world," he said. "All the evidence clearly demonstrates that James is Harry's real father. Just the way they killed Diana they'll kill James. You'll see, one day his body will be found mysteriously in a hotel room and the Royals will try to convince the world that James committed suicide." [link]

CUTTINGEDGE.ORG:

2012 - IS THIS THE YEAR WHEN (BRITISH) ANTICHRIST MIGHT ARISE? - "ALL RIGHT, I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH CALCULATIONS AND DISCERNING FACTS TO CONVINCE ME: ANTICHRIST WILL ARISE FROM THE HOUSE OF WINDSOR (BRITISH ROYALTY) IF THE TIMING IS SOON, PRINCE CHARLES WILL BE THAT MAN; IF THE TIMING IS DELAYED, PRINCE WILLIAM WILL BE ANTICHRIST. HOWEVER, PRINCE WILLIAM MUST TURNS 30, WHICH IS THE JEWISH MINIMUM AGE FOR A MAN TO BE A RABBI. WILLIAMS TURNS 30 ON 2012. SINCE THE ILLUMINATI ALWAYS HAS A "PLAN A" AND A "PLAN B", THIS SCENARIO COULD BE VERY PROBABLE Suddenly, both Christian and New Age leaders are teaching that the year 2012 might be the year in which Antichrist arises. Cutting Edge weighs in on this discussion, with our knowledge of the occult, to conclude that 2012 might, indeed, be the year when the Masonic Messiah comes to the world scene! ... What Is So Special About 2012? This is the year in which the ancient, pagan Mayan Calendar changes to a New Age, an age in which a Messiah is supposed to arise. Listen to the official write-up from a New Age website. ""It is my great honor and privilege as Master Quetzalcoatl to return to Earth in this overt fashion to spearhead so to speak and bring to your attention the I AM University End of the Mayan Calendar and Countdown Project! As you might know, I Am Quetzalcoatl, Grand Master of the Mayan days ... You all know that the Mayan calendar as has been channeled and introduced to the Earth in the Ancient Days from Higher Cosmic Sources, ends in the year 2012 - on December 21st at 21:21:59 pm to be precise. This exact date and time marks the Official Ending of the Kali Yuga or Dark Age and the Official Birth of the Age of the Christ / Buddha / Krishna /

Mohammed / Moses, and God! It is December 21st 2012 at 22:00 pm which marks the Official Return or Second Coming of the Christ, Imam Mahdi, Buddha Maitreya, Kalki Avatar, Great Tao, and Messiah!" ... The House of Windsor: The time in which a knowledgeable Christian will make a discerning decision regarding the identity of the man who will be Antichrist will be before he is arisen; and, this knowledge beforehand will require Biblical discernment, knowledge of Scripture, and a series of calculations! With this point made to me by a pastor, I bought Antichrist And A Cup of Tea and began to read, albeit still with a high degree of skepticism. About three-fourths of the way through this book, I set it down and said to myself, "All right, I have seen enough calculations and discerning facts to convince me: Antichrist will arise from the House of Windsor. If the timing is soon, Prince Charles will be that man; if the timing is delayed, Prince William will be Antichrist. However, Prince William must turns 30, which is the Jewish minimum age for a man to be a Rabbi. Williams turns 30 on 2012. Since the Illuminati always has a "Plan A" and a "Plan B", this scenario could be very probable. [link]

RENAISSANCE RADIO #6: THE NEW WORLD ORDER'S FAKE ALIEN INVASION SET FOR THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS (MP3-SECULAR) Renaissance Radio #6: Renaissance Radio is back to talk about Project Blue Beam, Rik Clay's murder, and the New World Order's fake alien invasion set for the 2012 London Olympics. [link]

RIK CLAY - LONDON-ZION-2012 - LONDON THE NEW JERUSALEM - THE NEW WORLD ORDER'S FAKE ALIEN INVASION LIKELY BEING PREPARED FOR THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS [IPAPER BOOK - RIGHT CLICK AND PRINT] (BOOK-IPAPER-SECULAR) Thanks to infowarrior Andrew for compiling the entirety of Rik Clay's research on the New World Order's fake alien invasion likely being prepared for the 2012 London Olympics. Why is it both the Beijing and London Olympic logos can be arranged to form the word "Zion"? What is the plan for Project Bluebeam's top secret holographic technology? Why was Rik Clay killed (quite probably) shortly after releasing all this information on his blog? [link]

MATTHEW 28 - THE BETRAYAL, REJECTION, CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH HAVE ALL HAPPENED TO JESUS AS MAN HAS HAD HIS SAY ABOUT THE SON OF GOD - JESUS IN TURN HAS FORGIVEN MANKIND FOR ALL OF OUR TRANSGRESSIONS - JESUS THEN CONQUERED DEATH AS HE RESURRECTED FROM THE GRAVE THE THIRD DAY AND BEGAN HIS CHRISTIAN CHURCH - THE OLD TESTAMENT HAS COME TO A CONCLUSION AND THE NEW TESTAMENT HAS NOW BEGUN BEING INSTITUTED IN THE PERSON, LIFE, POWER AND RESURRECTION AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'MATTHEW 28:2-5 AND, BEHOLD, THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE: FOR THE ANGEL OF THE LORD DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN, AND CAME AND ROLLED BACK THE STONE FROM THE DOOR, AND SAT UPON IT. HIS COUNTENANCE WAS LIKE LIGHTNING, AND HIS RAIMENT WHITE AS SNOW: AND FOR FEAR OF HIM THE KEEPERS DID SHAKE, AND BECAME AS DEAD MEN. AND THE ANGEL ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THE WOMEN, FEAR NOT YE: FOR I KNOW THAT YE SEEK JESUS, WHICH WAS CRUCIFIED. HE IS NOT HERE [DEAD]: FOR HE IS [ALIVE] RISEN, AS HE SAID' Jesus reveals His eternal life Resurrection to His Disciples instructing them to go throughout the entire world teaching others and baptizing others all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus confirms that all power and authority in both heaven and earth are His and that therefore the Disciples are to go out into all Nations proclaiming the good news of the eternal life giving Gospel of Jesus Christ! - 'Matthew 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went away [from the upper room in Jerusalem] into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they (Disciples) saw Him, they Worshipped Him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.'

SAINT MARK GOSPEL OF MARK [THE 2ND GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST] - MARK'S GOSPEL OPENS BY PROCLAIMING, "THE BEGINNING OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD" THIS OPENING STATEMENT IMMEDIATELY REVEALS WHO JESUS IS, AND TELLS READERS THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE BOOK {NOTE: THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS CONSIDERED BY PAPIAS (AD 60-130) AND CLEMENT OF ALEXANDREA (AD 150-215) TO BE THE EYEWITNESS EVENTS AND RELOCATIONS OF THE APOSTLE PETER AS TOLD TO MARK [JOHN MARK] WHO FAITHFULLY RECORDED PETER'S VERSION OF EVENTS IN HIS GOSPEL OF MARK.} Mark's Gospel opens by proclaiming, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God." This opening statement immediately reveals who Jesus is, and tells readers the point of the entire book. The first part of the Gospel deals with John the Baptist and his preparation for Jesus. John starts baptizing people and attracting disciples. Jesus goes to John to be baptized as well. When he baptizes Jesus, a voice from heaven is heard: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased." In hearing this, God the Father, first person of the Trinity reveals who Jesus is in this first episode. The episode then ends with the arrest of John the Baptist. John's arrest serves as a warning that there will be a struggle between good and evil. ... From this point forward, the Gospel of Mark contains what is commonly called "the messianic mystery." This is the idea that the messiah will have to suffer, die, and then be raised. This was confusing to many of Jesus' followers, because their concept of the messiah was someone who, like King David, would come as a military hero to conquer their enemies. Jesus came to conquer, but He conquers sin and death. During this episode, Jesus asks the apostles "Who do people say that I am?" They respond, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets" [MK 8:27-30]. Jesus then asks, "But who do you say that I am?" At first, none of them respond, but then Peter answers: "You are the Messiah." [MK 8:31-33] Peter answers correctly, but does not fully understand what he is saying. Later in the Bible, Jesus tells him that it was God the Father who told him to say this, and he received this knowledge through a divine revelation. Thus Peter is the second person in Mark's Gospel to reveal who Jesus is. [link]

OVERVIEW OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK An overview of the gospel of Mark includes biographical information about the author. We know, for example, that Mark came from a wealthy family who very likely hosted meetings of early Jerusalem believers, including the Master's Passover Supper (Mark 14:12-16, Acts 1:13, 12:12). It's possible that the young Mark followed Jesus and the disciples from his house to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he escaped capture only by fleeing naked when temple soldiers snatched at the linen sheet he wrapped around himself (Mark 14:51). We also know that Barnabas, who first led, then accompanied Paul on the first missionary journey, was a nephew of Mark's mother and therefore Mark's cousin (Colossians 4:10). Both Paul and Barnabas esteemed Mark worthy enough to accompany them when they left Jerusalem for Antioch after the famine-visit (Acts 11:27-30, 12:25); and when they began their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5). [link]

THE GOSPEL OF MARK - BACKGROUND NOTES - MARK [BY MODERN CRITICS OF CHRISTIANITY] IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED THE FIRST GOSPEL ACCOUNT OF JESUS THAT WAS WRITTEN - MATTHEW & LUKE LIKELY DREW ON THE WRITING OF MARK AS THOSE SUBSEQUENT GOSPELS WERE COMPOSED - THE VAST MAJORITY OF COMMENTATORS BELIEVE THE GOSPEL OF MARK WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN MARK, THE STUDENT OF PETER AND TRAVELING COMPANION OF PAUL AND BARNABAS {NOTE: THE GOSPELS ARE PLACED IN THE BIBLE IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WERE WRITTEN FIRST MATTHEW (THE GOSPEL WAS TO GO TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE FIRST), THEN MARK WRITING FOR THE APOSTLE PETER USED MATTHEW'S GOSPEL AS AN EXAMPLE, THEN LUKE USED BOTH MATTHEW AND MARK (COMPLETING THE THREE SIMILAR, SYNOPTIC GOSPELS), LASTLY JOHN NARRATED HIS UNIQUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE CHURCH. ALSO NOTE: HAD THE GOSPELS NOT BEEN PLACED IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WERE WRITTEN (MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN) THE GOSPEL OF LUKE AND THE BOOK OF ACTS WOULD NOT BE SPLIT UP BUT THE EARLY CHURCH DECIDED THAT IT WAS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO

HAVE THE GOSPELS IN THE ORDER THAT GOD GAVE THEM TO THE CHURCH THAN TO HAVE THE GOSPEL OF LUKE AND ACTS TOGETHER IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.}

John Mark: Converted to Christianity by Peter who calls him "his son" (1 Pet 5:14). Peter gave John Mark much attention in helping him grow in his faith - likely as a result of the prominence of his family in the faith community and his earnest desire to grow. Mark was at his mother's home when Peter arrived after his miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:12) - the only man identified by name from the "many people gathered there to pray". Papias (AD 60-130) and Clement of Alexandrea (AD 150-215) report that Mark was the close attendant and "interpreter" of Peter and wrote his gospel from the recollections and teachings of Peter. (Nelson, ISBE) Other tradition says Mark had been a priest (Barnabas, and the family, was a Levite) and after becoming a Christian he amputated a finger to disqualify himself for that service and gained the nickname kolobo-daktulos, "stumpy fingered". -- The Gospel according to Mark: The second book of the New Testament and the earliest of the four gospels, according to most New Testament scholars. The Gospel of Mark portrays the person of Jesus more by what He does than by what He says. It is characterized by a vivid, direct style that leaves the impression of familiarity with the original events. Although Mark is the shortest of the four gospels, it pays close attention to matters of human interest. Mark is fond of linking the episodes of Jesus' ministry together with catchwords (for example, "immediately," "then"), rather than editorial comment; and frequently he interrupts a longer story by inserting a smaller one within it (Mark 5:21-43; 6:6-30; 11:12-25; 14:1-11). [link]

MARK 1 - THE GOSPEL OF MARK STARTS WITH PETER'S GREAT REVELATION "JESUS THE SON OF GOD" THE REVELATION OF PETER IS RECORDED IN EACH OF THE FOUR GOSPELS [MATTHEW 16:16, MARK 8:29, LUKE 9:20, JOHN 6:69] - 'MARK 1:1 THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD' Mark 1:14-18 Now after that John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, And saying, *The [Old Testament] time is fulfilled, and *the Kingdom of God is at hand: *repent ye, and believe the Gospel [Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God]. Now as He [Jesus] walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and *Andrew [originally a disciple of John the Baptist - John 1:40] his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him [Jesus]. And when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James [martyred by Herod, Acts 12:2] the son of Zebedee, and John [the beloved Disciple, originally a disciple of John the Baptist - John 1:37] his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway He [Jesus] called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him. - Note: The Gospel of Mark is the eyewitness account and personal experiences of the Apostle Peter and therefore the Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus as an adult just as Jesus begins His ministry when Peter first encountered Jesus.

MARK 2 - IN THESE FEW EVENTS PETER CONTINUES TO GIVE CLOSE INTIMATE FIRST PERSON DETAILS OF HIS TIME SPENT WITH JESUS PETER TALKS' ABOUT JESUS BEING IN HIS HOUSE, HIS BEING WITH JESUS WHEN HE CALLED MATTHEW INTO DISCIPLESHIP AND OF JESUS BEING IN MATTHEW'S HOUSE ALONG WITH PETER AND MANY OTHER DISCIPLES -- 'MARK 2:1 AND AGAIN HE [JESUS] ENTERED INTO CAPERNAUM, AFTER SOME DAYS; AND IT WAS NOISED THAT HE WAS IN *THE HOUSE [PETER'S HOUSE].' Mark 2:14 And as He [Jesus] passed by, He saw Levi [Matthew] the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom [tax station], and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house [Matthew's house], many publicans [tax collectors] and sinners sat also together with Jesus *and His disciples [including Peter]: for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the Scribes and Pharisees saw Him [Jesus] eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole [lit. healthy] have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous [redeemed Jews], but sinners to repentance. - Note: Jesus focused His ministry prior to His cross and His resurrection on the gathering of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. After His cross and resurrection Jesus is calling everyone into a personal relationship with Himself.

MARK 3 - PETER AND THE DISCIPLES ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS ACCOMPANY JESUS INTO SOME OF THE SYNAGOGUES IN ISRAEL -- 'MARK 3:1-2 AND HE [JESUS] ENTERED AGAIN INTO THE SYNAGOGUE [IN CAPERNAUM]; AND THERE WAS A MAN THERE WHICH HAD A WITHERED HAND. AND THEY [PHARISEES] WATCHED HIM, WHETHER HE WOULD HEAL HIM ON THE SABBATH DAY; THAT THEY MIGHT ACCUSE HIM.' Mark 3:6-8 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians [Jewish supporters of King Herod] against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea [Galilee]: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaea, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He [Jesus] did, came unto Him. - Peter is recalling both the concerted opposition that Jesus faced and the broad based and very vast following that Jesus acquired during His brief public ministry.

CAPERNAUM - THE HOUSE OF ST. PETER - THE BASALT SYNAGOGUE [AT CAPERNAUM] WHICH IS REFERRED TO IN THE FOUR GOSPELS (PHOTOS) Overview: Aside from various references to Capernaum in the Gospels, the earliest literary attestation of Capernaum is from Josephus, who refers to the village in connection with a fertile spring. The Jewish historian reports he spent a night there with a fever during the second year of the Jewish War. For centuries, Capernaum has traditionally been identified as a site located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, about three miles west of the upper Jordan River. In 1838, Edward Robinson correctly identified there the remains of a synagogue that was partly excavated by Charles Wilson between 1865 and 1866. More extensive excavations took place in the early twentieth century, first by Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger (1905) and then by Wendelin von Menden (1906-1915). In 1921, the synagogue was partially restored by Gaudenzio Orfali. In more recent times, Virgilio Corbo and Stanislao Loffreda conducted nineteen seasons at Capernaum between 1968 and 1986, excavating not only the synagogue, but also a nearby church that had long been associated with the house of St. Peter. Most recent excavations have revealed two synagogues, a white limestone synagogue dating from the fourth to fifth centuries CE [A.D.], and a black basalt synagogue dating from the first half of the first century CE [A.D.]. Only foundation walls, gray marble column fragments and a cobblestone floor remain from the earlier structure, which measured 24.5 by 18.7 meters on the exterior and possessed walls over a meter thick. ... This structure was built on top of an earlier synagogue [the Gospels synagogue] that was founded in the first century CE [A.D.] and constructed out of basalt. Only the foundation walls and cobblestone floor remain [exhibit B and C in the B&W photo] from this earlier [synagogue] building [the synagogue at Capernaum mentioned in the four Gospels]. Column drums made out of gray marble have also been discovered in a lower stratum of fill material. It is thus the basalt synagogue which is referred to in the four Gospels. [link]

MARK 4 - PETER WAS PRESENT AT MOST OF THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CRIST AND EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND THE MANY CROWDS THAT GATHERED TO HEAR JESUS TEACH -- 'MARK 4:1-2 AND HE [JESUS] BEGAN AGAIN TO TEACH BY THE [GALILEE] SEA SIDE: AND THERE WAS GATHERED UNTO HIM A GREAT MULTITUDE, SO THAT HE ENTERED INTO A SHIP [FISHING BOAT], AND SAT IN THE SEA; AND THE WHOLE MULTITUDE WAS BY THE SEA ON THE [SHORE] LAND. AND HE [JESUS] TAUGHT THEM MANY THINGS BY PARABLES, AND SAID UNTO THEM IN HIS DOCTRINE ...' Mark 4:9-12 And He [Jesus] said unto them [crowd of people], He that hath [Spiritual] ears to hear, let him hear. And when He [Jesus] was alone, they that were about Him with the Twelve [Apostles] asked of Him [about] the parable [regarding hearing]. And He said unto them, Unto you [through the Holy Spirit] it is given to know **the Mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, *and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; *lest at any time they should be {prematurely} converted, and their sins should be forgiven them {and then they fall away making it more difficult or even unable to be restored}. Apparently what Jesus is talking about here is that Parables are given in order to help alleviate shallow, misguided and false conversions to Christianity. - Note: An easy, cheap (modern) Gospel is often a throwaway Gospel that people hear and then having easily accepted a simplistic message [lacking in conviction of sin and of the need for the cross and

resurrection of Jesus] and usually having accepting it for wrong and selfish reasons can then later easily reject the Christian message not having had a definite eternal, divine [heavenly] basis for their relationship with God. - Also Note: The Gospel is also not manufactured of hardship, rules and regulations either but the Gospel is a living, accurate, truthful, Spiritual relationship with the living, loving, Holy creator of the universe, Father God [Jesus and the Holy Spirit] the eternal God of all existence.

LIVINGWATERS.COM: TRUE AND FALSE CONVERSION - HELL'S BEST KEPT SECRET (ONLINE AUDIO) True and False Conversion: While the other teachings in this series have special emphasis in particular areas, this teaching is foundational, and goes hand in hand with Tape A. It is very important that you understand it, as it will have great bearing on how you spend your time, and how you share the principles of God's Word. If you have ever wondered why so much of the Church looks and acts just like the world, you will love this teaching. ... Hell's Best Kept Secret: Why do 80-90% of those making a [modern] decision for Christ fall away from the faith? What is the principle that Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, etc., used to reach the lost? Why has the Church neglected it? Don't let anything stop you from listening to this incredible teaching. [link]

MARK 5 - THE DISCIPLE AND APOSTLE PETER IS GOING TO WITNESS (MARK 5:2), EXPERIENCE (LUKE 22:31) AND DISCERN (ACTS 8:20) THE SPIRITUAL REALM ON A LEVEL THAT FEW OTHERS HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED IN - JESUS HEALS A MAN SEVERELY POSSESSED BY A MULTITUDE OF DEMONS -- 'MARK 5:18-20 AND WHEN HE [JESUS] WAS COME INTO THE SHIP [FISHING BOAT], HE THAT HAD BEEN POSSESSED WITH THE DEVIL PRAYED [ASKED] HIM [JESUS] THAT HE MIGHT [TRAVEL] BE WITH HIM. HOWBEIT [HOWEVER] JESUS SUFFERED HIM NOT, BUT SAITH UNTO HIM, **GO HOME TO THY FRIENDS, AND TELL THEM HOW GREAT THINGS THE LORD HATH DONE FOR THEE, AND HATH HAD COMPASSION ON THEE. AND HE DEPARTED, AND BEGAN TO PUBLISH IN DECAPOLIS [THE 10 GREEK CITIES IN ISRAEL] HOW GREAT THINGS JESUS HAD DONE FOR HIM: AND ALL MEN DID MARVEL. - NOTE: JESUS HEALED THE MAN AND DID NOT TAKE HIM AWAY LIKE SOME CULT BUT INSTEAD RESTORED THE HEALED MAN TO HIS FAMILY AND HIS COMMUNITY AND THERE WITHIN HIS OWN COMMUNITY DID HE BEGIN TO SHARE WITH OTHERS THE GLORIOUS COMPASSION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.'

Mark 5:1-17 And they [Jesus and His Disciples] came over unto the other side of the Sea [of Galilee], into the country of the Gadarenes [Southern Galilee area]. And when He was come out of the ship [fishing boat], immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs [in the graveyard]; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces [by his demonic rage and strength]: neither could any man tame [comfort] him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting [harming] himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus [and safety] afar off, **he ran and worshipped Him [Jesus], And cried with a loud [demonic possessed] voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I [the demonic spirit speaking through the homeless man] adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For He [Jesus] said unto him [unclean spirit], Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And He [Jesus] asked him [unclean spirit], What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion [a large well-armed group]: for we are many. And he [unclean spirit] besought Him much that He would not send them [legion] away out of the country [the country (area) of the Gadarenes - apparently a demonic stronghold]. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. **And forthwith Jesus gave them leave [permission]. And the unclean spirits went out [of the man], and entered into the swine [pigs]: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, they were about two thousand [pigs]; and were choked [drowned] in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see [the pig carcasses] what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that *was possessed with the devil, *and had the legion, {now healed and} sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid [it was too much for them]. And they [those feeding the pigs] that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray [ask] Him [Jesus] to depart out of their [region] coasts. - The main work of Jesus is in the spiritual realm and He is presiding over both the clean (holy) spirit realm and also ultimately presiding over the disobedient unclean (unholy) demonic realm. The discovery of the spirit realm and the realization of the authority and work of Jesus in and over the spirit realm (1 Corinthians 15:24) is usually initially very

overwhelming to most [if not all] people but the spirit realm [both the holy and unholy] is actually so pervasive that generally it cannot be ignored but must be dealt with by humans and hopefully dealt with in the correct context that Jesus Christ is the sole authority of the entire spiritual and physical spectrum encompassing both the physical and the spiritual realms.

3 STRIKING PRAYERS IN THE BIBLE - THERE ARE THREE STRIKING PRAYERS FOUND IN THE BIBLE WHICH DESERVE OUR INDIVIDUAL AND UNDIVIDED ATTENTION

There are three striking prayers found in the Bible which deserve our individual and undivided attention. Believe it or not - the first one was prayed by [legion] a group of three thousand demons. The second was prayed by a multitude of people [locals of Gadarenes]. And the third was prayed by a [homeless] man who was just set free from demonic power. ... In summary, the demons in the first example were wanting to get away from Jesus. The multitudes in the second example wanted Jesus to get away from them. And now, in this third example, we find the delivered man earnestly desiring to follow Jesus wherever He went. [link]

MARK 6 - THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA 'COUNTRY' OF THE GADARENES HAD OVERCOME THEIR INITIAL SHOCK AND HAD COME TO GRIPS WITH THEIR SHOCKING SPIRITUAL REALM ENCOUNTER REGARDING JESUS AND HAD BEGUN TO SPREAD THE WORD OF THE GOOD NEWS OF HAVING A [SPIRITUAL, MIND (SOUL) AND POSSIBLY BODY] HEALING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST -- 'MARK 6:53 AND [LATER] WHEN THEY HAD PASSED OVER [THE SEA OF GALILEE], THEY CAME INTO THE LAND OF GENNESARET [NORTHERN GALILEE], AND DREW TO THE SHORE.' Mark 6:53 And when they had passed over [the Sea of Galilee], they came into the land of Gennesaret [Northern shore of Galilee], and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they [people already] knew Him [from the previous healing of the demon possessed man in Gadarene - Southern Galilee], And [the people] ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard He [Jesus] was. And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched [made contact with] Him were made whole [lit. safe from illness - Sozo, G4982]. - The healing that is being discussed in this part of the Bible is "sozo" and means to be made safe by being removed from danger. For instance in a physical sense Jesus would be the barrier between a person and a disease such as malaria and with Jesus the person is 'sozo' safe from malaria. Later 'soszo' is carried out into 'Salvation' with Jesus being the barrier between us and sin and in the same way one would be healed physically from a disease like leprosy or malaria the blood of Jesus has healed and saved us from the eternal dangers of the disease of sin. - Also: Note healings can be physical, spiritual and emotional and will encompass a duration of time especially physical healings in that all the people that Jesus raised from the dead did eventually physically die again, the point being that 'sozo' is a continuing and ongoing work of salvation, healing and safety in the life of each individual in a 'contact' relationship with Jesus Christ. Salvation 'sozo' healing by God is not just a onetime, anonymous drive bye event but it is a continual [and spiritually eternal] part of the moment by moment relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

MARK 7 - JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ARE NOW BACK IN CAPERNAUM AT PETER'S HOUSE -- 'MARK 7:9-13 AND HE [JESUS] SAID UNTO THEM [JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS], FULL WELL YE REJECT THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD, THAT YE MAY KEEP YOUR OWN TRADITION. ... MAKING THE WORD OF GOD OF NONE [SAFETY - SOZO] EFFECT THROUGH YOUR TRADITION, WHICH YE HAVE DELIVERED [PRESCRIBED]: AND MANY SUCH LIKE [RITUALISTIC] THINGS DO YE.' Mark 7:14-23 And when He [Jesus] had called all the people unto Him, He said unto them, Hearken [listen] unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing [in food] from without a man, that entering into him can defile him [separate him from God]: but the things [thoughts, imaginations and actions] which come out of him [soul and spirit], those are they that defile the man [separate him from God]. If any man have [spiritual] ears to hear, let him hear. And when He was entered into the house [back in Capernaum at Peter's house] from the people, His Disciples asked Him

concerning the parable. And He saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever [food] thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; **Because it entereth not into his heart [soul and spirit], but into the belly [stomach], and goeth out into the draught [dung], purging all meats? And He [Jesus] said, ***That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man [separate him from God]. For from within, ***out of the heart [mind, soul, spirit] of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye (looking to cause evil), blasphemy, *pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man [separating him from God]. - Spiritual, emotional and at times even physical healing and wellbeing are interconnected and related to one another. In order to be healed spiritually [Sozo] we have to cooperate emotionally and physically with God. - Note: Salvation, healing, Christian conduct and Christian maturity (Living Temple - Royal Priesthood) drawing close to God is going to be a major theme in the two Epistles of Peter.

MARK 8 - PETER MAKES THE ETERNAL DECLARATION THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST THE REDEEMER-SAVIOR OF ALL MANKIND -- 'MARK 8:29 AND HE [JESUS] SAITH UNTO THEM [HIS DISCIPLES], BUT WHOM SAY YE THAT I AM? AND PETER ANSWERETH AND SAITH UNTO HIM, THOU ART THE CHRIST [MESSIAH].' Mark 8:27-38 And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. And He [Jesus] charged them that they should tell no man of him [until after the fulness of His cross and resurrection]. **And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, *and after three days rise again. And He spake that saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He [Jesus] rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when He had called the people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up his cross [enter in], and follow Me. **For whosoever will save his [own] life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's, the same shall save it. **For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? **Or what shall a man give in exchange for his [eternal] soul? ***Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh [2nd Coming] in the Glory of His Father with the Holy Angels. - Note: We are like Peter and the other Disciples are given the opportunity to confess the eternal Truth that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and once we have entered into that eternal Truth and made that confession we are then to remain in it unwavering.

MARK 9 - THE DISCIPLES PETER, JOHN AND HIS BROTHER JAMES ARE GOING TO WITNESS FIRSTHAND THE RESURRECTION, ETERNAL LIFE FROM DEATH [MOSES AND ELIJAH] AND THE TRANSFIGURATION POWERS [TRANSFORMING THE TEMPORARY PHYSICAL REALM INTO THE ETERNAL SPIRITUAL REALM] OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'MARK 9:1 AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT THERE BE SOME OF THEM THAT STAND HERE, WHICH SHALL NOT TASTE OF DEATH, TILL THEY HAVE SEEN THE [ETERNAL] KINGDOM OF GOD COME WITH [TRANSFIGURATION] POWER.' Mark 9:2 And after six [a temporary - incomplete Transfiguration] days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James [John's brother], and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart [outside of Israel] by themselves: and He [Jesus] was Transfigured [changed into His Spirit body] before them. And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller [detergent] on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias (Elijah) with Moses [because of his sin Moses was not allowed to enter the Promise Land (before the cross of Jesus) so Jesus and the three Disciples went outside Israel (the promise land) for Jesus to meet with Moses and Elijah]: and they were talking with Jesus. And **Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, ***it is good for us to be here [according to Peter's epistles this was the crowning achievement moment of his life to be at the Mount of Transfiguration and to witness the events]: and let us make three tabernacles [grottos]; one for thee [Jesus], and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist [knew] not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud [of witness] that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of

the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear [listen to] Him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more [Moses and Elijah had returned back down to Paradise - Abraham bosom], save Jesus only with themselves. And as they came down from the Mountain, He [Jesus] charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of Man were risen [resurrection] from the dead. - Jesus instructed the Disciples not to tell the Gospel until they had the fullness of the Gospel in His cross and Resurrection. A Gospel that does not address both redemption from sin (the cross) and a reunited eternal life with God in Haven (the resurrection)is an incomplete Gospel message.

MARK 10 - JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES BEGIN TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO JERUSALEM FOR THE EVENTS THAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS HOLY WEEK -- 'MARK 10:32 AND THEY [JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES] WERE IN THE WAY GOING UP TO JERUSALEM [THE EVENTS OF HOLY WEEK WERE ABOUT TO BEGIN]; AND JESUS WENT BEFORE THEM: AND THEY WERE AMAZED; AND AS THEY FOLLOWED, THEY [DISCIPLES] WERE AFRAID. AND HE TOOK AGAIN THE TWELVE [APOSTLES], AND BEGAN TO TELL THEM WHAT THINGS SHOULD HAPPEN UNTO HIM ...' Mark 10:33-34 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man [Jesus] shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles: And they [also will reject Jesus and] shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill him: and the third day He [Jesus] shall rise [resurrection] again. - Note: For a time all of the disciples and Apostles of Jesus will flee from Jesus and all will reject Jesus including all the Jews and all the Gentiles alike. Forsaken, rejected and alone; all by Himself Jesus will go on trial, to the cross and to the grave but then to conquer in His Glorious eternal life Resurrection a life that Jesus since before the creation of time He has offered freely to all mankind.

MARK 11 - THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS CHRIST INTO JERUSALEM WHERE JESUS PRESENTS HIMSELF AS THE KING THE PROMISED MESSIAH (CHRIST) TO ALL MANKIND BOTH TO THE JEWS AND THEN TO THE GENTILES -- 'MARK 11:11 AND JESUS ENTERED INTO JERUSALEM [ON SATURDAY THE SABBATH FEAST DAY], AND INTO THE TEMPLE: AND WHEN HE HAD LOOKED ROUND ABOUT UPON ALL THINGS, AND NOW THE *EVENTIDE [LIT. CLOSE OF A FEAST DAY - OPSIOS, G3798 (A FEMININE NOUN INSTEAD OF THE REGULAR MASCULINE NOUN)] WAS COME, HE [JESUS] WENT OUT [BACK] UNTO BETHANY WITH THE TWELVE [APOSTLES].' - NOTE: THIS UNIQUE DAY ALSO CORRESPONDS WITH THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF THE ARK OF THE COVENT'S ARRIVAL INTO JERUSALEM "2 SAMUEL 6:15 SO [KING] DAVID AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL BROUGHT UP THE ARK OF THE LORD [INTO JERUSALEM ON THE SABBATH DAY] WITH SHOUTING, AND WITH THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET." - THE PRAYER OF KING DAVID UPON BRINGING THE ARK AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD INTO JERUSALEM - 1 CHRONICLES 16:7-36 [V.24 24 DECLARE HIS GLORY AMONG THE HEATHEN [GENTILES]; HIS MARVELLOUS WORKS AMONG ALL NATIONS. - V.30 FEAR BEFORE HIM, ALL THE EARTH: THE WORLD [REALM OF GOD] ALSO SHALL BE STABLE, THAT IT BE NOT MOVED. - V.31 LET THE HEAVENS BE GLAD, AND LET THE EARTH REJOICE: AND LET MEN SAY AMONG THE NATIONS, THE LORD REIGNETH (AS KING).] Mark 11:1-10 And when they [Jesus and His Disciples] came nigh [near] to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He [Jesus] sendeth forth two of His disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village [Bethany] over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt [a young donkey] tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that *the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go [apparently the colt was a firstborn animal and the owner did not redeem (Numbers 18:15) it from God therefore the young donkey did belong to God and not the person and everyone realizing the colt was unredeemed gave the colt to the two disciples to give to Jesus the true Lord (owner) of the colt]. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on Him; and He sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down [palm] branches off the trees, and strawed [covered the street with branches] them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, ***saying, Hosanna; Blessed is He [Jesus] that cometh in the Name of the Lord [owner of the universe]: Blessed be

***the Kingdom of our father [King] David, that cometh in the Name of the Lord: Hosanna [rejoice, praise] in [God] the Highest. - "Psalms 74:12 For God is my King of old, working Salvation in the midst of the earth."

"JESUS WALK" THE 10 DAY ANNUAL EASTER TIMELINE DEVOTION - AN ANCIENT HOLY WEEK TIMELINE, BIBLE STUDY, DEVOTIONAL & PERSONAL JOURNAL FOR EASTER WEEK As disciples of Jesus, let's go back with Jesus and the original disciples to revisit and re-live the last week that Jesus spent on earth. This week is also referred to as "Holy Week." The 10 days will be Friday through the next Sunday. To examine the last week we will have to piece together many items and statements from throughout the Bible. As we go back to the original Holy Week, we will travel like students and detectives, searching the scriptures for events and clues that took place nearly 2,000 years ago. We will in actuality be students and detectives of Jesus, searching out Who He is and what His ministry came to accomplish here on earth. [link]

MARK 12 - SUMMARY: THE EVENTS OF HOLY WEEK AS THE APOSTLE PETER PARTICIPATED IN THEM - THE DAY AFTER THE [SATURDAY] TRIUMPHAL ENTRY ON THE {SATURDAY SABBATH FEAST DAY} -- [SUNDAY: "MARK 11:12 AND ON THE MORROW (THE DAY AFTER SATURDAY)" JESUS CURSED THE FIG TREE (ON SUNDAY) ON HIS WAY INTO JERUSALEM TO CLEANSE THE TEMPLE BY REMOVING THE MONEY CHANGERS AND REINSTITUTING THE TEMPLE AS A PLACE OF PRAYER AND WORSHIP TO GOD AND THEN TEACHES THE PEOPLE "HIS DOCTRINE" (MARK 11:18).] -- [MONDAY: "MARK 11:20 AND IN THE MORNING (NEXT DAY), AS THEY PASSED BY, THEY SAW THE FIG TREE DRIED UP FROM THE ROOTS." "MARK 11:27 AND THEY COME AGAIN (STILL ON MONDAY) TO JERUSALEM" JESUS AGAIN ENTERS THE NOW CLEANSED TEMPLE AND CONTINUES TO TEACH TO THE PEOPLE. JESUS' AUTHORITY IS QUESTIONED ON THIS SECOND DAY OF TEACHING BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND JESUS THEN BEGINS TO TEACH IN PARABLES IN THE TEMPLE AND LATER THAT DAY JESUS [GOD] DEPARTS THE TEMPLE FOR THE LAST TIME. JESUS THEN GIVES HIS MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE (END TIME) TEACHING.] -[TUESDAY: JUDAS MEETS WITH THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS IN ORDER TO BETRAY JESUS.] -- [WEDNESDAY: PASSOVER {THE LORD'S PASSOVER FEAST DAY}, COMMUNION, THE NEW TESTAMENT BEGINS TO BE INSTITUTED IN THE BODY-BLOOD, CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST.'] -- [THURSDAY: {THE START OF THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD} (THE NEW JEWISH DAY BEGAN AT SUNDOWN) ARREST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, TRIALS (SIX TRIALS; THREE JEWISH AND THREE GENTILE) AND REJECTION OF JESUS BY BOTH THE JEWS AND THE GENTILES. THE CROSS, DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS.] -- [FRIDAY: A NORMAL DAY (NON-FEAST DAY). THE TOMB IS SEALED BY THE ROMANS AT THE REQUEST OF THE JEWISH LEADERSHIP, THE FEMALE DISCIPLES OF JESUS PURCHASE AND PREPARE MORE OIL AND SPICES TO FURTHER ANOINT THE BODY OF JESUS BUT ARE UNABLE TO FURTHER ANOINT THE BODY BECAUSE THE TOMB IS NOW CLOSED AND SEALED.] -- [SATURDAY: AGAIN THE WEEKLY SABBATH FEAST DAY. THE THIRD DAY AND THIRD NIGHT OF DEATH IS FULFILLED.] -- [SUNDAY: AT THE SUNRISE OF THE NEW DAY ON THE {FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS} JESUS RESURRECTS FROM THE DEAD DISPLAYING TO HIS FOLLOWERS HIS ETERNAL RESURRECTION LIFE, HIS AUTHORITY OF LIFE OVER DEATH AS HE BEGINS TO REVEAL HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM GLORY TO MANKIND.] [Monday] Mark 12:1 And He [Jesus] began [the second and final day of Holy Week Temple Teachings] to speak unto them [in the Temple] by parables. ... Mark 12:18-27 Then come unto Him the Sadducees [Jewish religious and political leaders], which say there is no resurrection; and they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were seven {complete} brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. **And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err (error), ***because ye know not the scriptures, ***neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels [no sexual activity] which are in heaven. **And as touching the dead, that they rise [eternal life resurrection]: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the [burning] bush God spake unto him, ***saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? ***He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still completely alive and living in the eternal realm]: ye therefore do greatly err. - Note: Before His own death and resurrection Jesus clears up any doubts about human sexual conduct in

heaven [there isn't any] and about the fact that the human spirit and soul is eternal and does participate in God's eternal life resurrection plan for mankind.

MARK 13 - [MONDAY] THE 2ND AND FINAL DAY OF TEMPLE TEACHING ENDS ABRUPTLY AND LATER THAT DAY THE [END TIME] MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE IS GIVEN BY JESUS WITH ONLY THE APOSTLES PETER, JAMES, JOHN AND ANDREW IN ATTENDANCE -"MARK 13:1-4 AND [MONDAY] AS HE [JESUS] WENT OUT OF THE TEMPLE, ... AND AS HE SAT UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES OVER AGAINST [OVERLOOKING] THE TEMPLE, *PETER AND JAMES [JOHN'S BROTHER] AND JOHN [JOHN OMITTED (AS UNNECESSARY) THE MOUNT OLIVET (END TIME) TEACHING FROM HIS GOSPEL TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH] AND ANDREW [PETER'S BROTHER] ASKED HIM [JESUS] PRIVATELY, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE [KINGDOM OF CHRIST] THINGS BE? AND WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN WHEN ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE FULFILLED?' - NOTE: PETER, JAMES AND JOHN WERE THE ONLY THREE APOSTLES PRESENT AT THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION WITH JESUS. Mark 13:28-37 Now learn a Parable of the Fig Tree [3rd Temple in Jerusalem]; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things [preparation to rebuild the 3rd Jewish Temple in Jerusalem] come to pass, know that it [the Kingdom of God] is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that *this generation [the End Time 1967 Jewish return to Jerusalem generation] shall not pass, till all these [End Time - Book of Revelation] things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour [the establishing of the Kingdom of God - Jesus' Throne on earth] knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son [Jesus - the Kingdom is being given to Jesus as a gift from the Father, therefore Jesus did not yet know the fullness and timing of His gift], but the Father [knows]. *Take ye heed, *watch [for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ] and *pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man [Jesus] is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. **Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even [evening], or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing [dawn], or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping [unconscious]. And what I say unto you **I say unto all, Watch [observe and look for the Kingdom of God]. - Note: The fig tree is a parable about man's own religious coverings [i.e. the 3rd Temple - the eventual temple of the Antichrist] as the original fig tree (Genesis 3:7) was a manmade attempt to cover mankind's sins with a false religion.

MARK 14 - [TUESDAY] THE HOLY WEEK EVENTS BEGIN TO FOCUS ON THE PASSOVER FEAST AND JESUS' INSTITUTION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT -- 'MARK 14:1-2 [ON TUESDAY] AFTER TWO DAYS [COUNTING TUESDAY AND STARTING WEDNESDAY (I.E. JOHN 20:26 AND AFTER EIGHT DAYS (7 ROMAN DAYS) COUNTING THE CURRENT DAY RESURRECTION SUNDAY UNTIL THE NEXT SUNDAY)] WAS THE FEAST OF THE [LORD'S] PASSOVER, AND [THE NEXT DAY THE START] OF UNLEAVENED BREAD: AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE SCRIBES SOUGHT HOW THEY MIGHT TAKE HIM [JESUS] BY CRAFT [DECEIT], AND PUT HIM TO DEATH. BUT THEY SAID [CONSPIRED], *NOT ON THE FEAST DAY, LEST THERE BE AN UPROAR OF THE PEOPLE. - NOTE: THE PLANS OF SATAN AS ENACTED BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE DAY WAS NOT TO FULFILL THE FEAST DAYS GIVEN BY GOD TO MOSES HOWEVER THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT DID HAPPEN.' Mark 14:12-17 And [Wednesday] the first day of [the eight days of] Unleavened Bread [1 day of Lord's Passover + 7 days of Unleavened Bread], when they killed the Passover [Lamb][the Lord's Passover], His disciples said unto Him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the [Lord's] Passover? And He sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him {by Church tradition this person is thought to be Mark the writer of the Gospel}. And wheresoever he [Mark] shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master [Jesus] saith, Where is the guestchamber [guestroom], where I shall eat the Passover with My Disciples? And he will shew you a large **upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And His disciples went forth, and came into the city [Jerusalem], and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover. And in the evening He [Jesus] cometh with the Twelve [Apostles]. - Note: Generally it is thought that Jesus and the Apostles ate the Passover at Mark's parents' house and then that Mark followed Jesus and the Apostles to the Garden of Gethsemane where he recorded (Mark 14:51) his being discovered by others and having to flee from the area.

MARK 15 - [THURSDAY] THE ARREST, TRIALS, CRUCIFIXION AND BURIAL OF JESUS -- 'MARK 15:1-2 AND STRAIGHTWAY IN THE MORNING [THURSDAY] THE CHIEF PRIESTS HELD A CONSULTATION WITH THE ELDERS AND SCRIBES AND THE WHOLE [SANHEDRIN] COUNCIL, AND BOUND JESUS, AND CARRIED HIM AWAY, AND DELIVERED HIM TO [PONTIUS] PILATE. AND PILATE ASKED HIM [JESUS], ART THOU THE KING OF THE JEWS? AND HE [JESUS] ANSWERING SAID UNTO HIM, THOU SAYEST IT [CORRECT, YES].' Mark 15:37-47 And Jesus [on the cross] cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost [died]. And the veil of the Temple was rent [torn] in twain [half] from the top to the bottom. And when the [Roman] Centurion, which stood over against Him, saw that He so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, **Truly this man was the Son of God. There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; Who also, when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered unto Him; and many other women which came up with Him unto Jerusalem. And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day [of Unleavened Bread just] before the Sabbath {the Feast Sabbath (rest) not the saturday Sabbath}, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the Kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if He were already dead: and calling unto him the Centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the Centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher [tomb] which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld [observed] where He was laid.

THE CRUCIFIXION SITE AND TOMB OF CHRIST - CLOSE-UP PHOTO AT LEFT IS OF AN IRON SHAFT DRIVEN INTO [THE OUTSIDE OF] THE ROCK TOMB (PHOTOS) This is the burial place of Christ and you will notice the foot area at right that was enlarged [chiseled out] to accommodate Christ's feet, as he must have been taller than Joseph of Arimathea who had the tomb constructed for himself and was apparently 5' 8" tall. The cutting of the stone was hastily completed in order to accomplish the task of burial before the Sabbath hours, Friday at sunset. Mark 16:5 says Mary saw a young man or angel sitting on right side of tomb the first day of the week. He may have been in the right hand portion of this photo. ... "Make it as secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard." Matt. 27:65,66 Close-up photo at left is of an iron shaft driven into the rock. Photo at right above would have the iron rod at far left in the photo. This would have prevented the stone from being rolled backward. The distance from the iron shaft to the stopping point at right is 13 ft. 2inches, per our measurements. "And they made His grave with the wicked-- but with the rich at His death" Isaiah 53:9. This text describes the other tombs to the left of this one where wealthy and wicked men were buried. [link]

THE REAL CALVARY AND THE REAL HOLY SEPULCHER [TOMB] - HOW DID THE ROMAN SOLDIERS PREVENT THE STONE FROM ROLLING BACK? APPARENTLY BY A SPIKE AT THE EDGE OF THE STONE TO THE WALL - WE CAN SEE A BROKEN IRON SPIKE EMBEDDED IN THE WALL 71 INCHES ABOVE THE GROUND, SEVERAL FEET TO THE LEFT OF THE DOOR (PHOTO) The Great Seal Stone was rolled in and placed in the trough outside the entrance wall. It was big enough to cover the fairly large door. How did the Roman soldiers prevent the Stone from rolling back? Apparently by a spike at the edge of the Stone to the wall. We can see a broken iron spike embedded in the wall 71 inches above the ground, several feet to the left of the door; there is a stop carved into the face of the rock on the right side of the door. Obviously the spike was broken when the angel rolled the Stone on Resurrection morning. The separation of the spike from the stop is over 13 feet, which may be considered the diameter of the Stone. Recently elemental analysis has been carried out on fragments of the spike, and the metals found were iron and lead. The Roman practice was pouring molten lead into the hole before inserting the iron nail. Dating the metals is not possible with radiometric dating techniques. For more information visit www.wyattmuseum.com and www.anchorstone.com These details give much support to our belief that the Garden Tomb is the real Tomb of Jesus. [link]

MARK 16 - THE SUNDAY SUNRISE, ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!! -- 'MARK 16:1-2 AND WHEN THE [SATURDAY] SABBATH WAS PAST, MARY MAGDALENE, AND MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES, AND SALOME, HAD BOUGHT [ON FRIDAY] SWEET SPICES, THAT THEY MIGHT COME AND ANOINT HIM. AND VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK [SUNDAY], THEY CAME UNTO THE SEPULCHRE [TOMB] AT [SUNRISE] THE RISING OF THE SUN.' Mark 16:15-20 And He [the resurrected Jesus] said unto them [Apostles and Disciples], Go ye into all the world, and Preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized [identifies with Jesus] shall be Saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, [40 days later - The Ascension] He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and Preached everywhere, ***the Lord [continually] working with them, and confirming the [Gospel] Word with signs following. Amen. - The Gospel of Peter recorded by Mark is concluded.

SAINT LUKE BACKGROUND BOOK

LUKE GIVES US THE MOST COMPLETE LOOK AT THE LIFE OF JESUS - LUKE USES EYEWITNESSES AS SOURCES FOR HIS WRITINGS - HE STRESSES JESUS' HUMANITY AND COMPASSION AS WELL AS THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OF PRAYER - THEME: JESUS CHRIST AS THE PERFECT MAN - KEY VERSES: "WHEN THE CENTURION SAW WHAT WAS DONE, HE GLORIFIED GOD, SAYING, 'CERTAINLY THIS WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN'" LUKE 23:47 - "FOR THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST" LUKE 19:10 OF

LUKE - THE

BOOK OF

Book of Luke - Author: Luke - Time: 4 B.C. to 30 A.D. - The book of Luke gives us the most complete look at the life of Jesus. Luke uses eyewitnesses as sources for his writings. He stresses Jesus' humanity and compassion as well as the power of the Holy Spirit and of prayer. - Theme: Jesus Christ as the perfect man -- Key verses: "When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, 'Certainly this was a righteous man.'" Luke 23:47 -- "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10 -- Unique features: Luke wrote particularly for Greeks who delighted in wisdom, beauty and system. He therefore tells the story of Jesus, unfolding his development in a systematic manner, setting the facts in careful order. Luke was an artist with the pen, drawing the portrait of Jesus as the perfect man. He was also a careful historian; both his gospel and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles are highly regarded among historians for their accuracy and attention to detail. [link]

PROFILES OF FAITH: LUKE THE APOSTLE PAUL'S BELOVED FRIEND AND COMPANION - WHO WAS THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT ONLY ENCOURAGE PAUL DURING THIS TRYING TIME BUT WRITE TWO BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT? THE SCRIPTURES TELL US LITTLE, BUT WE CAN INFER QUITE A BIT BY EXAMINING LUKE'S WORK AND THE TIMES IN WHICH HE LIVED - LUKE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE EARLY GENTILE CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY - LUKE APPARENTLY WROTE HIS GOSPEL AROUND A.D. 60-61, SOME 30 YEARS AFTER JESUS' DEATH. WE CAN ARRIVE AT THIS TIME BY EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE FOR WHEN HE WROTE THE BOOK OF ACTS It wasn't easy being Paul's friend and traveling companion. The apostle lived a hard and sometimes dangerous life. His enemies said he was a rabble-rouser, a troublemaker who slandered the Jews and dishonored the temple and, by extension, disdained the authority of the almighty Roman Empire. In reality Paul's enemies were the slanderers: "... We have found this man a plague," they said, "a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5, emphasis added throughout). Such charges could get one thrown in prison, and in Paul's case they did. Few dared to accompany or visit Paul under this sort of dangerous and humiliating

circumstance. But Luke dared. Few were as fearless as Paul's friend and trusted companion Luke. Luke stayed beside Paul, day in and out, for at least two years. Every day he walked past the Roman guards, who must have grown in their respect for him. His constancy commanded respect; he was as faithful as clockwork. Luke was faithful because he had a job to do: writing a history of the early years of the Church founded by the man he had become convinced was the very Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. Only one thing was more important to Luke than being Paul's friend: his dedication as a servant of his Master, Jesus Christ. Paul found himself under house arrest in Rome, although he had committed no crime against either Jew or gentile. But Paul knew-through God's earlier revelation to him-that he would serve as God's witness before Caesar in Rome (Acts 27:24). So here he was. The times were trying for Paul. He needed encouragement, which God provided through a friendly, sensitive physician, a man named Luke. Under house arrest and confined to a rented house for at least two years, Paul was free to teach and preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to the curious and to those whom God was calling (Acts 28:16, 30-31). His efforts bore fruit; Paul's teaching converted even members of Caesar's household (Philippians 4:22). -- Luke's background: Who was the man who would not only encourage Paul during this trying time but write two books of the New Testament? The Scriptures tell us little, but we can infer quite a bit by examining Luke's work and the times in which he lived. The early Church was predominantly Jewish. Jesus, the original apostles and later apostles such as Paul were all Jews. But the book of Acts records that, over time, gentiles (non-Jews) came to accept the message of the apostles and became members of the Church Jesus founded. Luke appears to have been one of the early gentile converts to Christianity. What are the scriptural indications he was a gentile? In Colossians 4:10-14 Paul names three of his companions and coworkers who were "my only fellow workers ... who are of the circumcision"-that is, Jewish-and then three other companions, including Luke. The obvious implication is that the latter three were gentiles. Luke was a learned man, a linguist. He spoke and wrote classical Greek, but he could also converse and write in Hebrew, Aramaic and Hellenistic Greek. His mastery of Greek indicates he probably was a Greek. His dedication shows us he had a heart of gold. Luke was educated, creative and talented. Among the Mediterranean people of the day, the Greeks were well educated and trained, especially in philosophy, oratory, writing and mathematics. Even the powerful Roman leaders were predisposed to the culture and education of the Greeks, who under Alexander the Great had built a mighty empire that preceded the Romans as the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and Middle East. ... Luke, the beloved physician: The Scriptures note that Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14). A physician of Luke's day was not the same as modern physicians, since the science of medicine was not far advanced. Even so, the Greeks were head and shoulders above other gentiles when it came to science and medicine and the understanding of the workings of the human body. A physician of Luke's day could work with body and mind, though not in the sense of a modern surgeon. But Luke was interested in people's well-being; this is evident in his writings. An old saying fits with Luke's outlook: "A minister sees men at their best, a lawyer sees men at their worst, and a physician sees men as they are." Paul's deep respect and Christian love for Luke surface when he refers to him as "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Luke showed interest in the welfare of women and children, as shown in his Gospel. In Judea, as in other places throughout the known world, women in Luke's day held a place low in society. For example, some historical accounts of the time report that Jewish men gave thanks to God each morning that they had not been born a gentile, slave or woman. Luke's perspective differs from the common portrayal of women of the time. Luke tells his birth narrative of Christ from Mary's point of view. Luke writes of Elizabeth, of Anna, of the widow at Nain, of the woman who anointed Jesus' feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Luke portrays Martha and Mary and Mary Magdalene. -- An invitation for gentiles: Luke appears to have written mainly , though not entirely, for gentiles. Again, Theophilus was probably a gentile. In comparison with the other three Gospels, Luke's is written to be more easily understood by a gentile. For example, notice that Luke used Roman dates in his works when he identified the Roman emperor and governor. In his writings Luke used the Greek equivalents of Hebrew words, which would make him more easily understood by Greeks. For example, he didn't use the Jewish term rabbi; instead he used a Greek word that means "master." Also, when he traces Jesus' descent, he goes back to Adam, the progenitor of the human race, rather than going back only as far as Abraham as Matthew had done. These small differences hint that Luke probably wrote his Gospel account so gentiles could more easily identify with Jesus and His teachings. Many scholars say Luke's Gospel is the easiest to read of the four and the easiest to understand of all the New Testament narratives and letters. -- Luke the careful historian: Luke apparently wrote his Gospel around A.D. 60-61, some 30 years after Jesus' death. We can arrive at this time by examining the evidence for when he wrote the book of Acts. Luke begins Acts by referring to "the former account" he had written (Acts 1:1), the Gospel of Luke. The final chapter of Acts concludes with events that preceded Nero's persecution of Christians (in 65) and Paul's death. Otherwise Luke surely would have mentioned both. The book ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome awaiting trial for the charges brought against him. No account of a trial or verdict is mentioned anywhere. Most Bible scholars thus agree that Acts was written around 63 and reflects events in

the Church up until that time. Thus, if Luke wrote Acts then, he must have written his Gospel a few years earlier, ca. 6061. (As a postscript to the book of Acts, the Romans apparently released Paul from his house arrest shortly thereafter, but Nero later imprisoned him again and had him executed around 66.) Apparently Luke was not an eyewitness of Jesus' mighty works and teachings but was one who copiously incorporated others' eyewitness accounts (Luke 1:1-2). When we examine Luke's Gospel we see how careful he was. In the first few verses He claims his work is the product of careful research. He notes that he bases his account on information "handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses" (verse 2). As a seasoned traveler, Luke had opportunities to interview the best sources (that is, Jesus' 12 apostles and Paul), and he listened carefully to their stories and testimonials, taking voluminous notes. Half of Luke's Gospel consists of material not found in the other three accounts of the life and work of Christ. This demonstrates that Luke searched out and interviewed other witnesses to the events he recorded. Luke was a meticulous historian. Notice his careful work as he dates the emergence of John the Baptist by cross-checking six contemporary datings: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar [1], Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea [2], Herod being tetrarch of Galilee [3], his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis [4], and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene [5], while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests [6], the word of God came to John ..." (Luke 3:1-2). This shows Luke's penchant for accuracy that so characterized his writings. Five of the six chronological checkpoints deal with gentile data. The sixth deals with a point of interest to Jews. When it came to writing the book of Acts, Luke similarly had opportunity to interview many eyewitnesses. Luke wrote of the acts of the 12 apostles from Acts 1-12, then of Paul and others from Acts 13-28. He demonstrated the transition from the life and teachings of Jesus to the life and teachings of the Church. The book of Acts confirmed that what Jesus taught and practiced was indeed taught and practiced by the apostles and the early Church. [link]

BACKGROUND OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE The Gospel of Luke has two distinctives from the other gospels. The first being the longest of the four gospels. The second is Luke is the only gospel with a sequel-the book of Acts. The two books and their message are virtually inseparable, despite their canonical division. Luke's gospel lays the foundation for many of the issues answered in Acts. The primary one being the equality of Jews and Gentiles in God's plan for salvation. Authorship and Date: Although neither the Gospel of Luke nor the Acts of the Apostles names an author, it is widely accepted that Luke is the author. Church tradition firmly affixes Luke as the author by A.D. 200 and remained so with no hint of contrary opinion. - The date of the Gospel's writing is slightly disputed, but not by a wide margin of time. The earliest possible date would be within the years of the last recorded events in Acts, around A.D. 62. The latest possible date is around 170. The most accepted dates fall sometime after the fall of Jerusalem, between 75-85. It is widely believed that Luke's gospel was penned after Mark's, which is dated in the 60s. Luke's gospel writing parallels Mark's, making it likely that Luke had access to a copy of the Gospel of Mark. [link]

LUKE 1 - LUKE A GENTILE PHYSICIAN-DOCTOR [PROBABLY OF GREEK HERITAGE AND BACKGROUND], HISTORIAN, COMPANION TO THE APOSTLE PAUL, EYEWITNESS AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH RECORDER/REPORTER BEGINS HIS MINISTRY TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WITH HIS GOSPEL OF LUKE -- 'LUKE 1:1-4 FORASMUCH AS *MANY HAVE TAKEN IN HAND TO SET FORTH IN ORDER A DECLARATION [GOSPEL] OF THOSE THINGS [MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST] WHICH ARE MOST SURELY BELIEVED AMONG US, EVEN AS THEY [DISCIPLES APOSTLES] DELIVERED THEM UNTO US, WHICH FROM THE BEGINNING WERE EYEWITNESSES, AND MINISTERS OF THE WORD; IT SEEMED GOOD TO ME ALSO, HAVING HAD PERFECT [COMPLETE] UNDERSTANDING OF ALL THINGS FROM THE VERY FIRST [VIRGIN BIRTH TO THE CROSS, RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION], TO WRITE UNTO THEE IN ORDER, MOST EXCELLENT THEOPHILUS [BROTHERLY LOVE FOR GOD], THAT THOU MIGHTEST KNOW *THE CERTAINTY OF THOSE [CHRISTIAN] THINGS, WHEREIN THOU HAST BEEN INSTRUCTED.' Zacharias receives news of the pregnancy of his wife with John the Baptist: Luke 1:18-20 18 And Zacharias [father of John the Baptist] said unto the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the Angel answering said unto him, *I am Gabriel [Daniel 8:16], that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. ... Mary receives news of her pregnancy with Jesus: Luke 1:26-28 And in the sixth month [of Elisabeth's pregnancy] the

Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the House of David [descendants of King David]; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail [Greetings], thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. ... Luke 1:39-45 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe [john the Baptist] leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: *for there shall be a performance of those [Redemption-Salvation] things which were told her from the Lord. ... The Reply of Mary - Mary's Magnificat: Luke 1:4655 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is His Name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen [helped] His servant [the Nation of] Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. ... John the Baptist is born [six months before the birth of Jesus] Zacharias' prophecy: Luke 1:67-80 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for *He [Jesus] hath visited and redeemed his people [with the pregnancy of Mary redemption, the presence of God is already accomplished], And hath raised up an horn [strength] of Salvation for us in the House of his servant [King] David; As He spake by the mouth of His Holy Prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and *to remember His Holy Covenant [New Covenant]; The oath which He sware to our father Abraham, That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life. And thou, child [John the Baptist], shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest [Jesus]: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; To give knowledge of Salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring [sunrise resurrection] from on High hath visited us, To give [resurrection] light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing [Levite washing at 30 years old] unto Israel. - Note: Luke was a companion with the Apostle Paul visiting with Paul in Jerusalem and throughout many of the newly established Christian Churches including the important early Church at Ephesus a Church founded by the Disciple John who was accompanied by Mary the mother of Jesus. It is considered that Luke received all of his early Church background and information from firsthand and eyewitness accounts including the information about Mary being provided to Luke by Mary herself.

LUKE 2 - LUKE RECORDS THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST, THE ENTRANCE OF THE SAVIOR [MESSIAH] OF MANKIND INTO THE WORLD - NOTE: LUKE IS GETTING HIS INFORMATION FIRSTHAND FROM MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS AND MARY REVEALS [AND WANTED IT KNOWN] THAT JOSEPH AND MARY WERE NOT YET MARRIED WHEN THE TAX DECREE WAS ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WAS STILL THE 'ESPOUSED WIFE' AND JOSEPH HAD TO MAKE A FINAL DECISION REGARDING THE CENSUS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE MARY [WITH JESUS] IN MARRIAGE AS HIS WIFE - MATTHEW [MATTHEW 1:20] RECORDS THAT AN ANGEL OF THE LORD VISITED JOSEPH 'WHILE HE THOUGHT ON SUCH THINGS' AND THEN JOSEPH AND MARY WERE MARRIED JUST PRIOR TO THEIR TRIP TO BETHLEHEM TO PAY THEIR TAXES AND TO BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS AND FOR MARY TO GIVE BIRTH TO JESUS IN BETHLEHEM [LIT. HOUSE OF BREAD] TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY (MICAH 5:2) -- 'LUKE 2:1-7 AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THOSE DAYS, THAT THERE WENT OUT A DECREE FROM CAESAR AUGUSTUS, THAT *ALL THE WORLD SHOULD BE TAXED [ROME IS THE 6TH KINGDOM OF THE WORLD - REVELATION 17:10]. AND THIS TAXING WAS FIRST MADE {STARTED - POSSIBLY A FEW YEARS BEFORE} WHEN CYRENIUS [QUIRINIUS] WAS GOVERNOR [6 B.C. - 4 B.C.] OF SYRIA. AND ALL {EVENTUALLY} WENT TO BE TAXED, EVERY ONE INTO HIS OWN CITY. AND JOSEPH ALSO WENT UP FROM GALILEE, OUT OF THE CITY OF NAZARETH, INTO JUDAEA, UNTO THE CITY OF DAVID, WHICH IS CALLED BETHLEHEM; BECAUSE HE WAS OF THE HOUSE AND LINEAGE OF DAVID: TO BE TAXED WITH MARY HIS ESPOUSED [ENGAGED] WIFE, BEING GREAT WITH CHILD. AND SO IT WAS, THAT, WHILE THEY WERE THERE, THE DAYS WERE ACCOMPLISHED THAT SHE SHOULD BE DELIVERED. AND SHE BROUGHT FORTH HER FIRSTBORN SON, AND WRAPPED HIM [JESUS] IN SWADDLING CLOTHES, AND LAID HIM IN A MANGER; BECAUSE THERE WAS NO

ROOM FOR THEM IN THE INN.' NOTE: QUIRINIUS (CYRENIUS) WAS A ROMAN OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF THE MILITARY IN SYRIA FROM 6

B.C. TO 4 B.C. IT'S UNCERTAIN IF THE CENSUS ORIGINATED IN SYRIA AND THEN TOOK A COUPLE OF YEARS TO TAKE EFFECT IN ROME AND THEN TO JERUSALEM OF IF THE ORIGINAL ORDER INITIATED IN ROME. THE DATES OF ABOUT 4 B.C. UNTIL 1 A.D. FOR THE BIRTH OF JESUS IN BETHLEHEM AND THEN ABOUT THE YEAR 33 A.D. FOR THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS IN JERUSALEM ARE VERY CLOSE IN TIME TO WHEN THE ACTUAL EVENTS HAPPENED. The entire Holy Angelic realm reacts to the human birth of the Messiah Jesus Christ: Luke 2:13-17 And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host [Angels] praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste [urgency], and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe [Jesus] lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known [told all] abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ... The just and devout worshiper Simeon reacts to the presence of Jesus: Luke 2:25-32 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and *the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ [Messiah]. And he came by the Spirit into the Temple [2nd Temple in Jerusalem]: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him [circumcision and dedication] after the custom of the law, Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen *thy Salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of *all people; *A light to lighten the Gentiles, and *the glory of thy people Israel. ... And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child [Jesus] is set for the fall [cross] and rising again [resurrection] of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, **that the thoughts of many Hearts (souls of mankind) may be revealed. ... Anna the Prophetess responds to the presence of Jesus: Luke 2:36-38 36 And there was one Anna, a Prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the Tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him [Jesus] to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. ... At twelve years old Temple teachers respond to Jesus: Luke 2:46-47 And it came to pass, that after three days they [Joseph and Mary] found Him [Jesus] in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors [Rabbis], both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His [Biblical] understanding and [Spiritual] answers.

THE BEREAN CHRONICLES WITH KELLY MCGINLEY - THE LORD JESUS CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY 2009 (MP3) The Grand Conspiracy Behind Changing the Lord Jesus Christ's Birthday - There is a conspiracy by the "religious" elite who act like the birth of the Lord Jesus was a secret. Basically, to support their false doctrine that He will return secretly. However, numerous scriptures show this teaching is false. Kelly goes through the recorded events in the scriptures surrounding the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. [link]

WERE JOSEPH AND MARY ACTUALLY MARRIED (NOT JUST ENGAGED) AT THE TIME OF JESUS' BIRTH? We do not know exactly when it was that Mary broke the news to Joseph that she was expecting. It would have been very difficult to explain, after she rushed right off for three months; and then when she came back after all that time, she was expecting. Humanly-speaking, it would have been very easy to assume that she was unfaithful to Joseph while she was up in the hill country. We must also remember that their clothing was much more modest back in those days, and it would have been much more difficult to tell when a woman with child began to actually show the growth of the baby in the womb. We must also understand that husbands and wives who experience unfaithful mates go through mood swings. One moment, they are in tears and confirm their love toward their erring, but repentant mates. But the next hour or day, they may fight back great feelings of anger or resentment. It is a great battle to get an immoral mate to repent, and sometimes an even greater battle to get a hurt mate to forgive. What we end up with in this situation

with Joseph and Mary, is that when she arrived back home, there was about six months before the birth. As was previously stated, we do not know when Mary actually told him that she was expecting. Being this was her first baby, and the modesty of the dress, it could have been a number of months before she actually began to show. Once she did tell Joseph, he obviously went through periods of affirmation of his love for her, and periods of doubt about her faithfulness. From the Scriptures, we know that it was an extreme struggle for him, right up until days before the birth. The struggle would have become much more intense as the birth drew nigh. [link]

WIKIPEDIA.ORG: YEAR ZERO - DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS (470 A.D. - 544 A.D.) INTRODUCED THE ANNO DOMINI [LIT. FROM ROMAN LATIN, THE YEAR OF OUR LORD] [A.D.] ERA, WHICH HE USED TO IDENTIFY THE SEVERAL EASTERS IN HIS EASTER TABLE, BUT DID NOT USE IT TO DATE ANY HISTORICAL EVENT - WHEN HE DEVISED HIS TABLE, JULIAN CALENDAR YEARS WERE IDENTIFIED BY NAMING THE CONSULS WHO HELD OFFICE THAT YEAR - HE STATED THAT THE "PRESENT YEAR" WAS "THE CONSULSHIP OF PROBUS JUNIOR [FLAVIUS PROBUS]", WHICH HE ALSO STATED WAS 525 YEARS "SINCE THE INCARNATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" - HOW HE ARRIVED AT THAT NUMBER IS UNKNOWN - HE INVENTED A NEW SYSTEM OF NUMBERING YEARS TO REPLACE THE DIOCLETIAN YEARS THAT HAD BEEN USED IN AN OLD EASTER TABLE BECAUSE HE DID NOT WISH TO CONTINUE THE MEMORY OF A TYRANT WHO PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS Bede (672 A.D. - 735 A.D.) was the first historian to use a BC year, and hence the first one to choose 1 as the origin of the BC era, thus 1 BC, in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical history of the English people, 731). Bede did not sequentially number days of the month, weeks of the year, or months of the year, but he did number many of the days of the week using a counting origin of one in Ecclesiastical Latin. Previous Christian histories used anno mundi ("in the year of the world") beginning on the first day of Creation, or anno Adami ("in the year of Adam") beginning at the creation of Adam five days later (the sixth day of Creation week), used by Africanus, or anno Abrahami ("in the year of Abraham") beginning 3,412 years after Creation according to the Septuagint, used by Eusebius, all of which assigned "one" to the year beginning at Creation, or the creation of Adam, or the birth of Abraham, respectively. Bede continued this earlier tradition relative to the AD era. -- In chapter II of book I of Ecclesiastical history, Bede stated that Julius Caesar invaded Britain "in the year 693 after the building of Rome, but the sixtieth year before the incarnation of our Lord", while stating in chapter III, "in the year of Rome 798, Claudius" also invaded Britain and "within a very few days ... concluded the war in ... the forty sixth [year] from the incarnation of our Lord". Although both dates are wrong, they are sufficient to conclude that Bede did not include a year zero between BC and AD: 798 - 693 + 1 (because the years are inclusive) = 106, but 60 + 46 = 106, which leaves no room for a year zero. The modern English term "before Christ" (BC) is only a rough equivalent, not a direct translation, of Bede's Latin phrase ante incarnationis dominicae tempus ("before the time of the lord's incarnation"), which was itself never abbreviated. Bede's singular use of 'BC' continued to be used sporadically throughout the Middle Ages (albeit with a correct year). It is often stated that Bede did not use a year zero because he did not know about the number zero. Although the Arabic numeral for zero (0) did not enter Europe until the eleventh century, and Roman numerals had no symbol for zero, Bede and Dionysius Exiguus did use a Latin word, nulla meaning "nothing", alongside Roman numerals or Latin number words wherever a modern zero would have been used. -- The first extensive use (hundreds of times) of 'BC' occurred in Fasciculus Temporum by Werner Rolevinck in 1474, alongside years of the world (anno mundi). The anno Domini nomenclature was not widely used in Western Europe until the 9th century, and the 1 January to 31 December historical year was not uniform throughout Western Europe until 1752. The terms anno Domini, Dionysian era, Christian era, vulgar era, and common era were used interchangeably between the Renaissance and the 19th century, at least in Latin. But vulgar era was suppressed in English at the beginning of the 20th century after vulgar acquired the meaning of "offensively coarse", replacing its original meaning of "common" or "ordinary". Consequently, historians regard all these eras as equal. -- Since Bede, historians have not counted with a year zero. This means that between, for example, January 1, 500 BC and January 1, AD 500, there are 999 years: 500 for BC years, and 499 for AD years preceding 500. In common usage anno Domini 1 is preceded by the year 1 BC, without an intervening year zero. Thus the year 2006 actually signifies "the 2006th year". Neither the choice of calendar system (whether Julian or Gregorian) nor the era (Anno Domini or Common Era) determines whether a year zero will be used. If writers do not use the convention of their group (historians or astronomers), they must explicitly state whether they include a year 0 in their count of years, otherwise their historical dates will be misunderstood. No historian includes a year 0 when numbering years in the current standard era. Historians even refuse to use a year 0 when using negative years before our positive era, hence their -1 immediately precedes 1. [link]

LUKE 3 - JESUS IS BAPTIZED BOTH AS AN EXAMPLE FOR US AND AS A WITNESS TO HIS DIVINE, HOLY STATURE -- 'LUKE 3:21-22 NOW WHEN ALL THE PEOPLE WERE BAPTIZED, IT CAME TO PASS, THAT JESUS ALSO BEING BAPTIZED, AND [THEN] PRAYING, THE HEAVEN WAS OPENED, AND *THE HOLY GHOST DESCENDED IN A BODILY SHAPE LIKE A DOVE UPON HIM [JESUS], AND A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN, WHICH SAID, THOU ART MY BELOVED SON; IN THEE I AM WELL PLEASED.' - NOTE: THIS IS ANOTHER OF THE MANY TRIUNE (TRINITY) STATEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE WHERE THE FATHER, SON JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE ALL IN ONE LOCATION, ALL IN ONE AGREEMENT AND ALL TESTIFYING OF THEIR TRIUNE NATURE AS REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST TO MANKIND. John the Baptist proclaims his service to the coming [yet unconfirmed] Messiah: Luke 3:16-18 John [the Baptist] answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He [Jesus] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost [John 20:22 - Resurrection Sunday] and with fire [Acts 2:3 - Pentecost]: Whose fan [threshing tool] is in His hand, and he will thoroughly purge [empty] His floor, and will gather the wheat [good seed] into His garner [storage]; but the chaff [waste] He will burn with [eternal] fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. - Note: Before the testimony of the Father in Heaven and the witness of the Holy Spirit setting upon Jesus, John the Baptist was unable to confirm to the crowds exactly who the Messiah was and even after the testimony from the baptism of Jesus, John the Baptist and many of John's followers were at times still uncertain about Jesus being the Messiah because Jesus did not fit the preconceived notions that the people had of the Messiah. The people generally thought the Messiah was going to physically set the people free from Roman rule and that He would usher in a new era of physical blessings, however the ministry of Jesus was almost completely Spiritual ushering in a reconciliation between God and mankind in the redemption and salvation work of Jesus Christ.

LUKE 4 - AFTER HIS BAPTISM, HIS ANOINTING BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND RESISTING THE TRIALS OF THE DEVIL THEN JESUS BEGINS HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY OF RECONCILING LOST MANKIND BACK INTO THE PERCEIVABLE PRESENCE OF GOD -- 'LUKE 4:14-22 AND JESUS RETURNED IN THE POWER OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT INTO GALILEE: AND THERE WENT OUT A FAME OF HIM THROUGH ALL THE REGION ROUND ABOUT. AND HE TAUGHT IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, BEING GLORIFIED [ACCOMPLISHED] OF ALL. AND HE CAME TO NAZARETH, WHERE HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP: AND, AS HIS CUSTOM WAS, HE [JESUS] WENT INTO THE SYNAGOGUE ON THE SABBATH DAY [SATURDAY], AND STOOD UP FOR TO READ. AND THERE WAS DELIVERED UNTO HIM THE [BIBLE] BOOK OF THE PROPHET ESAIAS (ISAIAH). AND WHEN HE HAD OPENED THE BOOK, HE FOUND THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS WRITTEN, *THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HATH ANOINTED ME [MESSIAH] TO PREACH THE GOSPEL [GOOD NEWS] TO THE POOR; HE [FATHER] HATH SENT ME [FROM HEAVEN] TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERING OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THEM THAT ARE BRUISED [AFFLICTED], TO PREACH THE ACCEPTABLE [RECONCILIATION TIME] YEAR OF THE LORD. AND HE CLOSED THE BOOK, AND HE GAVE IT AGAIN TO THE MINISTER, AND SAT DOWN. AND THE EYES OF ALL THEM THAT WERE IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FASTENED ON HIM. AND HE BEGAN TO SAY UNTO THEM [DEVOUT WORSHIPERS OF GOD], THIS DAY IS THIS SCRIPTURE FULFILLED IN YOUR EARS. AND ALL BARE HIM WITNESS, AND WONDERED AT THE GRACIOUS WORDS WHICH PROCEEDED OUT OF HIS MOUTH. ...' Satan reacts to the presence of Jesus Christ: Luke 4:1-8 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan [river] {in modern day Jordan}, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted [harassed] of the Devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the Devil said unto Him, If [lit. since] thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the Devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, *All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. ... Note: Satan is claiming that he has the power and the glory of all the [Gentile] kingdoms of the world. Satan is not claiming to have possession of the actual physical earth itself because Satan the Devil does not have possession of the physical earth God still retains possession of the earth. If Satan truly had power and glory over the earth then Satan could manifest from out of the dark and administer his kingdom however Satan has to conceal his identity and administer his kingdom via the proxy of deceived

people and Nations. Only dominion (management) of the earth was given to Adam and Eve not possession. Adam and Eve did not possess the earth and therefore did not lose possession at the fall into sin. Eventually, after the Millennial Kingdom reign of Jesus on earth the New Earth will become the inheritance of the Saints of God but until that time God remains in complete possession of the earth. Satan temporarily has some influence in the political, social and even in the physical realm of mankind but not in an ownership type of way. Satan is still a trespasser and a usurper upon the earth. It is one of Satan's greatest lies to mankind that Satan has some form of authority in Heaven, on earth, or even in hell but Satan has none at least no eternal power apart from the powers of persuasion and deception.

THRESHING FLOOR RADIO SHOW: MISSION 2010 "THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD" BY RANDY MAUGANS (MP3) "New Year's Day"...in the system of Babylon. Do we honor it? Is it part of the "acceptable" time of YAHWEH? This "year" begins with a fresh mission, a renewal of energy, time, and commitment to the ONE thing that matters: PREACHING THE GOSPEL. Even so, more revelation, more power, more unfolding of the mysteries of Christ are in store-and with it more divisions, strife, and warfare. Gird up your loins, put on the armor...this show describes how to do so. -- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:19 [link]

LUKE 5 - LUKE RECORDS THE CALL ON PETER'S AND MATHEW'S LIVES TO FOLLOW JESUS -- 'LUKE 5:27 AND AFTER THESE THINGS HE [JESUS] WENT FORTH, AND SAW A PUBLICAN [TAX COLLECTOR], NAMED LEVI (MATTHEW), SITTING AT THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM: AND HE [JESUS] SAID UNTO HIM, FOLLOW ME. AND HE (MATTHEW) LEFT ALL, ROSE UP, AND FOLLOWED [JESUS] HIM.' Religious leaders, crowds of ordinary people and the very neediest of people all react to the presence of Jesus: Luke 5:17-26 And it came to pass on a certain day, as He [Jesus] was teaching, that there were Pharisees and Doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal [lit. physical and spiritual healing] them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy [advanced sexual disease]: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the [roof] tiling with his couch [stretcher] into the midst before Jesus. And when He saw their faith, *He said unto him, Man, thy [sexual] sins [and all sins] are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? ***Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? **But that ye may know that the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] **hath power **upon earth to forgive sins, He said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch [stretcher], and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things [lit. beyond expectation] to day.

LUKE 6 - AFTER A NIGHT OF BEING SET APART AND IN PRAYER JESUS THEN SELECTS 12 APOSTLES FROM AMONG HIS MANY DISCIPLES -'LUKE 6:12-16 AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THOSE DAYS, THAT HE [JESUS] WENT OUT INTO A MOUNTAIN TO PRAY, AND CONTINUED ALL NIGHT IN PRAYER TO GOD. AND WHEN IT WAS DAY, HE CALLED UNTO HIM HIS DISCIPLES: AND OF THEM HE CHOSE TWELVE, WHOM ALSO HE NAMED APOSTLES [LIT. SENT OUT ONES]; SIMON, WHOM HE ALSO NAMED PETER {THE LEAD DISCIPLE}, AND ANDREW HIS [PETER'S] BROTHER, JAMES {MARTYRED BY HEROD - ACTS 12:2} AND JOHN {GOSPEL OF JOHN; 1ST, 2ND, 3RD JOHN; BOOK OF REVELATION}, PHILIP AND BARTHOLOMEW {LAST KNOWN MENTION - ACTS 1:13}, MATTHEW {GOSPEL OF MATTHEW} AND THOMAS {JOHN 20:25}, JAMES THE SON OF ALPHAEUS, AND SIMON CALLED ZELOTES, AND JUDAS THE BROTHER OF JAMES, AND JUDAS ISCARIOT, WHICH ALSO WAS THE TRAITOR.' [NOTE: TWO OF THE FOUR LISTED BROTHERS OF JESUS IN THE BIBLE JAMES AND JUDE WOULD JOIN THE CHURCH AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS AND BOTH JAMES [EARLY CHURCH LEADER IN JERUSALEM] AND JUDE, BOTH BROTHERS OF JESUS WOULD EACH WRITE A BOOK OF THE BIBLE THAT HAS THEIR NAME ATTACHED.]

Jesus instructs His followers [Disciples] of the conduct that is required of them: Luke 6:27-38 But I [Jesus] say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Note: "Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" is where mankind gets what is commonly called "The Golden Rule."

LUKE 7 - THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST IS FURTHER SEPARATED FROM THE MINISTRY OF JESUS THE MESSIAH -- 'LUKE 7:28 FOR I [JESUS] SAY UNTO YOU [DISCIPLES], AMONG THOSE THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE IS NOT A GREATER PROPHET [IN KNOWLEDGE OF THE MESSIAH] THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST: BUT HE THAT IS LEAST {BORN AGAIN} IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS GREATER [IN PERSONAL, EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE MESSIAH] THAN HE [JOHN THE BAPTIST].' NOTE: JOHN THE BAPTIST IS A KEY PERSON IN TRANSITIONING THE OLD TESTAMENT COVENANT OF GOD INTO THE NEW TESTAMENT COVENANT OF GOD. HAD JOHN THE BAPTIST LIVED UNTIL AFTER THE LAST SUPPER, THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS AND INTO THE INSTITUTION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERA IT'S CERTAIN THAT JOHN WOULD HAVE HAD A MAJOR ROLE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HOWEVER JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS MARTYRED AS THE LAST OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET AND IN A MAJOR SENSE JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS ALSO MARTYRED AS THE FIRST NEW TESTAMENT DISCIPLE AS WELL, HAVING REJOICED AT THE PRESENCE OF JESUS WHILE STILL IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB [LUKE1:41]. A Roman Centurion reacts to the presence of Jesus Christ: Luke 7:1-10 Now when He [Jesus] had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum. And a certain [Roman] Centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that He would come and heal his servant. And when they [Jewish elders] came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying, That he [Roman Centurion] was worthy for whom He should do this: For he loveth our Nation [of Israel], and he hath built us a synagogue. *Then Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, *Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: *but say in a word [speak with His authority of God], and my servant shall be healed [alive]. For I also am a man set under *authority, having under me soldiers, and I say [command] unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, [command] Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned him about [and continued on to his house], and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith [in the authority of Jesus as God], no, not in Israel. - The Roman Centurion being a military man and a man of stature understood executive abilities, power, commands and authority and he understood that Jesus possessed ALL the Divine power and authority of God from Heaven including commanding and granting life to his sick and suffering servant.

LUKE 8 - LUKE

CONTINUES TO DOCUMENT THE OPEN INVITATION OF THE

THROUGH THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS

CHRIST -- 'LUKE 8:1-3 AND

KINGDOM

GOD

FREELY AVAILABLE TO ALL MANKIND

IT CAME TO PASS AFTERWARD, THAT

HE [JESUS] WENT THROUGHOUT EVERY CITY AND VILLAGE, PREACHING AND SHEWING THE GLAD TIDINGS [OPEN INVITATION] OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: AND THE TWELVE [APOSTLES] WERE WITH HIM, AND CERTAIN WOMEN, WHICH HAD BEEN HEALED OF EVIL SPIRITS AND INFIRMITIES, MARY CALLED MAGDALENE, OUT OF WHOM WENT SEVEN DEVILS [DEMONS], AND JOANNA THE WIFE OF CHUZA [KING] HEROD'S STEWARD, AND SUSANNA, AND MANY OTHERS, WHICH MINISTERED UNTO HIM OF THEIR SUBSTANCE [ABILITIES AND FINANCES].'

Luke 8:16-18 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel [cup], or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid [hidden], that shall not be known and come abroad [into the open before God and the Angels of Heaven]. *Take heed therefore how ye hear [the spirits]: for whosoever hath [the light of the Holy Spirit], to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not [the light of the Holy Spirit], from him shall be taken even that *which he seemeth [by man's standards] to have. - Note: Jesus continues to speak and to warn His Disciples that there are counterfeit voices and deceiving spirits that are desperately seeking to lure people away from the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ. Also Note: How timely is this passage, even for our own day when it seems that daily what were once godly men with godly ministries are now ravenous wolves seeking to deceive, merchandise and devour the flock of God. Always be careful, read the Bible and be in constant prayer. Use godly discernment in going anyplace [even to Church] and in all interacting with people, even fellow Christians, friends, family members, whoever, etc., use caution and pray for God's presence and guidance in and around all of our daily activities and routines. Always try to hear the friendly comforting, strengthening voice of the Holy Spirit and always try to reject any countering, contentious, ungodly, despairing voices that disagree with and hinder the word and work of God.

LUKE 9 - JESUS INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES IN HOW THEY ARE TO HAVE ACCESS TO HIMSELF IN HIS POWER AND HIS AUTHORITY IN ORDER TO FURTHER HIS KINGDOM OF GOD - THE DISCIPLES DO NOT DIRECTLY HEAL PEOPLE OR DIRECTLY CAST OUT DEMONS BUT DO SO BY ASKING IN PRAYER AND INTERSESSION AND THROUGH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR JESUS TO DO IT FOR THEM IF IT IS ACCORDING TO THE WILL AND PURPOSES OF JESUS AT THAT TIME FOR HIS EVERLASTING KINGDOM -- 'LUKE 9:1-6 THEN HE [JESUS] CALLED HIS TWELVE DISCIPLES TOGETHER, *AND GAVE THEM POWER AND AUTHORITY OVER ALL DEVILS [SATANIC, DEMONIC, INFLUENCES], AND TO CURE DISEASES. AND HE SENT THEM *TO PREACH THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND TO HEAL [MAKE WELL] THE SICK. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, TAKE NOTHING FOR YOUR JOURNEY, NEITHER STAVES, NOR SCRIP, NEITHER BREAD, NEITHER MONEY; NEITHER HAVE TWO COATS APIECE. AND WHATSOEVER HOUSE YE ENTER INTO, THERE ABIDE, AND THENCE DEPART. AND WHOSOEVER WILL NOT RECEIVE YOU, WHEN YE GO OUT OF THAT CITY, SHAKE OFF THE VERY DUST [REJECTION] FROM YOUR FEET [SOUL] FOR A TESTIMONY AGAINST THEM. AND THEY DEPARTED, AND WENT THROUGH THE TOWNS, PREACHING THE GOSPEL [GOOD NEWS], AND HEALING EVERYWHERE.' NOTE: LUKE 9:2 IS KNOWN AS THE 'RESCINDED ORDER' IT WILL BE REPLACED BY JESUS IN LUKE 22:35-36 WITH A NEW COMMAND THAT THE DISCIPLES ARE TO TAKE WITH THEM MONEY AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR MINISTRIES AS THEY ARE BEST ABLE TO DO. Jesus being without sin is Transfigured and Glorified while still in His physical body: Luke 9:28-36 And it came to pass about an eight days [new beginning] after these sayings, He [Jesus] took Peter [Apostle to the Jews, Galatians 2:7] and John [Apostle to the Church, Revelation 4:1] and James [Apostle to the Martyred Saints, Acts 12:2], and went up into a Mountain [outside of Israel] {probably Mt. Nebo} to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered [new beginning], and His raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were *Moses and *Elias (Elijah): Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem [on the cross]. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they [Peter, John, James] departed from Him [Jesus], Peter said unto Jesus, Master, *it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles [grottos]; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias (Elijah): not knowing what He said [about His coming death in Jerusalem]. While he [Peter] thus spake, there came a cloud {witness of Heaven}, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud {witness}. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone [without Moses and Elijah]. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. - Note: The Apostle Peter dictated the events to Mark's book the Gospel of Mark and the Apostle Peter also wrote two Church epistles (letters) 1st and 2nd Peter. In the writings of Peter he seldom mentions any personal events that he was a part of with Jesus but mainly speaks and writes on the Ministry of Jesus as a whole however Peter's experience at the Mt. of Transfiguration {Mt. Nebo} seems to be a crowning moment for Peter in his experiences as a Disciple with Jesus. Peter during the actual events of the Transfiguration was so impressed that he determined to build monuments to each of the three participants and much later in life Peter continued to reflect on the events of that day and it is one of the few personal events that Peter openly shared with the Church in his Church letters [2 Peter 1:16-19].

MT. NEBO WHERE MOSES DIED IS LOCATED IN JORDAN [JORDAN IS AN EXCELLENT PART OF THE BIBLICAL LANDS THOUGH IT IS NOT A PART OF THE HOLY LAND - THE HOLY LAND IS EXCLUSIVELY ISRAEL AND SPECIFICALLY JERUSALEM (DANIEL 9:24)] - THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS ABSTRACT: This speculative article proposes that the Transfiguration of Jesus occurred on Mt. Nebo, [Easter] Sunday April 20, six days after Passover April 14, AD 32 [the next year AD 33 was the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus] about three weeks following the feeding of the 5000. The 5000 were fed when Passover was "near". Standard chronologies place the Transfiguration around the feast of Tabernacles six-months later, on or near Mt. Hermon. Peter's confession was on Passover and prefigures the identification of the Messiah for Crucifixion and the Transfiguration prefigures the Resurrection. ... Overview: The approximate time of the Transfiguration can be discerned from the following information-In John 6:4 we are told, 'the Jewish Passover feast was near'. This Passover was one year before Jesus' final Passover. The author understands "Passover was near" to mean that the month of Nisan/Abib was starting. Jesus that day fed 5000 men. That night Jesus spent in prayer then before dawn he walked across the Sea of Galilee in a storm. The next day in Capernaum Jesus declared that we must eat his body and drink his blood. Most who heard this message rejected it. After this rejection, Jesus appears to turn his ministry to the gentiles for a time. He then rather that preparing to go down to Jerusalem for the Passover, journeyed northwest (20-50 miles) to the region of Tyre and Sidon and healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman of great faith. Jesus then journeyed back to the Sea of Galilee and onto the Decapolis region. There he spent three days with, and fed 4000 men (probably gentiles) and then sent them away. Jesus then crossed the Sea of Galilee to Magadan or Dalmanutha where he encounters Pharisees and Sadducees looking for a sign. They again journeyed to the other side where Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida (near the northern end of the Sea of Galilee). These events and travel took nearly two weeks. Then Jesus and the apostles journeyed 25 miles north to the region of Caesarea Philippi, where Peter declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Then Jesus started to directly predict his crucifixion. Jesus had been doing this bit of traveling so that he came under that clause that permitted one to miss the Passover in Nisan and instead go in the second month if he was on a journey. Jesus by this time was well recognized and there was a constant threat to his life by the religious leaders. To have gone to Jerusalem for this feast would have precipitated his crucifixion a year early. They went in the second month when they could go secretly. The transfiguration occurs six days after Peter's confession. Now it is likely that Elijah was taken up from the same mountain that Moses died on, Mt. Nebo also known as Pizgah. Mt. Nebo is about a hundred miles south of Caesarea Philippi and 20 miles east of Jericho near the Dead Sea. Mt. Nebo: Why Mt. Nebo for the Transfiguration? Moses died on Mt Nebo (Deut. 34:1,7). Elijah was headed in the direction of Mt. Nebo when he was taken and Jeremiah hid the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo. In 2 Kings 2:1 Elijah starts from Gilgal in the hill country of Ephraim. He went about 8 miles south to Bethel. From there, he journeyed 13 miles east-southeast (ESE) to Jericho. From there, he continued on to the Jordan, if he continued ESE he came to the Jordan at 7 miles. He crossed the Jordan on dry land and continued. If he continued ESE in 14 miles, he would reach the summit of Mt. Nebo also known as Pizgah. This is speculative scenario, but is possible and even likely. Jeremiah hid the tabernacle, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo. If Moses and Elijah both departed from Mt. Nebo how appropriate, that Jesus' departure discussed there. Peter called the mount of transfiguration a holy mountain-and Maccabees states Mt. Nebo was sanctified to God or made holy. It is also stated that the majesty of the LORD shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also shown to Moses. These events fit the transfiguration-the disciples saw Jesus' majesty and the cloud. Jesus and the apostles then journeyed four days, about 90 miles south, then they rested near the Jericho on the Sabbath. The next day the transfiguration occurredSunday Omer/Easter Nisan. Went to a high mountain to pray-could they have prayed all night. Transfiguration occurred "as he was praying". Peter and his companions were very sleepy-an indication that the transfiguration occurred during the night-when they came fully awake they saw. The request to build shelters could imply a place to sleep as opposed to a tabernacle for the feast of Booths [more likely Peter was attempting to build shrine like structures to commemorate the people and the event an idea that Jesus did not seem to approve of]. This mention by Peter of booths has caused commentators to place this event near the feast of Booths or Tabernacles in the fall. The feast of Tabernacles must be celebrated in Jerusalem not on some high mountain, six days or less journey from Caesarea Philippi. This mountain is normally taken to be on or near Mt. Hermon, which dominated the area around that town. Peter's mention of booths has no connection with the feast of booths. In the gospel of John, the feast of Tabernacles follows the feeding of the 5000. But we know from Matthew's gospel that Jesus returned to Capernaum immediately following the Transfiguration

incident because there was an attempt to collect the two-drachma tax. This tax was normally paid before Passover. Therefore, this cannot be occurring just before the feast the feast of Tabernacles because they leave from here and go to Capernaum rather than Jerusalem. It cannot be occurring after the feast because they are all the way up in Caesarea Philippi and have spent at least two weeks traveling about. [link]

LUKE 10 - LUKE CONTINUES TO RECORD THE NEED FOR LABORERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HARVEST OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD -- 'LUKE 10:1-2 AFTER THESE THINGS THE LORD [JESUS] APPOINTED OTHER [PEOPLE] SEVENTY ALSO, AND SENT THEM TWO AND TWO BEFORE HIS FACE [APPEARANCE] INTO EVERY CITY AND PLACE, WHITHER HE HIMSELF WOULD COME. THEREFORE SAID HE UNTO THEM, *THE HARVEST TRULY IS GREAT [MAGNIFICENT], BUT THE LABOURERS ARE FEW: **PRAY YE THEREFORE [UNTO GOD] THE LORD OF THE HARVEST [JESUS], THAT HE WOULD SEND FORTH LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST.' Luke 10:17-24 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord [Jesus], even the devils [fallen angels, demons] are subject unto us **through Thy Name [the power and authority of Jesus]. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall [with pride] from Heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means [eternally] hurt you. Notwithstanding in this *rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather *rejoice, because your names are written [eternally] in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven *and earth, that thou hast hid these [Kingdom of God] things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes [simple people]: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me of My Father [God]: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him. And He turned Him unto His disciples, and said privately, *Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many [O.T.] Prophets and [O.T.] Kings have desired to see those [Kingdom of God] things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things [teachings of Jesus] which ye hear, and have not heard them. Note Jesus reminds his Seventy Disciples that Satan [Lucifer] fell from Heaven because of His pride and that the Disciples should avoid a similar pride and a similar fall that could occur to each Disciple no matter how great the work or the accomplishments seem. The Kingdom of God comes from and is directed at the power and authority of Jesus Christ. When a Christian Ministers or does anything for the Kingdom of God, and we are all told to do all that we can in our own lives for the eternal Kingdom of God, it is accomplished through the leading, empowerment and most importantly the presence of God. When Christians work (labor) in the Kingdom of God it is with God at all times, in and with His presence, that we do all things. When a cult member labors for their cult it is without God in the hopes that one day God will take notice of their labors however God has already taken notice and rejected their labors because it is for the wrong kingdom it is not a part of the relationship [child of God], power and authority Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

LUKE 11 - THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS BEGIN TO SEE THE NEED FOR PERSONAL, POWERFUL, AUTHORITATIVE , RELATIONSHIP PRAYER LIKE THE PRAYERS OF JESUS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE FATHER IN HEAVEN -- 'LUKE 11:1-4 AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT, AS HE [JESUS] WAS PRAYING IN A CERTAIN PLACE, WHEN HE CEASED [FINISHED], ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES SAID UNTO HIM, LORD, *TEACH US TO PRAY, AS JOHN ALSO TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, WHEN YE PRAY, SAY, **OUR **FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED [HOLY] BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME [MANIFEST]. THY WILL BE DONE, AS IN HEAVEN, SO IN EARTH. GIVE US DAY BY DAY OUR DAILY BREAD [NEEDS]. AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS; FOR WE ALSO FORGIVE EVERY ONE THAT IS INDEBTED [TRESPASSED] TO US. *AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION [AWAY FROM WHAT MIGHT MAKE US STUMBLE OR FALL]; BUT **DELIVER US FROM EVIL [ONLY THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF JESUS CAN DELIVER US FROM EVIL].' NOTE: ONLY THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF JESUS CAN DELIVER US FROM EVIL AND ULTIMATELY ONLY THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF JESUS CAN PROVIDE FOR US IN OUR LIVES SO PRAY THIS FRAMEWORK OF A PRAYER OFTEN [NOT IN REPETITION BUT IN RELATIONSHIP] KNOWING THAT WE NEED TO BE CONTINUALLY IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD OUR "HEAVENLY FATHER", OUR "HOLY FATHER" AND OUR ALL LOVING, ALL KNOWING AND ALL POWERFUL FATHER. Luke 11:14-23 And He [Jesus] was casting out a devil [demon], and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered {because it was thought people would need recite a spell in order to be freed from an evil spirit but this guy couldn't speak to recite a spell}. But some of them said, He [Jesus] casteth out

devils through Beelzebub [Satan] the chief of the devils [demons]. And others, tempting Him, sought of Him a [another] sign from Heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, *Every kingdom divided against itself [civil war] is brought to desolation; and a house [family] divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand [Note: Satan often pretends to be divided against himself i.e. national politics (Republicans, Democrats) and Church politics (wolves and wolves)? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out [with spells and incantations]? therefore shall they be your judges. *But if I with the finger of God (without effort) [Exodus 8:19] cast out devils, no doubt *the Kingdom of God is come upon you. *When a strong man [physically] armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he [an evil spirit] shall come upon him, and overcome him, he [evil spirit] taketh from him [physical man] all his [physical] armour [strength] wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils [with other evil spirits]. He [the person] that is not with Me is against Me: *and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.- Jesus is saying that the spiritual realm needs a clear distinction. There needs to be a clear declaration by the person in order to be separated from the physical realm and all the vulnerabilities of it concerning the evil spiritual realm. The most prominent and visible way to separate yourself from the vulnerable evil spirit realm is to confess Jesus with your mouth audibly (Romans 10:9) then the evil spirit realm is to back off because we are not scattered we are with Jesus Also Note: The water Baptism is also a confession and washing before God, mankind and even as a witness to the evil spirit realm. It is of extreme, paramount importance that a new Christian [and even continuing Christians sometimes renew (rededicate) their Baptism vows] gets water baptized as a public profession of faith in Jesus. It's important to be water baptized but it's also important to do it as a part of a personal relationship with Jesus and not as a ritual or because someone else wants it done. When the new Christian or a continuing Christian feels they should be Baptized in the Name of the Father the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit then and only then should they do it. - A Final Note: The water Baptism is also a washing of setting apart from the spiritual realms and also washing for the Priestly duties of a Christian. Being water baptized means that the person is also taking on the authority and presence of a holy Priest (Melchizedek) before God a Christian is able to administer bread and wine, anoint with oil, baptize others, intercedes for others, lay hands on others and do all of the (Melchizedek) priestly functions before God. I don't think an un-baptized person has a ministry of offering bread and wine and of doing many of the Priestly functions as a Christian simply because they are not washed from the evil spiritual realm and not being separated from the evil spirit realm it could bring in more problems than blessing into Church functions.

LUKE 12 - JESUS CONTINUES TO INSTRUCT HIS DISCIPLES IN HAVING THE PROPER PRIORITIES - THAT THE ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE WITH FEAR, REVERENCE AND AWE FOR GOD AND NOT FOR MAN ESPECIALLY HUMANS IN COMPROMISED LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, BUT RESPECT AND HONOR FOR GOD IS THE ONLY PROPER AND SAFE ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE FOR HUMANS TO HAVE -- 'LUKE 12:1-5 IN THE MEANTIME, WHEN THERE WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AN INNUMERABLE MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE, INSOMUCH THAT THEY TRODE ONE UPON ANOTHER, HE [JESUS] BEGAN TO SAY UNTO HIS DISCIPLES FIRST OF ALL, BEWARE YE OF THE LEAVEN [WORLDLINESS] OF THE PHARISEES [RELIGIOUS LEADERS], WHICH IS HYPOCRISY [TWO FACED]. FOR THERE IS NOTHING COVERED [HIDDEN], THAT SHALL NOT BE REVEALED; NEITHER HID, THAT SHALL NOT BE KNOWN. THEREFORE WHATSOEVER [CONVERSATIONS] YE HAVE SPOKEN IN DARKNESS [SECRET] SHALL BE HEARD IN THE LIGHT; AND THAT WHICH YE HAVE SPOKEN IN THE EAR IN CLOSETS [CLOSED ROOMS] SHALL BE PROCLAIMED UPON THE HOUSETOPS. AND I SAY UNTO YOU MY FRIENDS, *BE NOT AFRAID OF THEM [AUTHORITIES] THAT KILL THE BODY, AND AFTER THAT HAVE NO MORE THAT THEY CAN DO. BUT I WILL FOREWARN YOU WHOM YE SHALL FEAR: FEAR HIM [GOD], WHICH AFTER HE HATH KILLED HATH POWER TO CAST INTO HELL; *YEA, I SAY UNTO YOU, FEAR HIM [GOD].' Luke 12:35-40 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him *immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching [looking for his return]: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch [late night], or come in the third watch [early morning], and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched [be alert], and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man [Jesus] cometh at an hour when ye think not [least expect it]. - The "Watch Ministry" watching and anticipating for the immediate return of Jesus Christ is probably the most crucial of any Christian Ministry. The early Christian Church was continually involved in Watching [Praying with eyes open] in anticipation for the return of Jesus. All

of the great Christian Pastors and Leaders throughout Church History tell of the Morning and Evening Watch and of prayfully reading the Bible and looking to the horizon or to the sky in anticipation of that first glimpse of their coming King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. - '2 Corinthians 6:27 In weariness and painfulness, *in watchings [looking for the return of Jesus] often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness [destitute]. ...' Note: The days of praying with our eyes closed and our heads bowed especially in public or even in a Church are long over. Christians need to be sitting up, alert and watching everything especially everything a pastor, elder, leader, evangelist, or guest is doing. Even if you are publically told or asked to bow your head for a moment of prayer or silence during an alter call or invitation, don't do it! Keep yourself in a respectful alert watching posture, looking and watching for Jesus and looking and watching with eyes wide open at the circumstances and events going on in and around the Church gathering.

LUKE 13 - JESUS REITERATES THAT WE HUMANS LIVE IN A PERILOUS AND UNCERTAIN WORLD BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY AND THAT THE ONLY SAFETY BOTH PHYSICALLY [ETERNALLY] AND SPIRITUALLY FOR US IS TO BE REPENTANT AND WITHIN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'LUKE 13:1-5 THERE WERE PRESENT AT THAT SEASON SOME THAT TOLD HIM [JESUS] OF THE [MARTYRED] GALILAEANS, WHOSE BLOOD PILATE HAD MINGLED WITH THEIR SACRIFICES. AND JESUS ANSWERING SAID UNTO THEM, SUPPOSE YE THAT [BECAUSE THEY DIE A HORRIBLE PUBLIC DEATH] THESE GALILAEANS WERE SINNERS ABOVE ALL THE GALILAEANS, BECAUSE THEY SUFFERED SUCH [PUBLIC] THINGS? I TELL YOU, NAY [NO]: BUT, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE [PHYSICALLY - SPIRITUALLY] PERISH. OR THOSE EIGHTEEN, UPON WHOM THE [NATURAL DISASTER] TOWER IN SILOAM FELL, AND SLEW THEM, THINK YE THAT THEY WERE SINNERS ABOVE ALL MEN THAT DWELT IN JERUSALEM? I TELL YOU, NAY [NO]: BUT, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE [SPIRITUALLY] PERISH.' Luke 13:22-30 And He [Jesus] went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem [towards Holy Week]. Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved [Salvation]? And He said unto them, *Strive [be diligent] to enter in at the strait [non-crooked] gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. *When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door [closed the opportunity - ended the open invitation] (Revelation 4:1), and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not [you have the wrong spirit, not born again of the Holy Spirit] whence [lit. what origin] ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But He shall say, *I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity [incompleteness] (Revelation 3:2). There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the [Jewish] Prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they [everyone who comes to Jesus] shall come from the East, and from the West, and from the North, and from the South, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. - Jesus reiterates that we are to diligently work and strive to enter into His presence, to receive the Baptism of His Spirit (John 20:22) so we can be of the same Spirit of God and be assured to enter into the Kingdom of God.

LUKE 14 - JESUS INSTRUCTS HIS FOLLOWERS TO COUNT THE COST OF FOLLOWING HIM BECAUSE TO BE ABLE TO COUNT THE COST IS BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE PROJECT. THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS IS DEATH, OUR DEATH TO THIS WORLD, BUT THE COMPLETED PROJECT IS ETERNAL LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST. OUR ETERNITY IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS! -- 'LUKE 14:25-35 25 AND THERE WENT GREAT MULTITUDES WITH HIM [JESUS]: AND HE TURNED, AND SAID UNTO THEM, IF ANY MAN COME TO ME, AND HATE [LIT. LOVE LESS] NOT HIS FATHER, AND MOTHER, AND WIFE, AND CHILDREN, AND BRETHREN, AND SISTERS, YEA, *AND HIS OWN LIFE ALSO, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. AND WHOSOEVER DOTH NOT BEAR HIS CROSS [DEATH TO THIS WORLD], AND COME AFTER ME [IN GOD'S KINGDOM], CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. FOR WHICH OF YOU, INTENDING TO BUILD A TOWER, SITTETH NOT DOWN FIRST, AND *COUNTETH [COUNT] THE COST [OF THE PROJECT], WHETHER HE HAVE SUFFICIENT TO FINISH IT? LEST HAPLY [HALF HAZARDLY], AFTER HE HATH LAID THE FOUNDATION, AND IS NOT ABLE TO FINISH IT, ALL THAT BEHOLD IT BEGIN TO MOCK HIM, SAYING, THIS MAN BEGAN TO BUILD, AND WAS NOT ABLE TO FINISH. OR WHAT KING, GOING TO MAKE WAR AGAINST ANOTHER KING, SITTETH NOT DOWN FIRST, AND CONSULTETH [WITH HIS GENERALS] WHETHER HE BE ABLE WITH TEN THOUSAND TO MEET HIM THAT COMETH AGAINST HIM WITH TWENTY THOUSAND? OR ELSE, WHILE THE OTHER IS YET A GREAT WAY OFF, HE SENDETH AN AMBASSAGE [AMBASSADOR], AND DESIRETH CONDITIONS OF PEACE. SO LIKEWISE, WHOSOEVER HE BE OF YOU THAT FORSAKETH NOT ALL THAT HE HATH, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. SALT IS GOOD: BUT IF THE SALT HAVE LOST *HIS SAVOUR, WHEREWITH SHALL IT BE SEASONED? IT IS NEITHER FIT FOR THE

LAND, NOR YET FOR THE DUNGHILL; BUT [EVEN] MEN CAST IT OUT. HE THAT HATH [SPIRITUAL] EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.' - NOTE:

SALT AS A CHEMICAL DOES NOT LOSE SALTINESS, HOWEVER WHAT CAN HAPPEN IS THAT OTHER SUBSTANCES THAT LOOK LIKE SALT CAN BE CONFUSED FOR SALT OR ADDED TO SALT THEN THE SALT IS NO LONGER SALTY BECAUSE IT IS COMPROMISED WITH OTHER OBJECTS AND MATERIALS THAT CANNOT PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS [SPICE, THIRST AND PRESERVING ] OF SALT. THE PARABLE IS TEACHING THAT PEOPLE WHO BECOME COMPROMISED BY WORLDLY OBJECTS AND DESIRES [COMFORT, SECURITY, MONEY, REPUTATION, RESPECT, ETC.] ARE SUBSTITUTING THE FALSE APPEARANCE OF WORLDLY SALT FOR THE REAL SALT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Luke 14:15-24 And when one of them that sat at meat with Him [Jesus] heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God. Then said He unto him, A certain man made a Great Supper, and bade [invited] many: And sent His servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, **Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray Thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray Thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to His servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, *and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and *compel them to come in, that My House may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden [and refused the invitation] shall taste of My supper. - The invitation to the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ is an open invitation. All are invited to the "Great Supper" the Eternal Feast in Heaven with God. We each individually need simply to accept from Jesus and His servant the Holy Spirit the gracious invitation that is being offered to us and to then with thanks and gratitude acknowledge His invitation for us to be able to enter into His eternal Kingdom that awaits us all.

CALVARY CHAPEL SENIOR PASTOR CHUCK SMITH NOW SUPPORTS RICK WARREN [RICK WARREN'S GOOD FRIEND (AND SADDLEBACK CHURCH ATTENDEE) RUPERT MURDOCH, OWNER OF FOX NEWS ALSO OWNS AND DISTRIBUTES THE SATANIC BIBLE, IS A LEADING PROMOTER OF ABORTION AND IS ALSO ONE OF THE LEADING DISTRIBUTORS OF PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIAL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD] {NOTE: CHUCK SMITH SEEMS TO THINK THAT 'ANYTHING' HE DOES IS A MOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OR IS ENDORSED 'BLESSED' BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SIMPLY BECAUSE HE DOES IT AND THAT IS COMPLETE BLASPHEMY! PASTOR CHUCK SMITH NEEDS TO CONTINUALLY SUBMIT HIMSELF TO THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE SAME WAY AND MANNER AS EVERYONE ELSE. THERE ARE NO SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES OR SPECIAL PEOPLE, EVEN IN THESE END TIMES [OR ESPECIALLY IN THESE END TIMES], EVERYONE IS TO BE SUBMITTED TO GOD AT ALL TIMES AND THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS. HONESTLY, PASTOR CHUCK SMITH AND PASTOR RICK WARREN SEEM TO THINK THAT THEY HAVE SOME SPECIAL ANOINTED 'SECRET AGENT' END TIME CALLING ON THEIR LIFE AND ARE TO DEFINE AND COMPLETE THE CHURCH AND TO PERSONALLY ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE 'DELIVER THE CHURCH PERSONALLY TO GOD' AS SOME SUPER SERVANT AT THE 2ND COMING APPEARANCE AND RETURN OF JESUS AND IT IS CERTAINLY NOT THE CASE. - THE APOSTLE PAUL HAD THE CALLING OF APOSTLE ON HIS LIFE AND THE APOSTLE PAUL OPENLY AND PUBLICALLY DECLARED TO EVERYONE HIS CALLING [1 CORINTHIANS 1:1] AND HIS INTENTIONS WITHIN THE CHURCH. WE NOW LIVE IN DAYS WHERE CHURCH LEADERS AND PSEUDO CHURCH LEADERS LIKE SMITH AND WARREN SEEM TO BE ENACTING OUT A SECRET FANTASY OF AN END TIME CALLING [THAT DOES NOT EXIST] WITH THEIR SECRET INTENTIONS AND HIDDEN AGENDAS AND IT'S NOT BIBLICALLY CORRECT. SECRECY IS A DECEPTION THAT IS BEING IMPOSED UPON THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BY THE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCH DOESN'T NEED IT OR WANT IT. - ALSO NOTE: CHUCK SMITH IS ALWAYS OVERSELLING HIS CALVARY CHAPEL AGENDA AND RICK WARREN IS ALWAYS OVERLY AGGRESSIVE IN DEMANDING HIS AGENDA AND BOTH APPROACHES TOWARDS PEOPLE AND AUDIENCES ARE UNBIBLICAL.} (YOUTUBE) This video shows the many compromises that Chuck Smith has made, on this one I fear he has gone beyond the pale. [link]

LUKE 15 - THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS WITH THEIR OWN AGENDAS AND HIDDEN WAYS CONTINUE TO GET IN THE WAY AND TO INTERFERE WITH THE ACTUAL WORK AND MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'LUKE 15:1-2 THEN DREW NEAR UNTO HIM [JESUS] ALL THE PUBLICANS [CITY OFFICIALS] AND SINNERS [OUTSIDERS] FOR TO HEAR HIM. AND THE PHARISEES [RELIGIOUS LEADERS] AND SCRIBES MURMURED

[COMPLAINED], SAYING, *THIS MAN [DOES NOT DO WHAT WE PRESCRIBE] RECEIVETH SINNERS, AND EATETH WITH THEM.' - NOTE: THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THAT DAY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS WAS A PROPHET CALLING HIM ONLY A 'MAN' JUST AS THE RELIGIOUS CHRISTIAN LEADERS OF OUR DAY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS THE AUTHORITY AND LEADER OVER HIS CHURCH AND ARE ACTING AS THOUGH JESUS IS JUST A MAN WHO IS ABSENT AND SEPARATED FROM HIS OWN CHURCH. Luke 15:11-32 And He [Jesus] said, A certain man had two sons [Lit. Sons, inheritors - G5207, Huios]: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living [a living inheritance, while the Father was yet alive]. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son [lit. Child (yet to inherit) - G5043, Teknon], thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. - This Parable of Jesus illustrates a couple of points. 1. To be out of the presence of the Father [God] is to be dead, there is no life apart from God. 2. That we are Children [Teknon] of God while we are in our physical bodies on earth, we only become Sons [Huios] after receiving the inheritance from the Father in person in Heaven (Revelation 21:7). Note: After death and upon entering into the actual visible, perceivable presence of God in Heaven if we are clean [without sin] by the eternal life blood of Jesus and have received by faith God the Holy Spirit and we are a Child of God then once in Heaven and being of the same Spirit of God, He will then Adopt us as a Son and as a son we each receive of a Living Inheritance; a new name, a new [spiritual] body, a place to live and an occupation. An occupation, house - dwelling, a new name, family authority and an eternal spiritual body are all from the Father given to a Son as a part of the Adoption and Inheritance process from first being a 'born again' Child of God and then being Adopted as a Son of God into an eternal family relationship with God.

LUKE 16 - IN HIS CONFRONTATION WITH THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS JESUS INSTRUCTS THEM THAT THEY NEED TO CHANGE - SELFISH WAYS ARE AN ABOMINATION TO GOD AND NEITHER GOD NOR THE LAW ARE GOING TO CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE A GREEDY SELFISH MANKIND IT IS UP TO MANKIND TO CHANGE AND CONFORM INTO THE IMAGE OF GOD AS GLIMPSED IN THE IMAGE OF THE LAW AND REPRESENTED IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'LUKE 16:14-17 AND THE PHARISEES ALSO, WHO WERE COVETOUS [GREED], HEARD ALL THESE THINGS: AND THEY DERIDED HIM [JESUS]. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, YE ARE THEY WHICH JUSTIFY YOURSELVES BEFORE MEN; *BUT GOD KNOWETH YOUR HEARTS: *FOR THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED AMONG MEN IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS WERE UNTIL JOHN: SINCE THAT TIME THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS PREACHED, AND EVERY [GREEDY] MAN PRESSETH [LIT. INSERTS HIMSELF - I.E. PARTY CRASHER] INTO IT. AND IT IS EASIER FOR HEAVEN AND EARTH TO PASS [THE LAW IS A PERMANENT FOUNDATION EMBODIED IN JESUS CHRIST], THAN ONE TITTLE OF THE LAW TO FAIL.' Jesus tells an actual story [not a Parable] about the pre-heaven Paradise: Luke 16:19-31 There was a certain rich man [an actual man], which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar [an actual man] named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate [edge of his property], full of sores, And desiring to be

fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, *and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom [Paradise before the cross of Jesus]: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and *seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. **And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf [separation] fixed [permanent]: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: *For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. **Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses [law] and the Prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay [No], father Abraham: *but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead [and several rose from the dead in including a Lazarus (John 11:44) and of course Jesus Himself (Luke 24:6)]. - Note: Before the cross and resurrection of Jesus there was no access for mankind into heaven. The Angels of Heaven had access to Heaven and even Satan and his fellow fallen Angels still have some access to heaven since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden there has been no access for sinful mankind into God's Holy Heaven. Prior to the Ministry of Jesus [virgin birth, shed blood, death on the cross and His eternal resurrection life] mankind that died remained separated from God and did not go to Heaven but actually departed Souls went to the middle of the earth in a compartment called Paradise and apparently the compartment of hell was visibly and audibly nearby. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ He brought the departed Souls residing in Paradise with Him into Heaven (Ephesians 4:8) while the departed human Souls residing in the compartment of hell remain there until the judgment day having rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior and proven by their own actions and deeds to be unworthy of being in the presence of God are cast into the eternal lake of fire.

LUKE 17 - AS JESUS PREPARES TO CONCLUDE HIS PHYSICAL MINISTRY AND PHYSICALLY DEPART FROM AMONG HIS DISCIPLES - JESUS CONTINUES TO STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH IN GOD ALONE AND OF THE NECESSITY OF REJECTING THE MANY FALSE DOCTRINES AND DECEIVERS THAT ARE GOING TO FOLLOW AFTER THE WORK AND MINISTRY OF JESUS ATTEMPTING ONLY TO ENRICH THEMSELVES AND TO DECEIVE THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS -- 'LUKE 17:20-23 AND WHEN HE [JESUS] WAS DEMANDED OF THE PHARISEES, WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHOULD COME, HE ANSWERED THEM AND SAID, THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMETH NOT WITH OBSERVATION [IN ONE CONFINED LOCATION]: NEITHER SHALL THEY SAY, LO HERE! OR, LO THERE! FOR, BEHOLD, *THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS [THE BORN AGAIN SPIRIT] WITHIN YOU (JOHN 3:3). AND HE SAID UNTO THE DISCIPLES, THE DAYS WILL COME, WHEN YE SHALL DESIRE TO [PHYSICALLY] SEE [JESUS] ONE OF THE DAYS OF THE SON OF MAN, AND YE SHALL NOT [PHYSICALLY] SEE IT [JESUS PHYSICALLY AMONG THEM]. AND THEY [DECEIVERS] SHALL SAY TO YOU [DISCIPLES], SEE HERE [THE KINGDOM OF GOD]; OR, SEE THERE [THEIR KINGDOM OF GOD]: GO NOT AFTER THEM, NOR FOLLOW THEM.' Luke 17:1-10 Then said He [Jesus] unto the Disciples, It is impossible but that offences [persecution] will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. *Take heed to yourselves [that we do not offend others or worse to become bitter from being offended by others]: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. *And the Apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith [in Jesus, the Kingdom of God][the smallest amount] as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree [offending person], Be thou plucked up by the root [you don't rule me or affect me eternally], and be thou planted in the sea [the evil intentions towards me are buried in the bottom of the sea]; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat [dinner]? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready [dinner] wherewith I may sup [dine], and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? *Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow [suggest] not. *So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you [by God], say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do [maintain a position of gratitude, indebtedness and faithfulness towards God]. - Note: our relationships with other people are almost as important as our relationship with God however unlike our relationship

with God our relationships with other people [God is not complicating our relationship with Him] and even within ourselves can become very complex, confused and incorrect. It's important to maintain first a right relationship with God to be thankful and grateful to God and to try to see ourselves as precious in the sight of God as we are to Him and then from our precious relationship with God we can better interact with our self and then with others.

LUKE 18 - JESUS CONTINUES TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD DOES NOT ORIGINATE FROM HUMANS AND IS NOT FABRICATED [BUILT OR ADVANCED] BY HUMANS FROM THE OUTSIDE BUT IS COMPLETELY A WORK AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF GOD AND THAT HUMANS ARE TO ENTER INTO THE COMPLETED WORK AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST AND THEN ONCE INSIDE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD [HERE ON EARTH HAVING RECEIVED THE 'BORN AGAIN SPIRIT'] WE BECOME A PARTAKER [RECEIVE] AND A PARTICIPANT [BUILD, GROW AND MATURE] THE KINGDOM OF GOD FROM WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF GOD -- 'LUKE 18:18-27 18 AND A CERTAIN RULER ASKED HIM [JESUS], SAYING, GOOD MASTER, WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE? AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, WHY CALLEST THOU ME GOOD [JESUS WANTED IT CLEAR AND TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE MAN KNEW HE WAS TALKING TO GOD]? NONE IS GOOD, SAVE ONE, THAT IS, GOD [JESUS!]. THOU KNOWEST THE COMMANDMENTS, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT KILL, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER. AND HE SAID, ALL THESE HAVE I KEPT [FROM HIS WRONG PERSPECTIVE] FROM MY YOUTH UP. NOW WHEN JESUS HEARD THESE THINGS, HE SAID UNTO HIM, *YET LACKEST THOU ONE [OBVIOUS] THING [GREED]: SELL ALL THAT THOU HAST, AND DISTRIBUTE UNTO THE POOR, AND THOU SHALT HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN: AND COME, FOLLOW ME. AND WHEN HE HEARD THIS, HE WAS VERY SORROWFUL: FOR HE WAS VERY RICH. AND WHEN JESUS SAW THAT HE WAS VERY SORROWFUL, HE SAID, HOW HARDLY [DIFFICULT] SHALL THEY THAT HAVE RICHES [SELFSUFFICIENCY] ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD! FOR IT IS EASIER FOR A [ACTUAL] CAMEL TO GO THROUGH A [ACTUAL] NEEDLE'S EYE, THAN FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. **AND THEY THAT HEARD IT SAID, WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED [PERCEIVING THAT WEALTH IS A BLESSING FROM GOD TO THE SAVED]? AND HE SAID, THE THINGS [REDEMPTION-SALVATION, THE KINGDOM OF GOD] WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE WITH MEN ***ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD.' Luke 18:9-14 And He [Jesus] spake this *parable [where the story of Lazarus was an actual specific event, this event is so common among men that Jesus just calls it a parable] unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the Temple to pray; the one a Pharisee [religious leader], and the other a publican [city official working for Rome]. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, *God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house *justified rather than the other: forevery one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. -Religious leaders assume that they are Saved and have favor with God simple because of their service to God and standing among men and therefore they continually attempt to make others conform into their human image of salvation. When a religious leader believes himself to be Saved in part by his service to God or by his stature among his peers then naturally they think others should become, think, act and look like themselves in order to be Saved as they themselves believe they are [and probably are]. Of course it is a complete perversion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to try to get anyone to conform into the image of another human and not to provide them with the freedom to conform into their rightful image created by God.

LUKE 19 - JESUS PREPARES FOR AND MAKES HIS HOLY WEEK ENTRANCE INTO JERUSALEM WHERE JESUS OFFERS HIS KINGDOM AND AUTHORITY TO MANKIND BUT IS REJECTED BY MANKIND [BOTH THE JEWS AND THE GENTILES] -- 'LUKE 18:31 THEN HE [JESUS] TOOK UNTO HIM THE TWELVE [APOSTLES], AND SAID UNTO THEM, BEHOLD, WE GO UP TO JERUSALEM, AND ALL THINGS THAT ARE WRITTEN *BY THE [O.T.] PROPHETS CONCERNING THE SON OF MAN [JESUS] SHALL BE ACCOMPLISHED. FOR HE SHALL BE DELIVERED UNTO THE GENTILES, AND SHALL BE MOCKED, AND SPITEFULLY ENTREATED, AND SPITTED ON: AND THEY [JEWS (MATTHEW 26:67-68) AND GENTILES (MATTHEW 27:30-31)] SHALL SCOURGE HIM, *AND [JEWS AND GENTILES] PUT HIM TO DEATH: ***AND THE THIRD DAY HE [JESUS] SHALL RISE AGAIN [RESURRECTION LIFE].' Luke 19:26-42 ... For I [Jesus] say unto you [continuing His illustration], That unto every one which hath [a relationship with God] shall be given [more]; and from him that hath not [a relationship with God], even that he hath shall be taken

away from him. But those mine enemies, *which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when He had thus spoken [an illustration], He went before [in front of the Apostles], ascending up {on the Sabbath Day} to Jerusalem [with God (Jesus) there, Heaven on earth]. And it came to pass, when He was come nigh to [the villages of] Bethphage and Bethany [from Jerusalem a Sabbath Day's journey Acts 1:12], at the Mount called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord [Jesus the true owner, owner of the universe] hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as He went [on the Saturday Sabbath Day, Triumphal Entry Saturday - modern Palm Sunday], they spread their clothes in the way. And when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, *the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; *Saying, Blessed be the ***King that cometh [on the Sabbath Day] in the Name of the Lord: *Peace in Heaven, and Glory in the Highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones [creation] would immediately cry out. And when He [Jesus] was come near, He beheld the city [Jerusalem], and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, *the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid (hidden) from thine eyes [but not removed just hidden]. - Note: In modern times the entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is celebrated on a Sunday as Palm Sunday however the actual Biblical event occurred on the Saturday Sabbath Feast Day [Mark 11:11, "eventide" - lit. close of the Feast Day]. The arrival of Jesus Christ and with His Kingdom of God the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth offered freely to mankind the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest [7th Day of Creation - 7th Dimension (Genesis 2:2), 4th of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:8), 1st of the 8 Levitical 'Holy Convocations' Feasts (Leviticus 23:1-3)] is now made available in Jesus for mankind. With King Jesus reigning in and over our life we now have rest 'Sabbath' through the finished and accomplished works of Jesus [creation (original creation life), redemption (atoning cross of Jesus) and salvation (resurrection life of Jesus)] for all eternity!

LUKE 20 - WITH THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOW IN EFFECT AFTER THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM - IMMEDIATELY THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE DAY -- 'LUKE 20:1-2 AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT ON ONE OF THOSE DAYS, AS HE [JESUS] TAUGHT THE PEOPLE IN THE TEMPLE, *AND PREACHED THE GOSPEL [GOOD NEWS OF GOD TOWARDS MANKIND], THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE SCRIBES CAME UPON HIM WITH THE ELDERS, AND SPAKE UNTO HIM, SAYING, *TELL US, BY WHAT **AUTHORITY DOEST THOU THESE [KINGDOM OF GOD] THINGS? OR WHO IS HE THAT GAVE THEE THIS AUTHORITY?' Luke 20:27-40 Then came to Him [Jesus] certain of the Sadducees, *which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked Him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed [a generation] unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. *Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. **And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry [in Heaven], nor are given [have sex] in marriage [no marriages or sex in Heaven]: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels [with spiritual bodies for worshiping God, not physical bodies for sex]; and are the Children [family] of God, being the Children [family] of the resurrection [the confined earthly marriages and families are dissolved in heaven and expanded into the one true family as every human is already physically related and family in Adam and Eve and the Children of God are Spiritually related to God and each other in Jesus Christ]. ***Now that the dead are raised, *even Moses shewed at the bush [Exodus 3:6], when he calleth the Lord the God of *Abraham, and the God of *Isaac, and the God of *Jacob. ***For He [God] is not a God of the dead, ***but of the living: ***for all live unto Him. Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. - Note: God is life! God is life even above death and therefore God is also Resurrection life! Everything outside of the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is

death while everything within the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is life. To enter into the presence of God is to enter into life and to become a Child of God is to receive eternal life the free gift from God in Jesus Christ.

LUKE 21 - JESUS FORETELLS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE - THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM - AND HIS 2ND COMING -- 'LUKE 21:5-6 AND AS SOME SPAKE OF THE TEMPLE [2ND TEMPLE], HOW IT WAS ADORNED WITH GOODLY STONES AND GIFTS, HE SAID [PROPHECY], AS FOR THESE THINGS [BUILDING] WHICH YE BEHOLD, THE DAYS WILL COME [70 A.D.], IN THE WHICH THERE SHALL NOT BE LEFT ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, THAT SHALL NOT BE THROWN DOWN.' Luke 21:25-37 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars [Revelation 6:12-17, Sixth Seal]; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: **for the powers [fallen Angels] of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see [visibly] the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] coming in a cloud with Power and Great Glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption [in the visible presence of God] draweth nigh [for those still on earth]. -- And [now Jesus switched from immediate prophecy to a Parable, distant future events] He [Jesus] spake to them a *Parable [parable - heavenly event or distant future event]; **Behold the fig tree [rebuilt 3rd Temple in Jerusalem], and all the trees [men - systems of men, man's worldly religion]; When they now shoot forth [sprout from underground, become visible no longer hidden (occult)], ye see and know of your own selves that summer [the growth and ripening just before the harvest] is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye [Disciples, Christians], when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh [near, close in time] at hand [tangible]. Verily I say unto you, This generation [destruction of Temple, destruction of Jerusalem generation, but not the parable events for that current generation] shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away. ***And take heed ***to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting (excess ease), and drunkenness, and cares [worries] of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell [unsaved] on the face of the whole earth. ***Watch ye [for the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ] therefore, and Pray Always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these [Great Tribulation] things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. And in the day time He was teaching in the Temple; and at night He went out, and abode in the Mount that is called the Mount of Olives. - Revelation 6:12-17 And I [Disciple John] beheld when He [Jesus Christ] had opened the Sixth Seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a **fig tree casteth her untimely [out of season] figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven [deep sky] departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens [manmade underground bunkers] and in the rocks of the mountains [caves, hollowed out mountains, i.e. NORAD]; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath [Great Tribulation] is come; and who shall be able to stand? - Jesus explains the coming End Time events so that His disciples will not be shaken by the enormity [manmade, natural and supernatural] of the cataclysmic events to come: Note: the coming Seven year period that is considered the Last Week or 70th Week of Daniel is the timeframe for this last series of events that happen prior to the visible 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His 1,000 year Kingdom reign on earth. - Also Note: The 7 year period is divided into half comprising two 3½ year periods [because of the demonic violence and the violence of mankind the second half is cut short and according to Daniel [Daniel 12:12] and to Jesus [Matthew 24:21-22] the second half might last only 45 days instead of the given 3½ year - Note: the ministry of Jesus from Baptism by John the Baptist until the cross, resurrection and ascension was 3½ years, so basically Jesus, mankind (Tribulation) and Satan (Great Tribulation) all get a 3½ year 'Ministry' period upon the earth] the first half is the Tribulation [the unrestricted wrath (passion) and hatred of mankind and the demonic realm] and the second half is the Great Tribulation [Satan's vengeance, the vengeance of demons and of mankind and the necessary judgments of God upon an unjust and uncooperative mankind and upon the fallen Angels]. The three controlled systems of Revelation are Seals [overseen by Jesus], Trumpets [overseen by the Holy Spirit] and measured Vials (Bowls) [overseen by the Father]. The three systems intertwine and intermingle in the events of Revelation. Some Seals are broken some Trumpets are blown and some Vials are poured out then more of each etc. until the events of Revelation are completed and mankind is physically [visibly] reunited with God and no longer [since the Garden of Eden] separated from God.

LUKE 22 - THE ARRIVAL OF THE EVENTS OF HOLY WEEK - THE FEAST DAYS - THE BETRAYER [JUDAS] - THE USURPER [BARABBAS] THE CROSS, DEATH AND SEALED TOMB OF JESUS CHRIST - THE GLORIOUS AND TRIUMPHANT ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST - THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH - THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'LUKE 22:1-8 NOW THE *FEAST OF *UNLEAVENED BREAD [8 DAYS TOTAL, TWO FEASTS COMBINED - THE LORD'S PASSOVER FEAST [2ND OF THE 8 LEVITICAL FEASTS 14TH OF NISAN] (1 DAY) AND THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD (7 DAYS) [3RD OF THE 8 LEVITICAL FEASTS - STARTING THE 15TH OF THE JEWISH MONTH OF NISAN] = PASSOVER (8 DAYS) AND THE FEST OF FIRSTFRUITS [3RD OF THE 8 LEVITICAL FEASTS] COMES THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE LORD'S PASSOVER] DREW NIGH, WHICH IS *CALLED [ALL 8 DAYS] THE PASSOVER. AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES SOUGHT HOW THEY MIGHT KILL HIM [JESUS]; *FOR THEY FEARED [LOSING THEIR REPUTATION AND STANDING AMONG] THE PEOPLE. *THEN ENTERED SATAN INTO JUDAS SURNAMED ISCARIOT, BEING OF THE NUMBER OF THE TWELVE. AND HE [JUDAS] WENT HIS WAY, AND COMMUNED WITH THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND CAPTAINS [JEWISH GUARD], HOW HE MIGHT BETRAY HIM [JESUS] UNTO THEM. *AND THEY WERE GLAD, AND COVENANTED TO GIVE HIM [JUDAS] *MONEY. AND HE [JUDAS] PROMISED, AND SOUGHT OPPORTUNITY TO *BETRAY [THE THREE BETRAYERS OF THE BIBLE ARE - AHITHOPHEL (KING DAVID), JUDAS [JEWISH] (JESUS' 1ST COMING), FALSE PROPHET [CHRISTIAN] (JESUS' 2ND COMING)] HIM [JESUS] UNTO THEM IN THE ABSENCE [AWAY FROM ANY CROWDS OF PEOPLE] OF THE MULTITUDE. THEN CAME THE DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD [FIRST DAY OF THE 8 DAYS], WHEN THE PASSOVER MUST BE KILLED [FEAST OF THE LORD'S PASSOVER]. AND HE [JESUS] SENT PETER AND JOHN, SAYING, GO AND PREPARE US THE PASSOVER [LORD'S PASSOVER], THAT WE MAY EAT.' Luke 22:14-21 [Wednesday - 14th of Nisan - Lord's Passover Feast - Last Supper Communion] And when the Hour was come, He [Jesus] sat down, and the Twelve Apostles with Him. And He said unto them, *With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. And He took the cup [1st cup of the 4 cups of Passover wine], and Gave Thanks, and said, *Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God shall come. And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper [3rd cup, cup of redemption], saying, This cup is the New Testament [New Covenant] in My blood [shed physical blood and internalized Spiritual (eternal life blood)], which is shed for you. But, behold, the hand of him [Judas] that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man [Jesus] goeth, as it was determined [permitted by God]: but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed! - Jesus institutes the New Covenant [New Testament] between God and mankind in His body. The Christian Communion of Jesus Christ represents both the physical body and the Spiritual body of Jesus Christ. When the physical unleavened bread is taken and broken it represents the physical body of Jesus. When the cup of wine is taken and mingled with the water it represents the cleansing physical blood and water that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. When the broken, unleavened bread is eaten it represents the eternal Spiritual body of Jesus Christ giving us an eternal Spiritual body and when the wine mixed with water is consumed it represents the eternal Spiritual life blood of Jesus giving us of His eternal Spiritual life. The physical blood and body of Jesus Christ was sacrificed for our sins that by His blood we are clean and then 3 days later the Spiritual body of Jesus rose from the grave to give us our eternal resurrection life in the eternal life of Jesus Christ.

LUKE 23 - THE ARREST, MULTIPLE TRIALS [3 JEWISH, 3 ROMAN - TOTAL 6 TRIALS] - THE CROSS - THE DEATH AND THE BURIAL TOMB OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'LUKE 23:13-15 AND [PONTIUS] PILATE [THE ROMAN GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM WHERE JESUS WAS ACCUSED], WHEN HE HAD CALLED TOGETHER THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE RULERS [ROMAN AND JEWISH] AND THE PEOPLE, SAID UNTO THEM, YE HAVE BROUGHT THIS MAN [JESUS] UNTO ME, AS ONE THAT PERVERTETH [CORRUPTS] THE PEOPLE: AND, BEHOLD, I, HAVING EXAMINED HIM BEFORE YOU, HAVE FOUND NO FAULT IN THIS MAN [JESUS] TOUCHING THOSE THINGS WHEREOF YE ACCUSE HIM: NO, NOR YET HEROD [THE ROMAN TETRARCH (PROVINCIAL RULER) OF JUDEA INCLUDING NAZARETH WHERE JESUS WAS A CITIZEN]: FOR I SENT YOU TO HIM; AND, LO, NOTHING WORTHY OF DEATH IS DONE UNTO HIM.' [Thursday - 15th of Nisan - Feast of Unleavened Bread (removal of sin) - the cross and crucifixion of Jesus Christ] - Luke 23:33-56 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary [Latin - lit. cranium - skull], there they crucified Him [crushing forever the skull-head, power and authority of sin and Satan], and the [two] malefactors [repetitive, unable to rehabilitate, common petty criminals], one on the right hand, and the other on the left. *Then said Jesus [1st of 7 sayings on the cross], Father, forgive them; **for they know not what they do [grant human sinners entrance in to Heaven the true Sanctuary City]. And they parted his raiment [clothing], and cast lots. And the people stood beholding [participating]. And the rulers also with them derided Him, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself, *if He be Christ, the chosen of God. And the [Roman] soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself. And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of *Greek, and *Latin, and *Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same [condemned] condemnation? And *we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our [continual] deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, *Lord, remember me when thou comest into *Thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise [Paradise inside the center of the earth - Paradise no longer exists it is now relocated in Heaven the '3rd Heaven' the presence of God]. And it was about the sixth hour [12:00 noon], and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth [3:00 p.m.] hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil [separation between man and God] of the Temple was rent [torn] in the midst [top to bottom - God tore the veil]. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend My spirit [7th and final saying from the cross]: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost [Jesus commanded His soul and Spirit to leave His body, something humans do not have the authority to do with their own body]. **Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a Righteous Man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts {regretted their involvement and actions}, and returned. And all His acquaintance, and the women that followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things. And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor [Jewish ruler]; and he was a good man, and a just: The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them; he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the Kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. *And he took it down [from the cross], and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in [solid] stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day [Thursday] was the preparation, and the Sabbath [evening Sabbath for the Feast of Unleavened Bread] drew on. And the women also, which came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld [observed] the sepulchre [tomb], and how His body was laid. And they returned, and [Friday - regular day] prepared [purchased, worked and labored] spices and ointments; and rested the [Saturday] Sabbath day according to the Commandment [4th Commandment]. - The body of Jesus is placed in a tomb but the Spirit and Soul of Jesus departed and spend 3 days in the center of the earth [like the Prophet Jonah in the whale (fish)] in the old Paradise and while Jesus was there Jesus preached to the 'captives' [Ephesians 4:7] the people in paradise and Jesus proclaimed His victory [1 Peter 3:19] to the people in Hell. After His resurrection Jesus led the people from Paradise into Heaven and the presence of God while the people in Hell remain in their compartment until the Day of Judgment.

LUKE 23:34A "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING", ONE OF THE FAMOUS "SEVEN LAST WORDS" OF JESUS, IS ENCLOSED BY DOUBLE BRACKETS IN NA AND UBS, INDICATING THAT THE LOGION IS KNOWN NOT TO BE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL TEXT - IN REALITY, HOWEVER, A VIGOROUS DEBATE RAGES ON, WITH THE PROPONENTS OF THE SHORTER READING [OMISSION] TENDING TO EMPHASIZE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE, AND DEFENDERS OF THE LONGER READING [INCLUSION] FOCUSING ON INTRINSIC PROBABILITY. BOTH SIDES HAVE CLAIMED VICTORY IN THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ARENA BUT HAVE PAID LITTLE, IF ANY, ATTENTION TO EARLY CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATIONS OF THE PRAYER, GIVING THIS ASPECT OF THE DEBATE A REGRETTABLY SPECULATIVE FLAVOR - IN THIS ESSAY I SHALL REVIEW THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE, ARGUING THAT PROPONENTS OF THE SHORTER READING HAVE EXAGGERATED THEIR CASE - THEN, AFTER EXAMINING ***THE FORMIDABLE INTRINSIC EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF THE LONGER READING [INCLUSION], I SHALL TURN TO NEGLECTED TRANSCRIPTIONAL EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS THAT LUKE 23:34A WAS A PROBLEM PASSAGE [REGARDING JUDAISM] IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY Yet patristic citations offer a powerful and neglected counterweight to the papyrus. The prayer [Luke 23:34a] is cited by Irenaeus [130 AD - 202 AD] (Haer. 3.18.5 - k, Adversus Haereses or Against Heresies published in 180 AD) and apparently by Marcion (in Epiphanius, Pan. 42.11.6) in the second century, Hippolytus [Hippolytus of Rome (170 AD – 235 AD)] (Ben. Is. Jac. 27.28) in the late second or early third century, as well as Origen [Origen of Alexandria (184/185 AD – 253/254 AD)] (Pasch. 2.43.7-14; Horn. Lev. 2.1.5) in the third and Eusebius [Eusebius of Caesarea (263 AD - 339 AD)] (Hist. eccl. 2.23) in the fourth. Ephrem [Ephrem the Syrian (306 AD – 373 AD)] cites the prayer three times in his commentary on the Diatessaron, which suggests that the prayer was in Tatian's [Tatian the Assyrian (120 AD – 180 AD)] text in the middle of the second century (10.14; 21.3; 21.18). In addition, the prayer is found in the Pseudo-Clementine literature (Rec. 6.5; Hom. 11.20); Archelaus, Disputation with Manes 44; Apos. Con. 2.3.16; 5.3.14; Didascalia 25; Gos. Nic. 10; and Acts of Philip [about 350 AD or 400 AD] (ANF 8:500). Moreover, while the significance of Eusebius's citation of Hegesippus is disputed--a problem to which I shall return--Hegesippus also cited the prayer in the second century, if Eusebius transmitted his source more or less faithfully. As Kim Haines-Eitzen has noted, "These witnesses demonstrate that the prayer was known in the second century in Gaul, Alexandria, Palestine, Syria, and Rome." --- The evidence for the spuriousness of Luke 23:34a is both early and diverse. The prayer is missing from arguably the two strongest Alexandrian witnesses, p75 and Codex Vaticanus, as well as from 579 and the Sahidic version. It is missing also from important Western witnesses--most notably, the first hand of Codex Bezae and the Old Latin manuscripts a and d--and from the Caesarean manuscript Codex Koridethi. Finally, it is missing from Byzantine manuscripts stretching from Codex W in the late fourth century to 597 in the thirteenth century. --- IV. CONCLUSION The external evidence for Luke 23:34a is far from conclusive. Both the short and the long reading are found in every text type, including important Alexandrian witnesses. The short reading is supported by an important late-second- or early- third-century papyrus, but a good number of second- and third-century church fathers testify to the long reading. Moreover, intrinsic probability suggests that the prayer belongs in the text of Luke: the prayer matches Luke's preferred way of addressing God; its structure resembles that of the Lukan Lord's Prayer; it resembles Stephen's prayer for his killers without having a single word in common; and the link between ignorance and mitigated culpability matches a motif running throughout Luke-Acts. -Regarding transcriptional probability, it is now clear that Luke 23:34a was a problem passage in early Christianity. We may, therefore, conclude that Harnack and others who suggested that the prayer was omitted for anti-Jewish reasons were on the right track. Note, however, that early Christian consternation with Luke 23:34a stemmed not from antiJudaism alone but also from the fact that Jesus' prayer seemed to have gone unanswered, and from a sense that the Jews had been punished unjustly. The discomfort with the prayer explains why the external evidence for both readings is early and widespread; in all likelihood, Luke 23:34a was omitted fairly early [at Alexandria, Egypt - the catechetical school in Alexandria, Egypt - founded in about 176 AD], possibly by multiple scribes, while other scribes corrupted the text by changing [the text]. [link]

LUKE 24 - RESURRECTION SUNDAY - THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS - JESUS FULFILLS THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS BY BREATHING THE FIRSTFRUITS OF HIS RESURRECTION SPIRIT LIFE [ROMANS 8:23] INTO EACH OF HIS DISCIPLES - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERA BEGINS THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST BACK INTO HEAVEN TAKES PLACE -- 'LUKE 24:1-7 NOW UPON THE FIRST DAY [SUNDAY] OF THE WEEK, VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING [THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS THE 4TH OF THE 8 LEVITICAL FEASTS], THEY CAME UNTO THE SEPULCHRE, BRINGING THE SPICES WHICH THEY HAD PREPARED [ON FRIDAY], AND CERTAIN OTHERS WITH THEM. AND THEY FOUND THE STONE ROLLED AWAY FROM THE SEPULCHRE [TOMB]. AND THEY ENTERED IN, AND FOUND NOT THE BODY OF THE LORD JESUS. AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS THEY WERE MUCH PERPLEXED THEREABOUT, BEHOLD, TWO MEN [ANGELS] STOOD BY THEM IN SHINING GARMENTS: AND AS THEY [DISCIPLES] WERE AFRAID, AND BOWED DOWN THEIR FACES TO THE EARTH, THEY [ANGELS] SAID UNTO THEM, WHY SEEK YE THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? HE IS NOT HERE [IN THE TOMB], BUT IS RISEN [ETERNALLY ALIVE!]: **REMEMBER HOW HE SPAKE UNTO YOU WHEN HE WAS YET IN GALILEE [FROM THE BEGINNING], SAYING, THE SON OF MAN MUST BE DELIVERED INTO THE HANDS OF SINFUL MEN, AND BE CRUCIFIED, AND THE THIRD DAY RISE AGAIN.' -- 'ROMANS 8:23-24 AND NOT ONLY THEY [ALL OF CREATION], BUT *OURSELVES ALSO, *WHICH HAVE THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT [EACH CHRISTIAN PERSONALLY BREATHED UPON BY JESUS, NO EXCEPTIONS - EVERY PERSON HAS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD [JESUS] (CROSS AND RESURRECTION) TO THEN BE BAPTIZED BY JESUS AND RECEIVE (BY FAITH NOT BY EXPERIENCE) HIS SPIRIT FROM HIM [MATTHEW 3:11] IN ORDER TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN, NO EXCEPTIONS - YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW, THE FIRST DAY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH [RESURRECTION DAY] THE LAST DAY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH [RAPTURE DAY] AND EVERY DAY IN BETWEEN - EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO RECOGNIZE THE KINGDOM OF JESUS AND BE BAPTIZED BY JESUS WITH HIS SPIRIT LIFE TO THEN ENTER INTO THE CHURCH AND BE A PART OF THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF GOD], EVEN WE *OURSELVES GROAN WITHIN OURSELVES, WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION [BECOMING SONS OF GOD], TO WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY [RECEIVING AN ETERNAL SPIRITUAL BODY LIKE JESUS NOW HAS]. FOR WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE [FAITH IN THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST] ...' Luke an early Christian convert, travel companion to the Apostle Paul and first Church historian concludes his incredible Gospel of Jesus Christ with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the beginning and formation of the Christian Church and of the ascension of Jesus Christ back up into Heaven. - Luke 24:45 Then opened He their [new Christians] understanding [John 20:22], that they [Christians] might understand the Scriptures [Holy Bible], And said unto them [Christian Disciples], Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And **that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His [Jesus'] Name **among All Nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses [lit. martyr - G3144] of these things. And, behold, I send the Promise of My Father *upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be *endued with power from on high [at Pentecost]. And [forty days after the resurrection] He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and Blessed them. And it came to pass, **while He Blessed them [Christians - Christian Church], He was parted from them, and carried up into Heaven. ***And they [Christians] Worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the Temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

SAINT JOHN GOSPEL OF JOHN: THE SON OF GOD - A GOSPEL FOREVERYONE - JOHN HAS BEEN CALLED "THE SINGLE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOK OF THE NEW TESTAMENT" - "FOR MANY CHRISTIAN PEOPLE THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN IS THE MOST PRECIOUS BOOK IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IT IS THE BOOK ON WHICH ABOVE ALL THEY FEED THEIR MINDS AND NOURISH THEIR HEARTS, AND IN WHICH THEY REST THEIR SOULS" - THIS GOSPEL HAS THE MOST "PENETRATING GAZE" OF ALL THE NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS. A. T. ROBERTSON SAYS IT IS "THE HOLY OF HOLIES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT" AUTHOR: The human author was a Jew of Palestine, and an eyewitness of what he describes. The author claims to be "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (21:20, 24). The book consists largely of personal experiences of the author with Christ. "One may note all through the book evidences of an eye-witness in the vivid details." The internal evidence of the Gospel points directly to the Apostle John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, as the author (Matt. 19:20; Luke. 19:54; Mk. 3:17; Jn. 13:25; 18:16; 19:26; 20:2; Acts 3:4; 4:7; Rev. 1:9). He was the younger brother of James, and came from a fairly well-to-do family (Mark 15:40-41). He was a leader in the early church (Acts 3:1; 8:14; Gal. 2:9). All of the external evidence from the first centuries support John, the son of Zebedee, as the author. No other New Testament book has stronger external evidence since there were no real questions of authorship of John in the early church. He also wrote the three Epistles of John and Revelation. DATE: The majority of scholars date the Gospel of John in the last decade of the first century. Church tradition says John lived to an old age and to have died a natural death at Ephesus about A. D. 100. He was the last survivor of the apostolic group. The Gospel was probably written later than the three Synoptic Gospels, about A. D. 85-90. Three possible locations are suggested-Ephesus, Antioch, and Alexandria. PURPOSE: The author clearly states his purpose of writing in John 20:30-31. He writes to win others to like faith in Christ. John's thesis is given in 1:1-18. This Gospel was written for everyone. THEME: The deity of Jesus Christ is the theme of the book. The Divine Sonship of Jesus is set forth in John more than in anywhere else in the New Testament. Jesus is non-other than "the only begotten of the Father" (1:14, 18). All of John's evidence points to this conclusion. KEY VERSES: John 20:30-31. KEY WORD: The key word is "believe" which is found 98 times in this Gospel. STYLE: John writes for the thinking man. It is full of double meanings given in key words. He employs the language of the intellectuals of his time. The plan of this gospel is argumentative and not primarily biographical. A. T. Robertson wrote: "The language of the Fourth Gospel has the clarity of a spring, but we are not able to sound the bottom of the depths. Lucidity and profundity challenge and charm us as we linger over it." John uses quotes and allusions from the Old Testament. This Gospel contains more of Jesus' actual words than any of the other three gospels. John uses long discourses. He is a Jew who wrote in the Greek of his time. OMISSIONS IN JOHN: (1) No genealogy is recorded in this Gospel. (2) No account of His birth is given because He was "in the beginning." (3) Nothing about His boyhood is recorded by John. (4) Nothing about His temptations are recorded by John because God cannot be tempted. (5). No transfiguration is specified. (6) There are no parables in John. (7) No account of the ascension is given, or (8) the great commission. THEOLOGY OF JOHN: The Apostle John gives a clearer teaching about the Holy Spirit than any other gospel writer (14:26; 15:26; 16:7- 14). The book is filled with Deity. The Deity of Christ is found in every chapter. "The Word (logos) becomes flesh." John uses titles to portray the deity of Christ: "the Word was God" (1:1), "the lamb of God" (1:29), "the Messiah" (1:41), "the Son of God" (1:49), "the King of Israel" (1:49), the "Savior of the world" (4:42), "Lord and. . . God" (20:28), "I Am" (4:24, 26; 6:35; 8:12, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5). The amazing thing is Satan and demons have almost no place in this Gospel (8:44; 12:31; 17:15). John does not record any demons being cast out. He treats themes such as the logos, love, life, light, truth, abiding in Christ, Spirit, world, lamb, wine, temple, the deity as well as the humanity of Jesus, etc. He traces a parallel development of faith and unbelief. One of the unifying themes in the Gospel is the growth of faith and development of unbelief. [link]

AGAPE CATHOLIC BIBLE STUDY: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN: BACKGROUND - IT IS JOHN WHO GIVES US THE THEOLOGY OF CHRIST AS REVEALED IN THIS DEEP MYSTERY IN WHICH THE PROMISED MESSIAH COMES TO FULFILLED THE OLD COVENANT IN HIS SACRIFICE AND DEATH ON THE CROSS, AND THROUGH HIS RESURRECTION TO ESTABLISH THE NEW COVENANT WHICH TRANSFORMS MAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH THE GIFT OF THE REDEMPTION AND SALVATION OF MANKIND - IN JOHN'S GOSPEL THERE IS A DEEPLY CONNECTED THREAD OF THE LITURGY OF THE OLD COVENANT CHURCH [CONGREGATION] WHICH WILL BE

- GRASPING THE MULTIPLE OLD COVENANT CONNECTIONS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING AND CORRECTLY INTERPRETING JOHN'S GOSPEL AND ITS CONNECTION TO OLD COVENANT FEASTS AND SACRAMENTS - JOHN'S GOSPEL REVEALS TO US THE MINISTRY OF THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST AND THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST UNITED IN THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSFORMED IN

CHRIST'S

RESURRECTION INTO THE

NEW COVENANT

CREATION

The Gospel According to John, Apostle of Jesus Christ, Bishop of Ephesus, stands as a unique testimony among the other 3 Gospels and indeed unique among the other books of the New Testament. Only in John's account of the ministry and life of Jesus of Nazareth is Jesus revealed as the "Word", the Living, creative Second Person of the Divine Trinity. It is John who gives us the theology of Christ as revealed in this deep mystery in which the promised Messiah comes to fulfilled the Old Covenant in His sacrifice and death on the cross, and through His resurrection to establish the New Covenant which transforms man's relationship with God through the gift of the redemption and salvation of mankind. When I had completed my year of research on John's Gospel I identified 5 statements of truth around which I would build this study: The fourth Gospel is the last Gospel to be written, therefore, John assumes we have read and studied the other 3 Gospel texts. Rather than just recording the events of Jesus' life, John is more concerned with the significance of Christ's coming and the His significance of His ministry. That the events and "signs" about which John writes had a deeper meaning not perceived at the time but through the ministry of the Holy Spirit these events and signs were revealed after Christ's resurrection and His appearance to the disciples and Apostles. It was after His resurrection that Jesus instructed the Apostles in the whole truth (John 2:20, 22; 12:16; 13:17-19; 14:26; 20:9; Luke 24:25-27, 44-48) and John's Gospel looks back on Christ's earthly life in the light of this complete understanding. In John's Gospel there is a deeply connected thread of the liturgy of the Old Covenant Church which will be transformed in Christ's resurrection into the New Covenant creation. Grasping the multiple Old Covenant connections is very important to understanding and correctly interpreting John's Gospel and its connection to Old Covenant feasts and sacraments. -- John's Gospel reveals to us the ministry of the divinity of Christ and the mystery of Christ united in the Most Holy Trinity, the unity and diversity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Authorship of the Fourth Gospel: The first questions we must address are the questions of authorship and the date this Gospel account was written. Today most modern Biblical scholars do not accept that John (Yehohanan) the Apostle, son of Zebedee, brother of James the Greater, and Bishop of Ephesus is the author of the fourth Gospel despite the fact that the Fathers of the Church unanimously identified the Apostle John as the inspired writer. Why then is John the Apostle's authorship almost universally rejected in modern critical scholarship? The answer involves several objections as to why the son of the fisherman Zebedee could have authored such a deeply theological text. The following list is a summary of the most often expressed arguments against Johannine [St. John] authorship: ... Internal Evidence Which Points to John the Apostle as the Inspired Writer: Point #1: The other Gospel writers all identify the son of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth (kinswoman of Mary) as John "the Baptist" [or Baptizer]. It is obvious that the use of this title is necessary to avoid confusion with John son of Zebedee, the Apostle. But in the fourth Gospel, John son of Zechariah is identified simply as "John" 22 times (see John 1:6, 15, 19, 23, 26, 28, 29, 32, 35, 40; 3:23, 24, 25, 26, 27; 4:1; 5:33, 35, 36; 10:40, 41, 41). If there was an author other than John the Apostle wouldn't it be expected that there would be confusion between which "John" was being mentioned in the text? John never identifies himself by name in the Gospel, but if it was understood by the various churches of Asia Minor that their Bishop, John the Apostle, was the inspired writer it was not necessary to make the differentiation between himself and John the Baptist. Point #2: As I mentioned earlier, it is generally agreed today that the inspired writer of the fourth Gospel was an Israelite (or Jew) from the region we now call Palestine. The author accurately portrays Old Covenant customs, religious traditions, and the fine points of halakhic (legal) regulations that were unique to Israel as God's holy covenant people. The inspired writer of this Gospel is knowledgeable about the different sects of 1st century Judaism and is especially knowledgeable about the geography and topography of what was the Roman dominated province of Judea and the city of Jerusalem, identifying and correctly describing sites that were not rediscovered in Jerusalem until the late 1800s. All these qualifications fit John the Apostle. Point #3: The author identifies himself as an eyewitness to the events of the fourth Gospel and as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." He uses this designation five times: John 13:23, John 19:26, John 20:2, John 21:7, John 21:20. The author of the book of Revelation (whom the Fathers of the Church testify is John son of Zebedee, Bishop of Ephesus) identifies himself as "John" five times: Revelation 1:1, Revelation 1:4, Revelation 1:9, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 22:8. This may be a coincidence but considering the symbolic use of numbers in both the Gospel and in Revelation it could be another indicator of John's authorship; 5 is the symbolic number of grace in Scripture (see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture" in the Documents section of Agape Bible Study). But how do we know which of the Apostles is

"the one Jesus loved"? The Synoptic Gospels identify 3 Apostles that Jesus singled out on important occasions. These were Peter, to whom Jesus gave the "keys of the kingdom", James, the son of Zebedee, and James' younger brother, the Apostle John. It was to this trinity of Apostles that Jesus chose to reveal Himself in His glory on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). We can narrow down the identity of the inspired writer of the fourth Gospel to one of these 3 men and, by eliminating the other 2, we can come to one final name. The "beloved disciple" who authors the fourth Gospel cannot be Peter because the fourth Gospel records that on several occasions Peter was accompanied by the "beloved disciple" (John 20:2; 21:20). James Zebedee is eliminated as a candidate for the "beloved disciple" by the fact that he was the first Apostle to be martyred (circa 42AD). We have an accurate date for his martyrdom not only from Christian sources (Acts 12:2, etc.) but also from Jewish accounts. This fact eliminates James because the fourth Gospel was written at least 25 years after his death. That only leaves John, son of Zebedee as the "beloved disciple". [link]

RAY STEDMAN - ADVENTURING THROUGH THE BIBLE - THE GOSPEL OF JOHN - THE FOURTH GOSPEL HOLDS PECULIAR SIGNIFICANCE TO ME FOR MANY REASONS, BUT ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN BY [JOHN] THE DISCIPLE CLOSEST TO OUR LORD - HE WAS OF THAT INNER CIRCLE WHICH INCLUDED PETER AND JAMES, WHO WENT WITH OUR LORD THROUGH THE MOST INTIMATE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS MINISTRY AND HEARD MORE THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS - THEREFORE, WE OPEN THIS BOOK WITH A SENSE OF ANTICIPATION - HERE IS THE TESTIMONY OF OUR LORD'S CLOSEST FRIEND - BUT JOHN GOES DEEPER THAN THAT - HE SAYS THAT HE [JESUS] IS NOT ONLY THE CHRIST [MESSIAH], BUT **HE IS THE SON OF GOD - WHEN YOU SEE HIM IN HIS DELIVERING POWER, YOU ARE INDEED SEEING THE PROMISED DELIVERER, THE MESSIAH - DOES THAT AMAZE YOU? HAVE YOU THOUGHT THAT IT WAS HIS MIRACLES THAT PROVED HE WAS GOD? NO, NO - THEY PROVED HE WAS THE MESSIAH, THE PROMISED ONE. **IT IS HIS WORDS THAT PROVE HE IS GOD - LISTEN TO THEM: "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE" - THAT IS, I AM [COMMUNION] THE SUSTAINER OF LIFE, THE ONE WHO SATISFIES LIFE (MP3S) The fourth Gospel holds peculiar significance to me for many reasons, but especially because it is written by the disciple closest to our Lord. When you read the Gospel of [John], you are reading the record of our Lord as seen through the eyes of a devoted disciple. Mark and Luke, of course, were dedicated Christians who knew and loved Jesus Christ, though they learned about him largely through the testimony of others, but John is one who leaned upon his breast. He was of that inner circle which included Peter and James, who went with our Lord through the most intimate circumstances of His ministry and heard more than any of the others. Therefore, we open this book with a sense of anticipation. Here is the testimony of our Lord's closest friend. In light of this, it is very startling to see how John's Gospel begins (chapter 1, verse 1): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 RSV) Sometimes I think it is difficult to believe that Jesus is God. I know there is not a Christian who has not at one time or another felt the full force of all the arguments that would make him out to be nothing more than a man. There are times when we find it difficult to lay hold of the full intent of those words and think of the man Jesus as God. But if we find it difficult, how much more did his own disciples find it so? They, of all men, would be least likely to believe that he was God, for they lived with him and saw his humanity as none of us ever has or ever will. They must have been confronted again and again with a question that puzzled and troubled them, "Who is this man?" As they themselves said, "What manner of man is this who heals the sick, raises the dead, quiets the wind and changes the water to wine?" (Matthew 8:27) I have often pictured them lying out under the stars with our Lord on a summer night by the Sea of Galilee. I can imagine Peter or John or one of the others waking in the night, rising up on an elbow, and as he looked at the Lord Jesus sleeping beside him, saying to himself, "Is it true? Can this man be the eternal God? What is the secret of his being, the mystery of his coming?" No wonder they puzzled about him and constantly conversed among themselves about the mystery of his being. Yet, so overwhelming and convincing was the evidence they saw and heard that when they reached the end of the story, when John began to write down the recollections of those amazing days, he began with declaring the deity of Jesus, "This is the One who was in the beginning. He was the Word who was with God, who was in the beginning with God, and was God" (John 1:1). That is the theme of this Gospel of John. In Matthew we see the Lord as the King; in Mark we see him as the servant, always busy in ceaseless activity, serving men; in Luke we see his perfection of humanity, man as God intended man to be. Now, in the Gospel of John, we see his entrance into the Holy of Holies. We learn the secret of his life. The key to the Gospel of John is found in the next to the last chapter. There are two endings to this little Gospel. John adds a postscript, which we call Chapter 21, that has to do with certain things that occurred after the resurrection. But John had ended his Gospel with these words (chapter 20, verses 30, 31): Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these [that is,

these signs] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing [that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God] you might have life in his name. (John 20:30-31 RSV) That is the twofold purpose of this book. First, John is setting out to give evidence why any man in any age or in any place can fully and wholeheartedly believe that Jesus is the Christ -- or to use the Hebrew form, Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised one. The second purpose is to show that he is the Son of God. ... The last miracle is the raising of Lazarus from the dead (see John 11:1-44), symbolizing the delivering of those who all their lives had been held under the bondage of Satan through fear of death. Thus these seven signs prove beyond question that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the expected One. But John goes deeper than that. He says that he is not only the Christ, but he is the Son of God. When you see him in his delivering power, you are indeed seeing the promised Deliverer, the Messiah. Ah, yes, John says, but that is not the greatest secret about him. When you see that he is the one able to do all these mighty things, meeting the deepest need of men's lives, look further and you will see there is glory yet. You discover that when you stand in the presence of his humanity, see his lovely eyes. feel the beating of his human heart, sense the compassion of his life poured out in service. you are also standing in the presence of God, you are seeing what God is like. "This One," he says, "is the Son of God." ... Does that amaze you? Have you thought that it was his miracles that proved he was God? No, no. They proved he was the Messiah, the Promised One. It is his words that prove he is God. Listen to them: "I am the bread of life," (John 6:35b RSV). That is, I am the sustainer of life, the One who satisfies life. [link]

STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS OF THE BIBLE: MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN - EACH GOSPEL IS WRITTEN TO A SPECIFIC DEFINED AUDIENCE GROUP OF PEOPLE (PDF) Studying the Four Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. How they relate to and correspond with each other. Of first Importance when reading and studying the four Gospels is to recognize that each Gospel is written to a Specific defined audience and group of people. Matthew is written to the Jewish audience. Mark is written to the Roman, action - result oriented person. Luke is written to the Greek, thinking, discerning and understanding person. John is written to the "Born-Again" Christian Church member and why other additional writings are not in the Bible. [link]

CRADLE TO GRAVE - THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST (MP3S) The Tabernacle's purpose is to change lives! We do this by loving God, loving people and by teaching people how to follow Jesus and how to labor for His Kingdom. [link]

THEOCENTRIC.COM: THE GOSPEL OF JOHN - THE WORD BECAME FLESH - JOHN 1:14 "AND THE WORD [O.T.] WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US, AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH." - THE WORD BECAME FLESH, NOT SIMPLY TO DIE, BUT IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT LIVE! - GOD UNITED DEITY WITH HUMANITY IN CHRIST IN ORDER THAT HUMANITY MIGHT FOREVER BE UNITED WITH DEITY THROUGH CHRIST AND IN THE SPIRIT! - IN SHORT, THAT WE MIGHT SHARE IN THE [FELLOWSHIP] DANCE OF ETERNITY... FOREVER! - THAT WE MIGHT KNOW THE LOVE OF FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT BY SHARING IN THE SONSHIP OF CHRIST THROUGH THE SPIRIT {NOTE: THIS EXTRAORDINARY WEBSITE THEOCENTRIC.COM HAS A SLIGHTLY CHRISTIAN MYSTIC APPROACH. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IS THE UNION OF THE WORD OF GOD WITH THE FLESH OF MANKIND AND THEREFORE THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM INVOLVED IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST ALTHOUGH JUST ENOUGH THAT WE AS CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE AWARE OF TRUE MYSTICISM BUT EXCEEDINGLY WEARY OF THE COMMON EVERYDAY WORLDLY MYSTICISM AND THIS WEBSITE DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF SEPARATING AND DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE TWO. - ALSO NOTE: THE WORD OF GOD DESCRIBES GOD AND WHEN GOD BECAME HUMAN FLESH AS HIS WORD HAD ALREADY DESCRIBED HIM IT WAS DONE SO NOT AS A PHILOSOPHY OR AS PURE MYSTICISM BUT IT WAS DONE AS REALITY, THE REALITY OF GOD AND AS REALITY IT IS ETERNITY.} Today we celebrate the most important event of human history-the advent of our Lord, the birth of Jesus Christ. It is this event that is both the centerpiece and turning point of God's redemptive drama. But people are born all the time. What makes this birth so special? The uniqueness of the birth of Christ stems from who is born and why. Who is Jesus? "In the

beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2). Before time began and before a single thing was created, John reveals a relationship of love and delight at the heart of reality-indeed, a *relationship that is reality itself! In eternity past, the Word (Jesus) and God (the Father) participated in a shared life of love, joy, and communion. Jesus was in a "face-to-face" relationship with the Father, while at the same time (mystery of mysteries!) Jesus fully shared in the deity of the Father. This relationship of mutual life and love-this eternal giving, receiving, and sharing of self-is the [Fellowship] Dance of Eternity. This Dance is the eternal movement of Father to Son, Son to Father, and Son and Father to Spirit. This fullness of life, love, joy, and communion was complete, needing nothing or no one to fill any deficiency. It is from the fullness of this Dance that God created: "All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1:3). John fills in the gaps of Genesis by revealing that the Dance is the source of creation. It is not sovereign, impersonal, individual, and isolated power that is the source of all things. Rather, it is personal, relational, giving, and sharing love that is the source of all things. And this love which is the source of all things is also the goal and end of all things, for God made us to share in God's life, love, and communion. Let's make certain we understand this: God did not create us in order to love, but out of the abounding fullness of love between Father, Son, and Spirit, God created us to share in this love. In short, God created us to share in the Eternal Dance of Father, Son, and Spirit. ... Conclusion: God has said "yes" to humanity in the person of Christ. This is good news of great joy to all people! God has exalted humanity to the highest position through his union with humanity in Christ. A human being now shares in the Dance, making it possible for us to do so as well! Again, to use some clichĂŠs, God has "sunk to the lowest level" and "gone to the extreme" to embrace us. We are invited to the Dance of Eternity-a Dance of Love which is at the heart of reality. Will you accept the invitation by opening yourself up to the love of God in Christ? "But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name" (John 1:12). The invitation is open to all. Come join the Dance! [link]

EX NEW-AGER AUTHOR'S TESTIMONY (MP3) A few days before his revealing book was ready for distribution, Randall Baer died under "very suspicious circumstances" in an automobile "accident" in Colorado. His car went over a 350ft. precipice near Del Norte, in South Central Colorado. There were no skidmarks in the vicinity. Was Baer murdered for having blown the cover off the New Age movement through his book and this audio? By the grace of Jesus he released this audio to warn Christians of the many faces of the new Age Movement and how it is influencing everything, Churches, Bibles, Business, schools, government, exercise, medicine and so much more. Having been in the New Age movement for 15 years and a bestselling author of New Age Books, he came to the Lord Jesus, then made this audio and wrote a book exposing the New Age Movement. 5 days before the book was to be released, he was killed. But they could not stop us from getting this audio. so we share it with you. He died to get us this message, let us not let his death be in vain. [link]

CIA DISINFO OFFICERS EXPOSED {WARNING: FIRST FEW SECONDS ARE GRAPHIC} (YOUTUBE) While some former clandestine military officers, clandestine intelligence agents, and NWO researchers like William Cooper, John Todd, Randall N. Baer, Phil Schneider and Fritz Springmeier have been murdered or imprisoned, a few suspicious individuals are allowed to lecture all around the globe, sell books, DVDs, t-shirts, and get airtime on television and radio shows. Why? Because their talking does not interfere with the plans of those who don't want you to know the truth. That's the story of David Icke, Alex Jones, the makers of Zeitgeist, and other shills, disinformation artists, pseudotruthseekers and faux whistleblowers (like Ron Paul, Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, Jesse Ventura, Bill Maher, Penn & Teller, etc.). It's impossible to bury the truth forever - one way or another, it will always come out. The elite know this, and their rationale is: "If the truth is to come out anyway let it be OUR people that tell it" - so that they have control over it. Alex Jones was allowed to film the Cremation of Care ritual (that involves real human sacrifice) in Bohemian Grove because the elite want us - the small percentage of the population who cannot be controlled by the media - to be paralyzed with fear and to have no real leader to organize a rebellion. David Icke is allowed to educate those who he can reach as long as he can dirty the truth with his unfounded reptilian lies and confuse the shit out of conscious, openminded people in hopes that, frustrated, we will give up truthseeking and delude ourselves into believing that there are no conspiracy facts or open secrets. The CIA's agenda is to flood the truth genre with disreputable content and thereby

exhaust public interest. That's also why Illuminati Hollywood makes all these movies like "V for Vendetta", "The Matrix", "Angels and Demons", etc., so that when someone discovers the similarities to reality others will say: "You've watched too many movies, dude". [link]

JOHN 1 - THE DISCIPLE AND APOSTLE JOHN IN HIS GOSPEL IMMEDIATELY SETS OUT THE ETERNAL DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST "THE WORD" AND ALSO THE ETERNAL DIVINE NATURE OF GOD - THE DISCIPLE JOHN TELLS HOW HE AND HIS FRIEND ANDREW WENT FROM BEING DISCIPLES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO DISCIPLES OF JESUS -- 'JOHN 1:36-38 AND LOOKING UPON JESUS AS HE WALKED, HE [JOHN THE BAPTIST] SAITH, BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD! AND THE TWO [OF JOHN'S] DISCIPLES [ANDREW, PETERS BROTHER AND JOHN, THE WRITER OF THIS GOSPEL OF JOHN] HEARD HIM SPEAK, AND THEY FOLLOWED JESUS. THEN JESUS TURNED, AND SAW THEM FOLLOWING, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, WHAT SEEK YE? THEY SAID UNTO HIM, RABBI, WHICH IS TO SAY, BEING INTERPRETED, MASTER, WHERE DWELLEST THOU? HE SAITH UNTO THEM, COME AND SEE.' 'John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Note: In the opening of his Gospel John writes "In the beginning was the Word" some have said that because the word "the" is used with "the Word" it means that Jesus is not God when in fact it actually means that Jesus is God. Had John used "a" instead of "the" it might mean that Jesus was one of many god's like a word god, or a thought god, or a god of reason or intellect or something but the Apostle John purposely used the definite article "the" in order to limit the words of the Bible to be exclusively about Jesus Christ and in doing so proclaiming Jesus to be the human manifestation of the eternal God spoken by Word into the ears of the Prophets and written by Word onto the pages and scrolls of the Bible.' - 'John 1:15-18 John [the Baptist] bare witness of Him (Jesus), and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is Preferred before me: for He (Jesus) was [eternally] before me. And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ. No [human] man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He (Jesus) hath declared [represented] Him.' - John continues to decisively portray the unique Divinity of God among mankind in Jesus Christ.

JOHN 2 - JESUS BEGINS TO CALL AND ASSEMBLE HIS DISCIPLES - TWELVE OF HIS DISCIPLES WOULD BECOME HIS APOSTLES - THE FIRST MIRACLE IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IS RECORDED - THE TURNING OF WATER INTO WINE FOR A WEDDING FESTIVAL -- 'JOHN 2:11 THIS BEGINNING [1ST] OF MIRACLES DID JESUS IN CANA OF GALILEE, AND MANIFESTED FORTH HIS GLORY; AND HIS DISCIPLES BELIEVED ON HIM.' 'John 2:13 And the Jews' Passover [first of three Passover Feasts during the Ministry of Jesus] was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple [the first time], and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's House an House of merchandise. And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine House hath eaten Me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign [miracle] shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these [authoritative] things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this Temple, and in Three Days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But He spake of the Temple of His Body. When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the Word which Jesus had said. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in [inside] man.' - Jesus demonstrates the proper way to cleanse a situation in the illustration of making "a scourge of small cords" apparently Jesus wove together three cords to make one cleansing cord this illustrate that two people plus the witness of the Holy Spirit should be involved in any cleansing removal situation. - 'Ecclesiastes 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord [including and involving the Holy Spirit] is not quickly broken.'

BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG: THE CHRISTIAN WALK ILLUSTRATED IN THE 7 MIRACLES OF JESUS RECORDED IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN (PDF AVAILABLE) These are Seven Miracles performed by Jesus and recorded in the Gospel of John by John a disciple of Jesus. John was an eyewitness present at each of these seven miracles. These miracles are illustrations representing miracles that Jesus is currently doing in the life of each and every Christian. Colossians 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. -- Topics: [Miracle #1] {John 2:1-12} Turning wedding water into wine. The New Christian is now clean and becomes filled with the Holy Spirit. -- [Miracle #2] {John 4: 46-54} Healing the Nobleman's Son. Our cured Life and Nobility in Jesus Christ. -- [Miracle #3] {John 5:1-17} Healing of the lame man to walk. The Christian can now walk a Christian lifestyle. -- [Miracle #4] {John 6:1-13} Feeding the Thousands with Bread and Fish. Fellowship of strengthening, building up, and nourishment in the faith among the believers. -- [Miracle #5] {John 6:16-21} Jesus calms the disciples during a storm. Jesus calms our fears during the storms of life. -- [Miracle #6] {John 9:1-41} Blind eyes opened. Apostles with their eyes opened to the hopeless plight of humanity are sent out to non-believers. -- [Miracle #7] {John 11:1-45} Resurrection of Lazarus from death to life. Resurrection of the believer from physical death to eternal life. ... Introduction: After accepting Jesus as our very own personal Lord and Savior by knowing that without the sacrifice of Jesus, what He did for us on the cross, that we would be permanently dead in our sin and rebellion, separated forever from God. Now that the sin has been paid for and taken away at the cross of Jesus we Christians are now free from sin and reunited with God in the Resurrection of Jesus. But what do we do now? After our conversion [Heavenly focus] for the Christian the conversion is just the start of Christianity the best is yet to come. In the fascinating Gospel of John, John one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus and an eyewitness that was present at all seven miracles, lays out seven miracles that Jesus Himself performed while in person on the earth and in a specific order. These seven miracles in the Gospel of John are a model of the very miracles that Jesus is doing right now this very moment and day in the life of every single living and breathing Christian. Let's take a look at the 7 miracles that Jesus performed and that His disciple John recorded for us. [link]

JOHN 3 - JESUS INSTRUCTS ABOUT HOW TO BECOME 'BORN AGAIN' IN ORDER TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD -- 'JOHN 3:5-6 JESUS ANSWERED [NICODEMUS], VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO THEE, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN OF WATER [HUMAN] AND OF THE SPIRIT [REBIRTH], HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE FLESH IS FLESH [PHYSICAL - EARTHLY]; AND THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT IS SPIRIT [SPIRITUAL - HEAVENLY].' 'John 3:15-21 That whosoever believeth in Him (Jesus) should not perish, *but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved [corrected]. But he that doeth truth cometh to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought [fashioned] in God.' - The Kingdom of God is about life and it is about eternity it's not about being good and then becoming better in Jesus Christ it's about being dead and lost in sin and becoming new and Spiritually alive in Jesus Christ.

JOHN 4 - JESUS INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES IN PRIESTLY FUNCTIONS THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN HIS CHRISTIAN CHURCH - JESUS MEETS A WOMAN AT THE WELL IN SAMARIA -- 'JOHN 4:1-4 WHEN THEREFORE THE LORD (JESUS) KNEW HOW THE PHARISEES HAD HEARD THAT JESUS MADE AND BAPTIZED MORE DISCIPLES THAN JOHN [THE BAPTIST], THOUGH JESUS HIMSELF BAPTIZED NOT [NOT WITH WATER BUT AFTER HIS RESURRECTION WITH HIS SPIRIT], BUT HIS DISCIPLES [BAPTIZED WITH WATER], HE LEFT JUDAEA, AND DEPARTED AGAIN INTO GALILEE. AND HE MUST NEEDS GO THROUGH SAMARIA [JESUS HAD AN ETERNAL APPOINTMENT WITH A WOMAN AT A WELL].'

'John 4:6-39 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the [eternal] gift of God, and who it is [Messiah] that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee [Spiritual] living water. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our [1/2] father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this [earthly] water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the [nourishing, Spiritual] water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into [eternal] everlasting life. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is [a live-in boyfriend] not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a Prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain [Mt. Gerizim]; and ye say, that in Jerusalem [Mt. Zion] is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for Salvation is of the Jews. *But the hour cometh, and now is, when the True Worshippers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. *God is a Spirit: and they that Worship Him must Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias (Messiah) cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all [such religious] things. *Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He [Messiah/Christ]. And upon this came His disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? *The woman then left her [earthly] waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, *Come, see a man, which told me all [living with men] things that ever I did [without condemnation]: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto Him. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. ... And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him (Jesus) for the saying of the woman, which testified, He (Jesus) told me all that ever I did [without condemnation].' - It is often the goodness of God that draws people to Jesus. Jesus showed compassion when people needed compassion and Jesus showed contempt for man's preferences when the situation needed a radical redirection. But whether showing compassion or contempt Jesus did it in limited amounts and He did it at a time and in a manner that would draw everyone involved into a closer relationship and understanding with God.

JOHN 5 - JESUS KEEPS HIS WORKS AND HIS MINISTRY FOCUSED AND CONFINED TO THE MAIN TASK AT HAND - REPRESENTING HIS FATHER HERE ON EARTH TO MANKIND AND ACCOMPLISHING THE TASK OF THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION -- 'JOHN 5:36-43 BUT I (JESUS) HAVE GREATER WITNESS THAN THAT OF JOHN [THE BAPTIST]: FOR THE WORKS [CROSS AND RESURRECTION] WHICH THE FATHER HATH GIVEN ME TO FINISH, THE SAME WORKS THAT I DO, BEAR WITNESS OF ME, THAT THE FATHER HATH SENT ME. AND THE FATHER HIMSELF, WHICH HATH SENT ME, HATH BORNE WITNESS OF ME [AT THE BAPTISM]. YE HAVE NEITHER HEARD HIS VOICE AT ANY TIME, NOR SEEN HIS SHAPE. AND YE HAVE NOT HIS WORD ABIDING IN YOU: FOR (JESUS) WHOM HE HATH SENT, HIM YE BELIEVE NOT. *SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES; FOR IN THEM YE THINK YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: AND THEY ARE THEY WHICH TESTIFY OF ME. AND YE WILL NOT COME TO ME, THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE. I RECEIVE NOT HONOUR FROM MEN. BUT I KNOW YOU, THAT YE HAVE NOT THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOU. I AM COME IN MY FATHER'S NAME, AND YE RECEIVE ME NOT: IF ANOTHER SHALL COME IN HIS OWN NAME [ANTICHRIST], HIM YE WILL RECEIVE.' John 5:22-29 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son (Jesus): That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, *He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [living spiritually dead] shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall [Spiritually] live. For as the Father hath Life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have Life in Himself; And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,

in the which all that are in the graves [physically dead] shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. - Creation life for both humans and angels is everlasting and therefore the judgment to go with it is also everlasting.

JOHN 6 - JESUS' 5TH MIRACLE 'WALKING ON WATER' THAT IS RECORDED IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN - JESUS DEMONSTRATED THAT HE HAD COMPLETE AUTHORITY OVER ALL REALMS - THE SPIRITUAL REALM THE HUMAN REALM AND THE PHYSICAL REALM OF NATURE -'JOHN 6:19-21 SO WHEN THEY (DISCIPLES) HAD ROWED ABOUT FIVE AND TWENTY OR THIRTY FURLONGS, THEY SEE JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA, AND DRAWING NIGH UNTO THE SHIP [BOAT]: AND THEY WERE AFRAID. BUT HE (JESUS) SAITH UNTO THEM, IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID. *THEN THEY WILLINGLY RECEIVED HIM INTO THE SHIP [BOAT]: AND IMMEDIATELY THE SHIP WAS AT THE LAND [DESTINATION] WHITHER THEY WENT.' 'John 6:33-40 For the bread [Manna] of God is He (Jesus) which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And *Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen Me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out [reject]. For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that *every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.' - The eternal life and the eternal Kingdom of God that Jesus is offering is to be received inside of us at this point it is an internal Spiritual Kingdom. To miss out on the concept that the Kingdom of God is available now in Jesus Christ and to be unaware of its internal existence is to miss out on the Kingdom itself.

JOHN 7 - JESUS CONTINUES TO TEACH AND TO MAKE THAT POINT THAT WHAT MANKIND HAS IT TEMPORARY AND IS PASSING AWAY BUT WHAT HE HAS TO OFFER IS ETERNAL -- 'JOHN 7:37-39 IN THE LAST DAY, THAT GREAT DAY OF THE FEAST [FEAST OF TABERNACLES, SHELTERS - TEMPORARY HOMES], JESUS STOOD AND CRIED, SAYING, IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME, AND DRINK. HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME, AS THE SCRIPTURE HATH SAID, OUT OF HIS BELLY [INNER-LIFE] SHALL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER [ETERNAL TABERNACLE]. BUT THIS SPAKE HE OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT, WHICH THEY THAT BELIEVE ON HIM SHOULD RECEIVE: FOR THE HOLY GHOST WAS NOT YET GIVEN; BECAUSE THAT JESUS WAS NOT YET GLORIFIED [RESURRECTION].' - 'JOHN 7:52-53 THEY [PHARISEES] ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM, ART THOU ALSO OF GALILEE? SEARCH, AND LOOK: FOR OUT OF GALILEE ARISETH NO PROPHET. AND EVERY MAN WENT UNTO HIS OWN [TABERNACLE] HOUSE.' 'John 7:2-10 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren (brothers; James, Jude, etc.) therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. *For neither did his brethren believe in him [James and Jude are known to have become believers after His resurrection]. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: *I go not up yet unto this feast; *for My time is not yet full come. When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone up, then went He also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret [in Resurrection Spirit].' - The time of Jesus to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles has not yet com in full that is why Jesus went in part in secret. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 'Fall feast' a 'Second Coming' Feast that has begun now with the giving of the Holy Spirit but we do not yet have our permanent bodies we still 'tabernacle' in our physical bodies while on earth. Jesus went to the Feast of Tabernacles 'secretly' to give the Living Water to those who would believe in Him and receive it but the rest of the Feast the tabernacle becoming a temple will be completed at the Second Coming of Jesus.

DID JESUS LIE? - "LOOK WHAT'S MISSING" FROM MODERN [NIV] BIBLES {NOTE: I JUST EMAILED CHICK TRACTS FOR VERIFICATION ON DAVID DANIELS' CLAIM THAT AN UNIDENTIFIED CHRISTIAN HOST OF AN UNIDENTIFIED CHRISTIAN CALL IN SHOW MADE THE COMMENT

"WIGGLE ROOM" THAT JESUS MIGHT HAVE LIED. AS SOON AS I CAN LOCATE THE SPECIFIC NAME OF THE SHOW AND OF THE HOST AND POSSIBLY A DATE AND TIME OF THE SHOW TO GO ALONG WITH THE ACCUSATIONS I'LL POST THEM. IT'S COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE TO MAKE AN ACCUSATION LIKE THAT WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIATING MATERIAL. ***UPDATED: NOW THAT I'M FORCED TO SPECULATE AS TO WHO THE CHRISTIAN RADIO CALL IN SHOW HOST WAS I'M GOING TO GO WITH THE FIRST NAME THAT POPPED INTO MY HEAD AND SPECULATE THAT DON STEWART WHO HAS HOSTED AND CO-HOSTS MANY CALVARY CHAPEL RADIO SHOWS IS THE REFERRED TO HOST AND MY SECOND GUESS AT THIS MOMENT IS CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE BIBLE ANSWER MAN, HANK HANEGRAAFF. SO UNTIL WE HAVE MORE DETAILS OR UNTIL THE NEXT SPECULATION, CHEERS!!! - ALSO NOTE: THE NKJV IN JOHN 7:8 HAS THE WORD 'YET' BUT IT IS FOOTNOTED THAT OTHER MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT HAVE THAT WORD IMPLYING THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE THERE. AS DECEPTIVE AS THE NIV IS KNOWN TO BE THE NKJV [NEW KING JAMES VERSION] IS POSSIBLY THE MOST DECEPTIVE OF ALL MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS. THE DECEPTIVE NKJV SHOULD BE COMPLETELY AVOIDED BY EVERYONE SEEKING TO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD THE BIBLE. ~ GOD BLESS YOU, DAVID ANSON BROWN} (YOUTUBE) Author David Daniels shares information from chapter 1 of his book, "Look What's Missing," and shows why it's so important that your Bible is not missing anything! The book is available at www.chick.com or www.amazon.com. [link]

BIBLE VERSIONS CONTROVERSY EXPLAINED - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (MP3) Can you trust the new versions? before you say yes, you need to hear this message. learn where they came from [Antichrist agenda], who is behind them [practically everyone, NWO], and HEAR ACTUAL AUDIO FROM CHUCK SWENDOL, DR. D.A. WAITE AND OTHERS.. Learn what you need to know before you use that new [NKJV, NIV, Message, etc.] bible version. [link]

JOHN 8 - JESUS TEACHES THAT FREEDOM AND ETERNITY COMES ONLY FROM TRUTH AND THAT HIS WORDS ARE TRUTH AND THEREFORE ARE FREEDOM AND ETERNITY -- 'JOHN 8:31-32 31 THEN SAID JESUS TO THOSE JEWS WHICH BELIEVED ON HIM, IF YE CONTINUE IN MY WORD, THEN ARE YE MY DISCIPLES INDEED; AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.' 'John 8:1-12 [After the Feast of Tabernacles] Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into the Temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught them. And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him [trying to get Jesus to contradict the Laws of Moses, but Jesus is the voice that spoke the Law to Moses]. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground [dust, sin], as though He heard them not. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up [resurrection] Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, *being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up [resurrection] Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.'

JOHN 9 - JESUS PERFORMS HIS 6TH MIRACLE IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN BY HEALING A MAN BLIND SINCE BIRTH -- 'JOHN 9:17 THEY SAY UNTO THE BLIND MAN AGAIN, WHAT SAYEST THOU OF HIM (JESUS), THAT HE HATH OPENED THINE EYES? HE SAID, HE (JESUS) IS A PROPHET.' 'John 9:5-15 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 When He (Jesus) had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay [mankind, clay - the condition of frail humanity] of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam [Lit. Greek - Apostle], which is by

interpretation, Sent. He went His way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A Man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes [with clay], and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam [Apostle], and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is He? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I [went and] washed, and do see.' - The clay that Jesus made and anointed the eyes of the blind man with is the clay of humanity. The man was physically blind but he was also unaware that others who were not blind were still suffering just as much as he was but in different was. The man was "Sent out" Apostatized to go into the world and to see how others live others who do not have the luxury of begging in the Temple itself where the generosity of mankind is at its best but going out into the world and seeing the condition of the world apart from the Temple.

JOHN 10 - JESUS NOW TEACHES THAT HE HAS MORE SHEEP TO BRING INTO HIS FLOCK AND INTO HIS PASTURE THAN JUST THE NATURAL SHEEP OF ISRAEL -- 'JOHN 10:16 AND OTHER SHEEP [GENTILES] I HAVE, WHICH ARE NOT OF THIS [JEWISH] FOLD: THEM ALSO I MUST BRING, AND THEY SHALL HEAR MY VOICE; AND THERE SHALL BE ONE FOLD, AND ONE SHEPHERD.' John 10:7-18 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers [i.e. King Saul - a type of Satan]: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd [i.e. King David - a type of Jesus]: the good shepherd giveth His Life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling [i.e King Solomon - a type of the Antichrist], 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. I am the good shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down My life [Cross], that I might take it again [Resurrection]. *No man taketh it [life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father. - The cross of Jesus Christ was not an accident nor the work of man or even of devils it was the predetermined plan of God because only the cross of Jesus could free mankind from our self-imposed predicament of sin and death and liberate us into the Heavenly eternal life that we were created to be a part of with God in Heaven.

JOHN 11 - JESUS PERFORMS HIS 7TH MINISTRY MIRACLE IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WHEN HE CALLS THE DEAD LAZARUS BY NAME AND RAISES HIM BACK TO LIFE - 'JOHN 11:43-45 43 AND WHEN HE (JESUS) THUS HAD SPOKEN, HE CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE, LAZARUS, COME FORTH. AND HE (LAZARUS) THAT WAS DEAD CAME FORTH, BOUND HAND AND FOOT WITH GRAVE CLOTHES: AND HIS FACE WAS BOUND ABOUT WITH A NAPKIN. JESUS SAITH UNTO THEM, LOOSE HIM, AND LET HIM GO. THEN MANY OF THE JEWS WHICH CAME TO MARY, AND HAD SEEN THE THINGS WHICH JESUS DID, BELIEVED ON HIM.' 'John 11:11-27 These things said He: and after that He saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, *that I may awake him out of sleep [it's not that people sleep when they die but that sleep is a reference to death in that it is harmless to the Christian]. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with Him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he [Lazarus] had lain in the grave four days already. ... Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, *Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. *Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he

were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die [separate from God]. Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.' - Jesus is unequivocally demonstrating that as God He has authority over human life and death and over human separation from God or human reconciliation to God.

JOHN 12 - THE GOSPEL OF JOHN NOW TAKES US INTO HOLY WEEK THAT LAST WEEK OF JESUS' MINISTRY PHYSICALLY AMONG MANKIND ON EARTH - "THEN JESUS SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER CAME TO BETHANY" WITH THE DAY OF PASSOVER PLUS THE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE TOMB THIS PLACES JESUS' AND THE DISCIPLES ARRIVAL AT BETHANY ON THE FRIDAY 10 DAYS BEFORE THE SUNDAY RESURRECTION WITH THE ACTUAL TRIUMPHAL ENTRY "ON THE NEXT DAY" OCCURRING ON THE NEXT DAY THE SATURDAY SABBATH DAY -- 'JOHN 12:1-2 THEN JESUS SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER CAME TO BETHANY, WHERE LAZARUS WAS WHICH HAD BEEN DEAD, WHOM HE RAISED FROM THE DEAD. THERE THEY MADE HIM A SUPPER; AND MARTHA SERVED: BUT LAZARUS WAS ONE OF THEM THAT SAT AT THE TABLE WITH HIM.' - 'JOHN 12:12-15 ON THE NEXT DAY [10TH OF NISAN - SELECTION OF THE PASSOVER LAMB] MUCH PEOPLE THAT WERE COME TO THE FEAST, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT JESUS WAS COMING TO JERUSALEM, TOOK BRANCHES OF PALM TREES, AND WENT FORTH TO MEET HIM, AND CRIED, HOSANNA: BLESSED IS THE KING OF ISRAEL THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. AND JESUS, WHEN HE HAD FOUND A YOUNG ASS, SAT THEREON; AS IT IS WRITTEN, FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF SION (ZION): BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH, SITTING ON AN ASS'S COLT.' John 12:20-32 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the [Passover] feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. ... And I, if I be lifted up [crucifixion and resurrection] from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.' - The Gentiles were not allowed to seek Jesus until after His death and resurrection as only then will He "draw all men" unto Himself. - Note: It's hard for a Gentile to understand but actually both the O.T. and the N.T. Covenants of God are with the Jews [Jeremiah 31:31] and belong to the Jews [Hebrews 8:8]. There was no Gentile representation at the Passover when the N.T. was initiated apart from the Promise of God given to Abraham [Genesis 12:3] that in Jesus all Nations would be blessed. Everyone involved with and seated at the Passover Table was Jewish including Jesus and none of them became a Christian by eating the Passover. The Jewish Disciples of Jesus became Christian followers of Jesus the same way everyone else does by acknowledging His sinless death on the cross and by acknowledging His resurrection of eternal life. The New Testament that was instituted the evening of the Passover and went into effect with the death and resurrection of Jesus and is for the 'House of Israel'. The New Testament was not finalized at the Passover it was finalized and institutionalized with the giving of the Holy Spirit an event that happened after the Resurrection of Jesus [and after the betrayal and rejection of Jesus] then when He ascended into Heaven briefly the Day of His Resurrection and He was received by His Father in Heaven as the acceptable Atonement offering for mankind to God the Father then that same Resurrection day sent the Comforter the Holy Spirit to mankind in the Baptism of Jesus Christ. As Gentile Christians we have entered into the Jewish New Testament Covenant by the Promises of God not by the Covent of God. The New Testament Covenant belongs to the Jews and through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ we are invited and welcomed into their Covenant to be partakers of their promises and of the blessings that have been given to the Jews from God. Having received an invitation to join in on their eternal Heavenly blessings we need to be certain that we do not, even accidently, take away from the Jews what already belongs to the Jews and we also need to make certain that we are grateful to God and to the Jews for the free gift we have been given and to receive it with gratitude and thankfulness so we don't accidently give a false impression of taking from the Jews something that is not ours and of being guilty of appearing to take and enter the Kingdom of God by force when in fact it has been freely given to us in the promises of God.

JOHN 13 - THE DAY OFF THE PASSOVER AFTER A LUNCH JESUS WASHES THE FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES IN PREPARATION OF THE PASSOVER LATER THAT EVENING -- 'JOHN 13:31-35 THEREFORE, WHEN HE (JUDAS) WAS GONE OUT [OF THE UPPER ROOM], JESUS SAID, NOW IS THE SON OF MAN GLORIFIED, AND GOD IS GLORIFIED IN HIM. IF GOD BE GLORIFIED IN HIM, GOD SHALL ALSO GLORIFY HIM IN HIMSELF, AND SHALL STRAIGHTWAY GLORIFY HIM. LITTLE CHILDREN, YET A LITTLE WHILE I AM WITH YOU. YE SHALL SEEK ME: AND AS I SAID UNTO THE JEWS, WHITHER I GO, YE CANNOT COME [BY THE LAWS OF MOSES]; SO NOW I SAY TO YOU. A NEW [PERSPECTIVE]

COMMANDMENT I GIVE UNTO YOU, THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER; AS I HAVE LOVED YOU [NEW PERSPECTIVE - HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US], THAT YE ALSO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. BY THIS SHALL ALL MEN KNOW THAT YE ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YE HAVE LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER.' 'John 13:1-12 Now *before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And supper [lunch] being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper [lunch], and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth water into a bason [basin], and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. ... So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again ...' - 'John 13:21-3121 When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples [John], whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him (John), that he should ask who it should be of whom He (Jesus) spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto Him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop [sauce], when I have dipped [bread in] it. And when He had dipped [bread in] the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him (Judas). Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the [Passover] table knew for what intent He spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast [Feast of Unleavened Bread]; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night [the Passover Feast is the only Feast that is not also a sundown curfew feast]. Therefore, when he (Judas) was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.'

JOHN 14 - JUDAS HAVING LEFT BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OF THE PASSOVER FEAST - JESUS AND REMAINING ELEVEN DISCIPLES CONCLUDE THE FEAST OF PASSOVER BY SINGING A PSALM - THEN THE PASSOVER FEAST NOT BEING A CURFEW FEAST JESUS AND HIS ELEVEN DISCIPLES DEPART THE UPPER ROOM AND GO TO THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, ON MOUNT OLIVET - ALONG THE WAY TO THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE JESUS EXPLAINS THAT UNLESS HE DEPARTS THE EARTH AND GOES BACK INTO HEAVEN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT BE GIVEN OR SENT TO MANKIND [MANKIND WOULD STILL BE IN SIN AND CANNOT RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT] -- 'JOHN 14:1-4 LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED: YE BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME. IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS: *IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND IF I GO [TO HEAVEN] AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN [SECOND COMING], AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO. AND WHITHER I GO [HEAVEN] YE KNOW, AND THE WAY [THROUGH JESUS CHRIST] YE KNOW.' John 14:15-21 If ye love Me (Jesus), keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter [Holy Spirit], that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; *for He dwelleth with you, and *shall be in you [born again]. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye (Disciples) see Me: because I live [Resurrection], ye shall [resurrection] live also. At that day ye shall know that I Am in My Father, and ye in Me, and *I in you [Resurrection Day]. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and *I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (believer-follower).

52 DIFFERENT WEEKLY BIBLE PASSAGES TO READ BEFORE TAKING THE LORD'S SUPPER - JEFF HIMMEL, THE PREACHER AT THE SPRING WARRIOR CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TAYLOR COUNTY, FLORIDA, WROTE AN INTERESTING ARTICLE IN THE CHURCH'S WEEKLY LIFELINES BULLETIN ENTITLED, THOUGHTS AROUND THE LORD'S TABLE {NOTE: THESE ARE SOME EXCELLENT VERSES BUT THE PASTOR WHO WROTE AND PUBLISHED THIS ARTICLE SEEMED TO HAVE THE EVER PRESENT AGENDA OF PUTTING ALL MODERN [PARAPHRASE] BIBLE VERSIONS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE KJV [TRANSLATION] BIBLE. - ALSO NOTE: THE VARIOUS MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS (NKJV, NIV, TNIV, NLT) ARE NOT "TRANSLATIONS" BUT ARE WHAT ARE CALLED "PARAPHRASES" WHERE THE MODERN 'TRANSLATORS' SIMPLY PARAPHRASED THE TEXT OF THE MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS WITH WHAT THEY THINK THE BIBLE SHOULD HAVE ORIGINALLY SAID [AND THEY USE KNOWINGLY FRAUDULENT AND FORGED DOCUMENTS TO ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY THEIR OFTEN EGREGIOUS AND ERRONEOUS

PARAPHRASES].

PARAPHRASE (OPINIONATED) BIBLE VERSION IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE

TRUSTWORTHY,

ACCURATELY

TRANSLATED [MOSTLY WORD FOR WORD AT ABOUT 99.9%] KJV BIBLE.}

52 Passages to read before taking the Lord's Supper: Before we pass around the Lord's Supper each week at Spring Warrior (Acts 20:7), the man responsible for leading the observance will usually read a passage from the Bible reminding us either of the significance of taking the Lord's Supper or the significance of Christ's death. In his article, Mr. Himmel points out that Christians oftentimes needlessly limit their choice of passages to simply a trite few (e.g., Matthew 26:2629 1 Corinthians 11, etc.). There are many more passages available. So my challenge to the readers is this: If you lead the Lord's Supper, what passages do you read aloud? If you don't "head the table" in your congregation, but do read from your Bible while the Lord's Supper is being passed around, what passages do you read? I will begin our list with the tried and true mentioned in Jeff's article. Let's see if we can't come up with 52 different passages, one for each week throughout the year. Add your passages via a comment. Matthew 26:26-29. Matthew's account of the evening in which Christ instituted the Lord's Supper. Mark 14:22-26. Mark's parallel account to Matthew 26. Luke 22:14-22. Luke's account of the institution of the Lord's Supper differs from that described in Matthew and Mark in that it tells of Jesus instructing the disciples to "divide" the cup among themselves before partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine. This passage is useful when studying with someone who insists that everyone in the congregation should drink from the same cup ("one-cuppers"). Acts 20:7. Yes, this is a great passage for the authority for the observance occurring on the first day of the week, but can't we come up with a better passage for the meaning of the occasion? 1 Corinthians 11:2329. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." (1 Cor. 11:26, NKJV) Psalm 22, often referred to as the Psalm of the Cross. "They have pierced my hands and my feet ... They divide my garments among them" (NIV vss. 16, 19). and cast lots for my clothing Isaiah 53. A Messianic prophecy which actually begins In Isa. 52:13. Romans 5:6-11. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8, NKJV) 1 Corinthians 5:7 with Exodus 12:5, 14 (or Numbers 28:19). Christ is our Passover sacrifice who saves us from death. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 with Exodus 12:14-20. Taking the memorial feast in sincerity and truth. not in a sinful condition, and not with sinners. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. " (2 Cor. 5:15, TNIV) 4/26/2009 Philippians 2:5-11. "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8, TNIV) Philippians 3:10 with 1 Corinthians 11:24 and 1 Corinthians 10:16-18. "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10, NKJV). Christ says that the bread represents his body which was broken for us. Paul says that we partake or share the communion. So, in a sense, by partaking of the Lord's Supper we share in the sufferings of Christ. (5/17/09) Hebrews 2:14-18. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb. 2:14-15, NKJV) Hebrews 9:12-15. "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:13-14, NKJV) You could start reading in verse 1, but I have paired these down into smaller readings simply to prepare our minds for taking the Lord's Supper. Hebrews 9:16-28. "He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ... Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Heb. 9:26, 28, NKJV) Hebrews 10:1-10. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. ... He takes away the first that He may establish the second." (Heb. 10:4, 9, NKJV) Hebrews 10:11-18. "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. ... For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. ... Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Heb. 10:12, 14, 18, NKJV) 1 John 4:9-10. "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (NLT) Jeremiah 31:-34 with Matthew 26:26-28. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant .... I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."(Jer. 31:31, 34) "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matt. 26:27-28) Luke 22:20 with Genesis 31:44-54. Pointing out that part of the purpose behind the memorial feast is to remind people of their covenant relationship with God in much the same way that Jacob and Laban shared a feast to memorialize their covenant of peace. Exodus 12:5, 14 (or Numbers 28:19) with John 1:29. "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 3:16. By partaking in the communion, we are proclaiming Christ's life, death and resurrection. John 3:16

affirms that Christ was obedient to the will of God to the point of death for all who believe in Christ. Some may want to read this passage with 1 John 4:9-10. Deuteronomy 8:3 with John 6:30-33, 48-51. God gave the Jews manna so they would learn that they could not live by bread alone. Then He gave the world Jesus, the bread of life. John 6:54-56 with Deuteronomy 12:16 & Leviticus 17:10-11. Under the Old Law of Moses, God was given the blood of the sacrifice. Men were prohibited from drinking blood because life is in the blood. Under the New Covenant, Christ says that whoever drinks his blood has eternal life, and figuratively, we drink his blood when we drink the fruit of the vine. Although the context of John 6 is not directly related to the Lord's Supper, Christ is saying that whoever believes in Him eats His flesh and drinks His blood. Who believes Christ, but those who obey all His teachings, including the command (1 Cor. 11:2425) to eat the Lord's Supper? (3/22/09) Acts 2:21-36, Peter's sermon on Pentecost. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:23-24, NKJV). 1 Corinthians 10:24 with Deuteronomy 16:3. Comparing Christ's body of suffering to the Passover bread of suffering. 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. When we come together and share the same bread and fruit of the vine, we stress not only our unity and equality before God, but also His call for us to be holy, sanctified, set apart and consecrated. "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God." (2 Cor. 6:14-16, NKJV) Ephesians 2:11-18. Christ's death reconciled Jew and Gentile to each other and to God. The fruit of the vine represents Christ's blood which was shed for the remission of sins. (Matt. 26:27-28) Colossians 2:11-15, "... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ... having nailed it to the cross...." (NKJV) What additional passages can you come up with? [link]

JOHN 15 - JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES ARE STILL CONTINUING THER WALK TO THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE AND JESUS CONTINUES TO INSTRUCT THE DISCIPLES ABOUT THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ABOUT HIS RESURRECTION AND ABOUT THEIR ETERNITY WITH HIM IN HEAVEN -- 'JOHN 15:1-5 I AM THE TRUE VINE, AND MY FATHER IS THE HUSBANDMAN [CARETAKER].' 'John 15:1-5 I Am the True Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman [Caretaker]. Every branch (Disciple) in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth [cleanses] it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the Vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I Am the Vine, ye (Disciples) are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.' - In Jesus there is life and fruitfulness [relationship with God] apart from Jesus there is no fruitfulness [relationship with God] and no life.

JOHN 16 - JESUS EXPLAINS THAT THE LIFE OF A DISCIPLE WITHOUT THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF JESUS IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT -- 'JOHN 16:1-3 THESE THINGS HAVE I (JESUS) SPOKEN UNTO YOU, THAT YE (DISCIPLES) SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED. THEY [RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS] SHALL PUT YOU OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUES: YEA, THE TIME COMETH, THAT WHOSOEVER KILLETH YOU WILL THINK THAT HE DOETH GOD SERVICE. AND THESE THINGS WILL THEY DO UNTO YOU, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE FATHER, NOR ME.' 'John 16:7-16 Nevertheless I (Jesus) tell you the Truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: *for if I go not away, the Comforter [Holy Spirit] will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, *He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I [Righteousness] go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince [Satan] of this world [system] is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all Truth: *for He [Holy Spirit] shall not speak [referencing] of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear [be in agreement with], that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: *for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are

Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. *A little while, and ye shall not see Me [Crucifixion death]: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me [Resurrection Life], because I go to the Father.'

JOHN 17 - THE HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER OF JESUS - JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES AND ALL OF THIS FUTURE FOLLOWERS HIS 'HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER' -- 'JOHN 17:1-3 THESE WORDS SPAKE JESUS, AND LIFTED UP HIS EYES TO HEAVEN, AND SAID, FATHER, THE HOUR IS COME; GLORIFY THY SON, THAT THY SON ALSO MAY GLORIFY THEE: AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM POWER OVER ALL FLESH, *THAT HE SHOULD GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO AS MANY AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM. AND *THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM THOU HAST SENT.' - 'JOHN 17:20-21 NEITHER PRAY I FOR THESE (DISCIPLES) ALONE [ONLY], BUT FOR THEM [FUTURE DISCIPLES] ALSO WHICH SHALL BELIEVE ON ME THROUGH THEIR WORD [MINISTRY]; THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE [CHURCH]; AS THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE [BODY] IN US: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. John 17:1-26 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to Heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, *that He (Jesus) should give Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And *this is Life Eternal, that they (humans) might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou Me with thine own self with *the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which thou gavest Me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them Me; and *they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given Me are of Thee. *For I have given unto them (Disciples) 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. I pray for them (Disciples): *I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I Am Glorified in them (Disciples). And now I Am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, *keep through Thine own Name those whom thou hast given Me, that they [Disciples] may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy Name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition [Judas by his own freewill]; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and *these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I Am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. *They are not of the world, even as I Am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth. As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I Sanctify [go to Heaven] Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the Truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but *for them [future Disciples] also which shall Believe on Me through their word [Ministry]; That they all may be one [Church]; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one [body] in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me. And the Glory which thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, *and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am [in Heaven and while on earth]; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the Love wherewith Thou hast Loved Me may be in them, and I in them.' The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus to His Father in Heaven revealing to His Disciples His heart towards His father and His heart towards all His Disciples.

JOHN 18 - AFTER HIS HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER TO HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN - JESUS STEPS OVER THE SMALL STREAM "BROOK OF CEDRON" AND JESUS WITH HIS ELEVEN DISCIPLES ARRIVE AT THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE - JESUS SEPARATES HIMSELF FROM HIS FOLLOWERS AND GOES A SHORT DISTANCE TO PRAY - JUDAS BRINGING TEMPLE GUARDS TO ARREST JESUS CATCHES UP WITH JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE WHERE JESUS IS ARRESTED AND BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM TO MULTIPLE TRIALS INVOLVING THE SANHEDRIN, HEROD AND FINALLY PONTIUS PILATE WHO WILL SENTENCE JESUS TO DEATH ON THE CROSS - AS THE DAWN ARISES PETER WILL DENY KNOWING JESUS THREE TIMES -- 'JOHN 18:1-2 WHEN JESUS HAD SPOKEN THESE WORDS, HE WENT FORTH WITH HIS

CEDRON, WHERE WAS A GARDEN, INTO THE WHICH HE ENTERED, AND HIS DISCIPLES. AND JUDAS ALSO, WHICH BETRAYED HIM, KNEW THE PLACE: FOR JESUS OFTTIMES RESORTED THITHER WITH HIS DISCIPLES.' DISCIPLES OVER THE BROOK

'John 18:28 Then [Jewish leaders] led they Jesus from Caiaphas [the High Priest installed by Rome while Annas was the High Priest, there were two High Priests] unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover [the Unleavened Bread portion of the Passover Week, the Crucifixion day was a Feast curfew day, Unleavened Bread has a curfew the Passover does not].' - 'John 18:36-38 Jesus answered [Pontius Pilate], *My Kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants [physically] fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence [the Kingdom of Jesus is no from Heaven]. Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I Am a King. [Yes] To this end was I born, and for this cause [King of the World] came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Every one that is of the Truth heareth My Voice. Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth?' - Note: The 'Thou sayst' was apparently a custom, and it was required when someone was in court facing Roman charges against them, to confirm dialect especially between a Roman and another culture. When a Roman official spoke the non-Roman would reply 'thou sayest' to confirm that they understood what the Roman was saying.'

JOHN 19 - THE REJECTION, DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST IS COMPLETED - THE CRUCIFIXION DAY IS THE [15TH OF NISAN] ON THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD DAY THE DAY AFTER THE [14TH OF NISAN] AND THE PASSOVER DAY - IT IS THE SAME DAY [EXODUS 12:17] THAT THE CHILDREN OF GOD LEFT EGYPT AFTER THE ORIGINAL DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN PASSOVER IN EGYPT - {THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS THAT THE PASSOVER WAS THE NIGHT JESUS WAS BETRAYED [1 CORINTHIANS 11:23 - "THAT THE LORD JESUS THE SAME NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED TOOK BREAD"] THE DAY BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION.} -- JOHN 19:4-5 [PONTIUS] PILATE THEREFORE WENT FORTH AGAIN, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, BEHOLD, I BRING HIM (JESUS) FORTH TO YOU, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM. THEN CAME JESUS FORTH, WEARING THE CROWN OF THORNS, AND THE PURPLE ROBE. AND PILATE SAITH UNTO THEM, BEHOLD THE MAN! - 'ZECHARIAH 6:11-12 THEN TAKE SILVER AND GOLD, AND MAKE CROWNS [SILVER - HIGH PRIEST CROWN, GOLD - KINGS CROWN], AND SET THEM UPON THE HEAD OF JOSHUA (JESUS) THE SON OF JOSEDECH, THE HIGH PRIEST; AND SPEAK UNTO HIM, SAYING, THUS SPEAKETH THE LORD OF HOSTS, SAYING, 'BEHOLD THE MAN' WHOSE NAME IS THE BRANCH (NAZARENE), AND HE SHALL GROW UP OUT OF HIS PLACE AND HE SHALL BUILD THE [HEAVENLY] TEMPLE OF THE LORD:' John 19:25-27 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the Disciple [John] standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son [Christian fellowship]! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother [Christian fellowship]! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. - The name Mary in Hebrew means bitter so it was a 'bitter,' 'bitter,' 'bitter,' day, event and place to be at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ for the followers of Jesus. Note: Jesus on the cross united His Mother Mary and His Disciple John in Christian fellowship not in some form of worldly adoption. Biblically had Mary adopted the Disciple John then he would have gone to her house because that is what the adoption is it is rights and privileges of the house or estate. Apparently Joseph was clearly deceased not being available for any of the events of the adult life of Jesus and also apparently none of the brothers and sisters were followers of Him either, until after the resurrection so Jesus sent His mother to be with John and the soon to be forming Christian Church.

JOHN 20 - RESURRECTION DAY - THE FIRST JEWISH CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY THROUGH BELIEF IN THE ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST - THE SPIRIT BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST BEGINS - WITH THE RECEIVING OF THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST A PERSON [JEW OR GENTILE] BECOMES A CHRISTIAN - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BEGINS! -- 'JOHN 20:14 AND WHEN SHE [MARY MAGDALENE] HAD THUS SAID, SHE TURNED HERSELF BACK, AND SAW JESUS STANDING, AND *KNEW NOT THAT IT WAS JESUS.' [NOTE: ONLY CHRISTIANS CAN RECOGNIZE JESUS WHILE MARY AND THE OTHER JEWISH DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS ALL HAD TO BECOME CHRISTIANS LIKE THE GENTILES HAVE TO AS WELL TO THEN RECOGNIZE JESUS] - 'COLOSSIANS 1:27 ... [THE RESURRECTED JESUS] CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY'

John 20:19-23 Then the same day [Resurrection Day] at evening, being [Sunday] the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He shewed unto them his hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father [in Heaven] hath sent Me [Jesus has been back to Heaven], even so send I you. And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost [Having been to Heaven and received by the Father as the acceptable Atonement the Holy Spirit is now given and available to all mankind]: Whose soever sins ye remit [discernment via the Holy Spirit], they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain [discernment via the Holy Spirit], they are retained.

JOHN 21 - AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION AND GLORIOUS RESURRECTION JESUS SPENDS 40 MORE DAYS WITH HIS DISCIPLES INSTRUCTING THEM IN HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM - THE KINGDOM THAT THAT THEY ARE TO PRESENT TO ALL MANKIND -- 'JOHN 21:1 AFTER THESE [CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION] THINGS JESUS SHEWED HIMSELF AGAIN TO THE DISCIPLES AT THE SEA OF TIBERIAS (AKA THE SEA OF GALILEE AND LAKE GENNESARET); AND ON THIS WISE SHEWED HE HIMSELF.' 'John 21:24-25 This is the disciple [John] which Testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we [Apostles] know that His Testimony [Jesus Christ] is True. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.' - The beloved Disciple and Apostle of Jesus Christ closes his Gospel to the Christian Church with his personal Testimony that what he has written and recorded for mankind is based in fact and actually did happen and occurred as he has written.

ACTS BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK OF ACTS - THE BOOK OF ACTS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN CALLED THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND THIS CAN BE A BIT CONFUSING BECAUSE THE CONTENTS IS NOT ABOUT ALL THE APOSTLES, BUT PRIMARILY ON THE LIFE OF PETER (CHAPTERS 1-12) AND PAUL (CHAPTERS 13-28) - RATHER THAN A HISTORY BOOK IT IS MORE IN LINE WITH A BIOGRAPHY - LUKE GIVES A RECORD OF THE LIFE [OF JESUS] AND EVENTS OF THE EARLY CHURCH FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT SIXTY TO SIXTY FIVE YEARS {ABOUT 35 YEARS OF EARLY CHURCH HISTORY: THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM MOUNT OLIVET, JERUSALEM IN ABOUT 33 A.D. - THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL [1ST CHURCH COUNCIL] IN ABOUT 50 A.D. (ACTS 15) - UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE MARTYRDOM OF THE APOSTLE PAUL IN ROME IN ABOUT 67 A.D.} The gospels end with the great commission. (Matthew 28:19-20). "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." The book of Acts opens with instructions to the Disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. These instructions become the theme of the book of Acts and give us a clue to how the spread of Christianity would take place. The purpose of Acts is to show the spread of the Gospel throughout the then known world. 'But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' (Acts 1:1-8). The disciples were to be witnesses. In the first twelve chapters the focus is on the Gospel going forth under Peters direction in Jerusalem. There the ministry was directed mainly among the Jews in Jerusalem. Then the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul is stressed in his missionary activities outside of the boarders of Israel. He is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. -- Jerusalem: Chapter 1-7: Jewish Christian Church which covers about the first fifteen years. Peter is the central character during this period which centers around Jerusalem. -- Judea and Samaria: Chapter 8-12: Gentile Christian Church takes in the next twenty-five years. Paul is the central character during this period which centers around Antioch. Paul takes the gospel to the Gentiles. Ends of the Earth: Chapter 13-28: Consolidation of the Church covers the last thirty years to the close of this period. John is the central character during this period which centers around Ephesus {though not really mentioned in the Book of Acts}. [link]

FOOTSTEPS OF PAUL (PHOTOS) According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul made three separate missionary journeys and a journey to Rome. The biblical narrative ends there, but tradition has it that he was martyred in Rome around 67 AD. On the other hand, it is also possible that he was released in Rome following his appeal, and continued his missionary work in various places. Fortunately for modern travelers interested in biblical sites, Paul traveled in some of the most beautiful places around the Mediterranean! Below is an illustrated index of the 11 Footsteps of Paul profiled on Sacred Destinations so far. For photo credits, please see corresponding articles. ... Paul in Rome: According to early tradition, Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 53-62 AD and again in 64 AD. While in Rome he wrote the New Testament books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. According to the 4th-century historian Eusebius, he (Paul) was beheaded in Rome in 67 AD. [link]

A CHRONOLOGICAL STUDY OF PAUL'S MINISTRY Why is Chronology Important? Chronology is the study of the sequence of events in an historical text, and the comparison of those events with other known events from other sources. The Bible is an historical document, and part of assessing the value of any historical narrative is the study of Chronology. When events in the Bible line up with known dates confirmed outside the Bible, is suggests a high level of reliability in the biblical text. Also, some areas of doctrine are based on chronological assertions, as we shall see in the case of Gal. 2. This outline explains in shortened form how scholars date the events in the ministry of Paul. A more complete study of this process is available in Jack Finnegan, A Handbook of Biblical Chronology. -- Sequential Outline of the Movements of Paul by Major Periods: The first step in

studying chronology is to assemble a sequence of events along with all chronological notes. In other words, a narrator will say, "for over two years" or "in time for the Passover." These notes, when assembled, form a time chain, often with some missing spots. Here are the important events for Paul's ministry: [link]

THE APOSTLE [PAUL] BY JOHN POLLOCK (BOOK - PAPERBACK) Product Description: Pollock brings Paul and his amazing story freshly alive, making it possible for you to know Paul much as Luke or Timothy did as they traveled with him. As you turn the pages, you'll sense Paul's motives, his aims and priorities what mattered to him and what he was willing to die for. [link]

PAUL: THE EMISSARY (DVD) Product Description: How did the fiercest opponent of Christianity become one of its greatest advocates? This dramatic video shows you Paul's powerful conversion on the Damascus road, and his transformation from an angry zealot bent on exterminating the church into a messenger willing to pay any price---even death---to bring the message of salvation to the world. Paul's life changed the ancient world and still confronts our world today! Approx. 54 minutes. [link]

PETER AND PAUL (DVD) Product Description: Follow these two very different yet highly influential men over three world-changing decades. Beginning with the crucifixion, you'll see Paul on the road to Damascus, witness the day Peter met Paul in Jerusalem, and watch them clash later over Jewish law. Anthony Hopkins and Robert Foxworth star in this epic network television miniseries about early Christianity. Approx. 194 minutes. [link]

A.D. - THE STUNNING SEQUEL TO JESUS OF NAZARETH - (DVD) Product Description: The stunning sequel to Jesus of Nazareth, this captivating epic vividly re-creates the turbulent years following the crucifixion of Christ. Witness the growth of the fledgling church, from Peter's first bold sermon at Pentecost to the martyrdom of Paul. Filmed on location in the Middle East and Europe with an all-star cast. Includes a 12-session on-disk study guide. Two DVDs, 6 hours total. Abridged Edition. [link]

ACTS - MATTHEW, JOHN & ACTS, 6-DVD SET THE VISUAL BIBLE SERIES (DVD) Product Description: Journey back to first-century Palestine [Israel] and witness the extraordinary events that changed the world! Meet Matthew and John as they reflect on the events they witnessed as Jesus' disciples. Travel with Luke as he shares the struggles and triumphs of the early church. Shot on location, these vivid portrayals are adapted word-forword from Scripture. Closed-captioned. Six DVDs, approx. 13 hours total. [link]

ACTS 1 - LUKE A GENTILE PHYSICIAN-DOCTOR [A GREEK BACKGROUND], HISTORIAN, COMPANION TO THE APOSTLE PAUL, EYEWITNESS AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH RECORDER/REPORTER CONTINUES HIS MINISTRY TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WITH HIS FOLLOW UP TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE IN HIS SECOND AND FINAL BOOK OF THE BIBLE THE BOOK OF ACTS -- 'ACTS 1:1-3 THE FORMER TREATISE [GOSPEL OF LUKE] {A TREATISE IS A FORMAL AND SYSTEMATIC WRITTEN DISCOURSE ON SOME SUBJECT, GENERALLY LONGER AND TREATING IT IN GREATER DEPTH THAN AN ESSAY, AND MORE CONCERNED WITH INVESTIGATING OR EXPOSING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SUBJECT. - WIKI.COM} HAVE I [LUKE] MADE [WRITTEN], O THEOPHILUS, *OF ALL THAT JESUS BEGAN BOTH TO DO AND TEACH, UNTIL THE DAY IN WHICH HE [JESUS] WAS TAKEN UP [ASCENSION AT MOUNT OLIVET, JERUSALEM], AFTER THAT **HE [JESUS] THROUGH THE

HOLY GHOST HAD GIVEN COMMANDMENTS [DIRECTIONS] UNTO THE APOSTLES WHOM HE HAD CHOSEN: TO WHOM ALSO HE [JESUS] SHEWED HIMSELF ALIVE [RESURRECTION] AFTER HIS PASSION [PASSION TO REUNITE GOD AND MANKIND - CROSS AND RESURRECTION] **BY MANY INFALLIBLE [IRREFUTABLE] PROOFS, BEING SEEN [EYEWITNESS] OF THEM FORTY DAYS, AND SPEAKING OF THE THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD ...' Acts 1:4-14 And, [Jesus] being assembled together with them [on the Mount of Olives - at the Ascension of Jesus], Commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for **the promise of the Father [to send the Comforter - the Holy Spirit as a companion], which, saith He, ye have heard of Me [John 14:6]. For John [the Baptist] truly baptized with water; but ye [already baptized by Jesus, with the Firstfruits of the Spirit (John 20:22) - Christians] shall be baptized [by the Father] with the Holy Ghost [for comfort, wisdom, truth, empowerment, etc. to be a witness of Jesus Christ to the world] not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, *wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel [from Rome]? And He said unto them, It is not for you (Christians) [before Pentecost] to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. ***But ye [Christians] shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. **And when He [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their [visible] sight. **And while they looked stedfastly [for His return] toward Heaven as He went up, behold, two men [Angels] stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, **why stand ye gazing up into Heaven [at this spot on Mount Olivet]? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven {but when Jesus visibly returns to Mount Olivet it will be to the Jews not the Church - the Church will already be in Heaven}. Then [departed Mount Olivet] returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room [in the upper room where the Passover, Last Supper was eaten], where abode [lived] both [Apostles and Disciples (brethren)] {Apostles} Peter, and James [brother of John], and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James [son of Alphaeus]. These all continued with one accord [combined purpose] *in prayer and supplication, with the women, *and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His {Disciples} brethren [Christians]. The Promise of the Father is to send the Comforter and the empower [the Holy Spirit] to those who acknowledge Jesus [John 14:16]. The Promise of Jesus is to give eternal life [John 14:6] to all that come to Him. - John 14:6-21 Jesus saith unto him [Apostle - Thomas], ***I [Jesus] Am *the Way, *the Truth, and *the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. ... If ye love Me, keep My Commandments [instructions]. And I will pray the Father, and He [Father] shall give you another (along with Jesus) Comforter [Holy Spirit], that He [Holy Spirit] may abide with you [eternally] forever; Even the [Holy] Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him [Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit] not, neither knoweth Him [God]: but ye know Him; for He [God] dwelleth with you, ***and shall be in you [Firstfruits - Resurrection Day - birth of the Christian Church]. I [Jesus] will not leave you comfortless: I [Jesus] will come to you [Resurrection]. Yet a little while [death on the cross], and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me [Resurrection]: **because I live, ye shall live also. At that [Resurrection] day ye shall know that I Am in My Father, and ye in Me, **and I [Firstfruits] in you. He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father [who will baptize with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit], and I will love him, and **will manifest [show] Myself [Jesus] to him [Christian].

ACTS 2 - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ALREADY INDIVIDUALLY (LUKE 24:31) [BY FAITH IN THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS] HAVING THE 'BORN AGAIN' FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT OF JESUS - THE CHURCH CORPORATELY (ALL IN ONE GROUP) RECEIVES THE 'EXPERIENCE' THE PROMISED BAPTISM OF THE FATHER THE COMFORT AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - NOTE: AT PENTECOST THE HOLY SPIRIT IS POURED OUT UPON THE ENTIRE WORLD [JOHN 16:8] - WITH PENTECOST [EMPOWERMENT FOR THE CHURCH, CONVICTION FOR THE WORLD] COMES THE BAPTISM OF PERSECUTION (FIRE) FOR THE CHURCH -- 'ACTS 2:1-5 AND WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST [LIT. 50 DAYS - AFTER THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS] [5TH LEVITICAL FEAST - LEVITICUS 23:16] WAS FULLY COME, THEY [CHRISTIANS] WERE ALL WITH ONE ACCORD IN ONE PLACE [IN THE UPPER ROOM]. AND SUDDENLY THERE CAME A SOUND FROM HEAVEN AS OF A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND, AND IT FILLED ALL THE HOUSE WHERE THEY WERE SITTING. AND THERE APPEARED UNTO THEM CLOVEN TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE [REFINEMENT, TRIALS, PERSECUTION], AND IT SAT UPON EACH OF THEM. AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED [EMPOWERED] WITH THE HOLY GHOST, AND [EXPERIENTIALLY] BEGAN TO SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES, AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE. AND THERE WERE DWELLING AT JERUSALEM JEWS, DEVOUT MEN, ***OUT OF [REPRESENTING] EVERY

NATION UNDER HEAVEN.' - 'JOHN 16:7 NEVERTHELESS I [JESUS] TELL YOU THE TRUTH; IT IS EXPEDIENT FOR YOU THAT I GO AWAY [BACK TO HEAVEN]: FOR IF I GO NOT AWAY, THE COMFORTER [HOLY SPIRIT] WILL NOT COME UNTO YOU [AT PENTECOST]; BUT IF I DEPART, I WILL SEND HIM UNTO YOU. AND WHEN HE [HOLY SPIRIT] IS COME, ***HE WILL REPROVE THE *WORLD [PENTECOST IS AN OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UPON THE ENTIRE WORLD] OF SIN, AND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND OF JUDGMENT: OF SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME [JESUS]; OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE I GO TO MY FATHER, AND YE SEE ME NO MORE [AFTER THE ASCENSION]; OF JUDGMENT, BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD [SATAN - DEVIL] IS JUDGED.' Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing up with the Eleven [Apostles - Judas has committed suicide], lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, *be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour [9:00 A.M.] of the day. **But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel [Joel 2:28-32]; And it shall come to pass in the Last Days [days since - The Triumphal Entry of Jesus in to Jerusalem], saith God, I will pour out of My [Holy] Spirit *upon all flesh [the entire world]: and your [Jewish, Christian and Gentile - *the entire world] sons and your daughters shall prophesy [at times everyone (inside and outside of the Church) speaks for a prophetic truth about God, however (outside of the Church) it is often a corrupted message i.e. New Age message (Acts 16:17-18)], and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants [Christians] and on My handmaidens [men and women] I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [including all days - even the days of Tribulation and Great Tribulation] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke [Tribulation]: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood [Great Tribulation], *before that Great and Notable Day of the Lord come [2nd Coming of Jesus]: ***And it shall come to pass [at any day, at any time, at any moment, Last Days, Church Age, Tribulation, Great Tribulation], that *whosoever [any person] shall call [at any time] on the Name [Jesus] of the Lord [that person] shall be Saved. - Pentecost, empowerment, witness and persecution: In the few days before Pentecost the Christian Church gathered in the Jewish Temple and worshiped Jesus [Luke 24:53] without any incidents because the Church was without the [external upon] witness of the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit upon the entire world, upon every individual and with the empowerment of the Christian Church by the Holy Spirit and now all of mankind with the increased presence of God among mankind the conflict between man and God has dramatically increased and the Christian Church is at the forefront of man's conflict with God. With Pentecost the desire for mankind to either accept or reject the Ministry of Jesus Christ has been heightened and those who reject God do so in a more violent manner. - Note: The Baptism of Fire (persecution) upon the Christian is a baptism directly enacted by Jesus [Matthew 3:11] therefore Jesus controls all aspects and intensities of the persecution (Baptism of Fire) in the life of each Christian. To receive the Baptism of Fire from Jesus is to be given the opportunity to grow in faith and trust in Jesus and it is to be trusted enough by Jesus to be able to endure in the Christian faith while continuing to be a witness of Jesus. - Also Note: With Pentecost and the global outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all mankind [since the blood, cross and death of Jesus - the blood of Jesus has cleansed the entire world (Acts 10:15) - the world [system] is now a clean - however [unclean from within] unsaved mankind is working overtime to corrupt what Jesus has cleansed upon] with the Holy Spirit upon all mankind Christianity and the resurrection life of Jesus Christ that Christianity represents is not a philosophy nor just an idea of a select few but Christianity is the living Spirit, Blood and Word Testimony of God and therefore because Christianity is a living Spirit that unsaved mankind then physically reacts out of proportion [sometimes in strong denial, rejection, even dangerously, etc.] to the Spiritual calling on their life by God in Jesus Christ.

ACTS 3 - THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONTINUALLY WORSHIPED AND SERVED JESUS CHRIST EVEN AFTER HIS BODILY ASCENSION BACK INTO HEAVEN - AS A PART OF THEIR CHRISTIAN DEVOTION TO JESUS THEIR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND THEM WERE DRAMATICALLY ALTERED BEING TRANSFORMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CONFORM WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF GOD -- 'ACTS 3:1-9 NOW PETER AND JOHN WENT UP TOGETHER INTO THE TEMPLE AT THE HOUR OF PRAYER [CHRISTIANS WENT TO THE TEMPLE ONLY TO PRAY AND PERFORM CERTAIN SERVICES BUT NO LONGER TO SACRIFICE (A LAMB) AS JESUS IS OUR ETERNAL SACRIFICE], BEING THE NINTH HOUR [3:00 P.M.]. AND A CERTAIN MAN LAME [UNABLE TO WALK] FROM HIS MOTHER'S WOMB [PHYSICAL BIRTH] WAS CARRIED, WHOM THEY LAID DAILY AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE WHICH IS CALLED BEAUTIFUL, TO ASK ALMS (GIFTS) OF THEM THAT ENTERED INTO THE TEMPLE; WHO SEEING PETER AND JOHN ABOUT TO GO INTO THE TEMPLE ASKED AN ALMS. AND PETER, FASTENING HIS EYES UPON HIM WITH JOHN, SAID, LOOK ON US [MAKE EYE CONTACT]. AND HE GAVE HEED UNTO THEM [LOOKED THEM IN THE EYE], EXPECTING TO

RECEIVE SOMETHING OF THEM.

THEN PETER SAID [WORLDLY WEALTH], SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE; BUT SUCH AS I HAVE [HEAVENLY WEALTH] GIVE I THEE: *IN THE NAME [AT JESUS' BIDDING] OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH RISE UP AND WALK. AND HE [PETER] TOOK HIM BY THE RIGHT HAND [CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP], AND LIFTED HIM UP [CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS]: AND IMMEDIATELY HIS FEET AND ANKLE BONES RECEIVED STRENGTH. AND HE LEAPING UP STOOD [NEW LIFE - RESURRECTION], AND WALKED [CHRISTIAN WALK], AND ENTERED WITH THEM [INTO FELLOWSHIP] INTO THE TEMPLE [TO PRAY TO GOD], WALKING, AND LEAPING, AND PRAISING GOD. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAW HIM WALKING AND PRAISING GOD ...' Acts 3:10-26 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the Temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he *answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? ***The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of [Pontius] Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer [Barabbas] to be granted unto you; And killed [Jesus] **the Prince of life, whom God hath raised [resurrection] from the dead; **whereof we are witnesses. And His Name [Jesus] *through faith [cross and resurrection] in His Name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him [Jesus] hath given him [lame man] this perfect [complete] soundness [health] in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it [crucified Jesus], as did also your rulers. *But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth *of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled. ***Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He [Father] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: [Jesus] *Whom the heaven must receive [remain] {this is where the concept of the Church Rapture emerges as Jesus is to remain in Heaven and not to come physically to the earth until the end of the Book of Revelation and His 2nd Coming to the Jews, Jesus will have gathered His Christian Church together unto Himself in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) avoiding coming to earth until later} until the times of restitution [end of the Book of Revelation] of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His Holy Prophets since the world began. **For Moses truly said (Deuteronomy 18:15) unto the fathers, A Prophet [who is God] shall the Lord your God raise up [resurrection] unto you of your brethren, [a leader of the people of Israel] like unto me [Moses]; Him [Jesus] shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet [Jesus], shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the Prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. *Ye [redeemed of God] are the Children of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with our fathers, **saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed [Jesus] shall all the Kindreds [Ethnicity] of the earth be Blessed. Unto you [Jews] first(,) God, having raised up [resurrection] His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you [Jews, first], in turning away every one of you from his iniquities [inability to have a real meaningful relationship with God]. - The Apostles Peter and John demonstrate to the people both in their life and in their preaching that the Spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ though it has only partially arrived [Firstfruits] for mankind the partial Kingdom of Jesus Christ fully Triumphs over and supersedes the current fallen physical realm and predicament of mankind.

ACTS 4 - THE GOSPEL OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST HAS BEGUN TO BE PREACHED (PROCLAIMED) TO MANKIND FIRST TO THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM THEN TO THE MIXED MULTITUDE [JEWS AND GENTILES] IN SAMARIA [THE ANCIENT (O.T.) KINGDOM OF NORTHERN ISRAEL] AND ULTIMATELY TO ALL THE GENTILES OF THE WORLD -- 'ACTS 4:1-4 AND AS THEY [APOSTLES] SPAKE UNTO THE PEOPLE, THE PRIESTS, AND THE CAPTAIN [OF THE GUARD] OF THE TEMPLE, AND THE SADDUCEES, CAME UPON THEM, *BEING GRIEVED [SINCE PENTECOST CHRISTIANITY IS A PERCEIVABLE SPIRIT THAT MEN EITHER REJOICE IN OR ARE GRIEVED BY] THAT THEY TAUGHT THE PEOPLE, *AND PREACHED THROUGH JESUS *THE RESURRECTION [OF JUST HUMANS] FROM THE DEAD. AND THEY LAID HANDS ON THEM, AND PUT THEM IN HOLD UNTO THE NEXT DAY: FOR IT WAS NOW EVENTIDE [LIT. CLOSE OF A REGULAR DAY - G2703]. HOWBEIT MANY OF THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD BELIEVED; AND THE NUMBER OF THE MEN [CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY] WAS ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND.' Acts 4:5-31 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the High Priest [the Jewish appointed High Priest], and Caiaphas [the Roman appointed High Priest], and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred [Levitical Tribe] of the High Priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set

them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? *Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost [the continuing empowerment and witness of Pentecost], said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole [lit. Salvation]; **Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised [resurrection] from the dead, even *by Him [Jesus] doth this man stand here before you whole. *This [Jesus] is the stone which was set at nought [aside - not used] of you [Temple] builders (Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22), which is become the head of the corner. *Neither is there Salvation in any other: ***for there is none other Name under Heaven ***given among men, ***whereby we must be Saved [eternal resurrection life in Jesus]. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned [unschooled in ministry] and ignorant men [tradesmen], they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this Name [Jesus]. And they called them, *and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the Name of Jesus. **But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. *For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man [who was healed] was above forty years old [an adult], on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they [Christians] heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, **and said, *Lord, thou art God, *which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy Holy Child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of thy Holy Child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, *and they [Christians] spake the word of God with boldness. Now the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ has been removed from the religious institutions and the Gospel News is to be brought directly to the people of the world directly from the Children of God.

ACTS 5 - WITH THE PRESENCE AND ASSISTANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO TRUST AND DISCERN THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY AND AS A RESULT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH REALIZES AN ENORMOUS, EXPLOSIVE, UNPRECEDENTED EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS -- 'ACTS 5:14 AND [CHRISTIAN] BELIEVERS WERE THE MORE ADDED TO THE LORD [JESUS CHRIST], MULTITUDES BOTH OF MEN AND WOMEN.' Acts 5:17-42 Then the High Priest [Annas] rose up, and all they that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees [liberal sect of Judaism (Democrats) - Pharisees are the conservative sect (Republicans)], and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. *But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, **and said, Go, stand and speak *in the Temple [speak to the inner spirit of man] to the people all the words of this [eternal resurrection] life. And when they heard that, they entered into the Temple early in the morning, and taught. But the High Priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council [Sanhedrin - Jewish Supreme Court] together, and all the senate of the children of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the [Jewish] officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the High Priest and the Captain [of the guard] of the Temple and the Chief Priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the Temple, and Teaching the people. Then went the Captain with the Officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the Council: and the High Priest asked them,

Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this [Jesus] Name? and, ***behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your *doctrine, and intend to bring this man's [Jesus'] blood upon us. **Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, **We ought to obey God [Jesus] rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince [Son] and a Saviour, *for to give repentance to Israel, **and forgiveness of sins. ***And we are His witnesses of these things; ***and so is also ***the Holy Ghost, *whom God hath given [in comfort, wisdom and empowerment] to them that obey Him. *When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, *and took counsel to slay [kill] them. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named *Gamaliel [the Apostle Paul's teacher - Paul was a Pharisee], a doctor [teacher] of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the Apostles forth a little space [in another room]; And said unto them [Jewish Council], Ye men of Israel, *take heed [from God - pray first] to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas [a false christ], boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, *and [God] brought [it] to nought. After this man rose up Judas [false christ] of Galilee in the days of the taxing [about the time of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem], and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed [by God]. *And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: *for if this counsel or this work [of the Apostles] be of men [acting in the Name of God], it will come to nought: **But if it [ministry of the Apostles] be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him *they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and *beaten them, *they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go {they somewhat agreed}. And they [Apostles] departed from the presence of the Council, *rejoicing that they were counted worthy [by Jesus] to suffer shame for His Name. And daily in the Temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. - Note: The famous teacher Gamaliel [his writings are still with us today - quoted in the Talmud] is who the Apostle Paul as a boy and as a young man received his instruction in the Torah (Bible) from before Paul (Saul) became a Christian. - [Gamaliel, also called Gamaliel I or Gamaliel the Elder was a first century authority on Jewish law who appears in the Acts of the Apostles. In Christian tradition, he was later considered to be a Christian saint (Saint Gamaliel). In Judaism he is a respected authority quoted in the Talmud referred to as Rabban Gamliel. - Wiki.com] (The title "Rabban," was borne only by presidents of the highest religious council, first prefixed to the name of Gamaliel - www.jewishencyclopedia.com).

WIKIPEDIA.ORG - GAMALIEL: HOWEVER, THERE IS NO OTHER RECORD [THAN THE WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL] OF GAMALIEL EVER HAVING TAUGHT IN PUBLIC, ALTHOUGH THE TALMUD DOES DESCRIBE GAMALIEL AS TEACHING A STUDENT WHO DISPLAYED IMPUDENCE (THE QUALITY OF BEING OFFENSIVELY BOLD - ANSWERS.COM) IN LEARNING, WHICH A FEW SCHOLARS IDENTIFY AS A POSSIBLE REFERENCE TO [THE APOSTLE] PAUL As Rabban: In the Talmud, seven leaders of Hillel's school of thought, of which Gamaliel was the first, are given the title Rabban (master), a rabbinic title given to the Head of the Sanhedrin; although it is not doubted that Gamaliel genuinely held a senior position, whether he actually held this highest position has been disputed. Gamaliel holds a reputation in the Mishnah for being one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism: Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time Gamaliel's authority on questions of religious law is suggested by two Mishnaic anecdotes, in which the king and queen ask for his advice about rituals; the identity of the king and queen in question is not given, but is generally thought to either be King Herod Agrippa I and his wife Cypris, or King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice. However, as classical rabbinical literature always contrasts the school of Hillel to that of Shammai, and only presents the collective opinions of each of these opposing schools of thought - without mentioning the individual nuances and opinions of the rabbis within them - these texts do not portray Gamaliel as being knowledgeable about the Jewish scriptures, nor do they portray him as a teacher. For this reason, Gamaliel is not listed as part of the chain of individuals who perpetuated the Mishnaic tradition; instead, the chain is listed as passing directly from Hillel to Johanan ben Zakkai. Nevertheless, the Mishnah still mentions Gamaliel's authorship of a few legal ordinances on the subjects of community welfare and conjugal rights. He argued that the law should protect women during divorce, and that, for the purpose of re-marriage, a single witness was sufficient evidence for the death of a husband. The Mishnah also contains a saying it attributes to 'Gamaliel', though it is vague in this case about which particular 'Gamaliel' it means; the saying itself concerns religious scruples: Obtain a teacher for yourself, keep yourself [on religious questions] far from doubt, and only infrequently give a tithe using general valuation. Various pieces of classical rabbinic literature additionally mention that Gamaliel sent out three

epistles, designed as notifications of new religious rulings, and which portray Gamaliel as the head of the Jewish body for religious-law. Two of these three were sent, respectively, to the inhabitants of Galilee and the Darom (southern Judea), and were on the subject of the Levite Tithe. The third epistle was sent to the Jews of the Diaspora, and argued for the introduction of an intercalary month. Since the Hillel school of thought is presented collectively, there are very few other teachings which are clearly identifiable as Gamaliel's; there is only a somewhat cryptic dictum, comparing his students to classes of fish: A ritually impure fish: one who has memorized everything by study, but has no understanding, and is the son of poor parents A ritually pure fish: one who has learnt and understood everything, and is the son of rich parents A fish from the Jordan River: one who has learnt everything, but doesn't know how to respond A fish from the Mediterranean: one who has learnt everything, and knows how to respond. -- Influence on the Christian Apostles: The author of Acts of the Apostles introduces Gamaliel as a Pharisee and celebrated scholar of the Mosaic Law. In this passage, Saint Peter and the other apostles are described as being prosecuted by the Sanhedrin for continuing to preach the Gospel, despite the Jewish authorities having previously prohibited it; the passage describes Gamaliel as presenting an argument against killing the apostles, reminding the Sanhedrin about previous revolts, which had been based on beliefs that individuals such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee were the prophesied messiah, and which had collapsed quickly after the deaths of those individuals. According to Acts, his authority with his contemporaries was so great that they accepted his advice, regardless of how unwelcome it was; Gamaliel's concluding argument to them had been that: if [the Gospel] be of men, it will come to naught, but if it be of God, ye will not be able to overthrow it; lest perhaps ye be found even to fight against God. The Book of Acts later goes on to describe Paul of Tarsus recounting that he was educated at the feet of Gamaliel about Jewish religious law, although no details are given about which teachings Paul adopted from Gamaliel - and hence how much Gamaliel influenced aspects of Christianity. However, there is no other record of Gamaliel ever having taught in public, although the Talmud does describe Gamaliel as teaching a student who displayed impudence in learning, which a few scholars identify as a possible reference to Paul. Helmut Koester, Professor of Divinity and of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University, is doubtful that Paul studied under this famous rabbi, arguing that there is a marked contrast in the tolerance that Gamaliel is said to have expressed about Christianity, in contrast to the "murderous rage" against Christians that Paul is described as having prior to his conversion. [link]

THE APOSTLE PAUL - WHEN PAUL BECAME A CHRISTIAN, HIS VERY THOROUGH [JEWISH] EDUCATION WAS ENORMOUSLY HELPFUL - HE WAS ABLE TO ASSIMILATE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES RAPIDLY AND RELATE THEM ACCURATELY TO THE SCRIPTURE TEACHING HE HAD RECEIVED - FROM HIS EDUCATION, BOTH FROM GAMALIEL AND IN THE DESERT [SAUDI ARABIA] FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, PAUL DEVELOPED A DIVINE VIEWPOINT ATTITUDE TOWARD HUMAN HISTORY - *PAUL KNEW THAT THE EXISTENCE OF GOD [BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SINCE PENTECOST] CAN EASILY BE PERCEIVED BY ANYONE, *THAT MAN CAN BECOME AWARE OF GOD, *BUT THAT MANY MEN'S DELIBERATE SIN HALTED THIS GOOD BEGINNING [AFTER BECOMING AWARE OF GOD] BY [CONTINUED] IMMORAL ACTIVITIES WHICH ACCOMPANIED THEIR [PAST] IDOLATRY The Apostle Paul - The apostle Paul was one of the most famous citizens of the Roman Empire and without question one of the most influential individuals in history. He was used by the Lord in his missionary and evangelistic activities to set in motion a great deal of the organization known as the Christian Church, the Body of Christ on earth, to the extent that billions of human beings have been directly or indirectly affected by his ministry. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the foundation documents for the Christian way of life, the Word of God which has changed the lives of millions. -- Paul's Education: Paul was educated by his mother until the age of five. From age five to ten he studied with his father in the Hebrew scriptures and traditional writings. At the same time, being a Roman citizen and living in a Greek and Roman environment, he received a thorough education in the Greek language, history, and culture. He was sent to Jerusalem at about the age of ten to attend the rabbinical school of Gamaliel, who was the son of Simeon the son of Hillel. Gamaliel was a most eminent rabbi who was mentioned both in the Talmud and in the New Testament (Acts 5:24-40; 22:3). Gamaliel was called Rabban - one of only seven teachers so called. He was a Pharisee, but he rose above party prejudice. He composed a prayer against the Christian "heretics". He lived and died a Jew. At this time, Herod was dead, and the Romans had complete control of Judea, hence, there was Roman money, language, and culture. The Jews, therefore, were inclined to cling more closely to their religion as the center of unity. [Refer to the topic: Judean History] There were two great rabbinical schools, those of Hillel and Schammai. Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel, held that tradition was superior to the Law. The school of Schammai despised traditionalists, especially when there teachings clashed with the writings of Moses. The religious school of Gamaliel (Hillel) was chiefly oral and usually

had a prejudice against any book but Scripture. They used a system of Scriptural exegesis, and Josephus in his writings expressed the wish to have such a power of exegesis. When school was in session, learned men met and discussed scriptures, gave various interpretations, suggested illustrations, and quoted precedents. The students were encouraged to question, doubt, even contradict. -- When Paul became a Christian, his very thorough education was enormously helpful. He was able to assimilate Christian doctrines rapidly and relate them accurately to the Scripture teaching he had received. From his education, both from Gamaliel and in the desert from the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul developed a divine viewpoint attitude toward human history. Paul knew that the existence of God can easily be perceived by anyone, that man can become aware of God, but that many men's deliberate sin halted this good beginning by immoral activities which accompanied their idolatry. Therefore, Paul had an intense hatred of idolatry of any kind. Paul's teaching shows that the only reality is God. Idolatry distorts man's conception of the world and external nature. Idolatry is the enemy of mankind. Paul knew the law of growth of human nature. As a Roman, Tarsian, Hebrew, and culturally Greek, he knew of the many distortions of the life of his society. As a nation becomes unhealthy, development is halted. Societies errors as to the nature of God and the true relation of God to man prevented nations from getting rid of their besetting evil. The books of Acts is the chief authoritative record for the ministries of Paul and the other apostles. For a brief outline of Paul's ministry, see the Chronological Table of Paul's Ministry. The most thorough, accurate, and interesting secular work on Paul is The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, by Conybeare and Howson. [link]

JEWISHENCYCLOPEDIA.COM - GAMALIEL I: SON OF SIMON AND GRANDSON OF HILLEL: ACCORDING TO A TANNAITIC TRADITION (SHAB.15A), HE [GAMALIEL] WAS THEIR SUCCESSOR AS NASI AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE GREAT SANHEDRIN OF JERUSALEM - THE APOSTLE PAUL PRIDES HIMSELF ON HAVING SAT AT THE FEET OF GAMALIEL His Correspondence: Son of Simon and grandson of Hillel: according to a tannaitic tradition (Shab.15a), he was their successor as nasi and first president of the Great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. Although the reliability of this tradition, especially as regards the title of "nasi," has been justly disputed, it is nevertheless a fact beyond all doubt that in the second third of the first century Gamaliel (of whose father, Simon, nothing beyond his name is known) occupied a leading position in the highest court, the great council of Jerusalem, and that, as a member of that court, he received the cognomen "Ha-Zaen." Like his grandfather, Hillel, he was the originator of many legal ordinances with a view to the "tiun ha-'olam" (= "improvement of the world": Gi. iv. 1-3; comp. also Yeb. xvi. 7; R. H. ii. 5). Gamaliel appears as the head of the legal-religious body in the three epistles which he at one time dictated to the secretary Johanan (account of Judah b. 'Illai: Tosef., Sanh. ii. 6; Sanh. 11b; Yer. Sanh. 18d; Yer. Ma'as. Sh. 56c). Two of these letters went to the inhabitants of Galilee and of the Darom (southern Palestine), and had reference to the tithes; the third letter was written for the Jews of the Diaspora, and gave notice of an intercalary month which Gamaliel and his colleagues had decided upon. That part of the Temple territory-a "stairway of the Temple mount"-where Gamaliel dictated these letters is also the place where he once ordered the removal of a Targum to Job-the oldest written Targum of which anything is known (report of an eye-witness to Gamaliel II., grandson of Gamaliel I.: Tosef., Shab. xiii. 2; Shab. 115a; Yer. Shab. 15a). -- His Relative Position: Gamaliel appears also as a prominent member of the Sanhedrin in the account given in Acts (v. 34 et seq.), where he is called a "Pharisee" and a "doctor of the law "much honored by the people. He is there made to speak in favor of the disciples of Jesus, who were threatened with death (v. 38-39): "For if this counselor this work be of men, it will come to naught: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it." He is also shown to be a legal-religious authority by the two anecdotes (Pes. 88b) in which "the king and the queen" (Agrippa I. and his wife Kypris; according to B端chler, "Das Synhedrion in Jerusalem," p. 129, Agrippa II. and his sister Berenice) go to him with questions about the ritual. Tradition does not represent Gamaliel as learned in the Scriptures, nor as a teacher, because the school of Hillel, whose head he undoubtedly was, always appears collectively in its controversies with the school of Shammai, and the individual scholars and their opinions are not mentioned. Hence Gamaliel is omitted in the chain of tradition as given in the Mishnah (Abot i., ii.), while Johanan b. Zakkai is mentioned as the next one who continued the tradition after Hillel and Shammai. Gamaliel's name is seldom mentioned in halakic tradition. The tradition that illustrates the importance of Johanan b. Zakkai with the words, "When lie died the glory of wisdom [scholarship] ceased," characterizes also the importance of Gamaliel I. by saying: "When he died the honor [outward respect] of the Torah ceased, and purity and piety became extinct" (Soah xv: 18). -- His Classification of His Pupils: Gamaliel, as it appears, did most toward establish-. ing the honor in which the house of Hillel was held, and which secured to it a preeminent position within Palestinian Judaism soon after the destruction of the- Temple. The title "Rabban," which, in the learned hierarchy until postHadrianic times, was borne only by presidents of the highest religious council, was. first prefixed to the name of

Gamaliel. That Gamaliel ever taught in public is known, curiously enough, only from the Acts of the Apostles, where (xxii. 3) the apostle Paul prides himself on having sat at the feet of Gamaliel. [link]

ACTS 6 - THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND CHURCH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM LEARN TO HANDLE THE CONTINUAL CONTROVERSIES AND CONFLICTS THAT ARISE BOTH FROM WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND FROM OUTSIDE THE CHURCH -- 'ACTS 6:1-7 AND IN THOSE [EARLY CHURCH IN JERUSALEM] DAYS, WHEN THE NUMBER OF THE DISCIPLES WAS MULTIPLIED, THERE AROSE A MURMURING OF THE GRECIANS [GREEK JEWS] AGAINST THE HEBREWS [ISRAEL JEWS], BECAUSE THEIR WIDOWS WERE NEGLECTED [NOT ON THE LIST] IN THE DAILY [FOOD GIVING] MINISTRATION. THEN THE TWELVE [THE ELEVEN PLUS MATTHIAS THE (TEMPORARY) REPLACEMENT FOR JUDAS PAUL IN ALL LIKELINESS BECAME THE TWELFTH APOSTLE PERMANENTLY REPLACING JUDAS] CALLED THE MULTITUDE OF THE DISCIPLES UNTO THEM, AND SAID, IT IS NOT REASON THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE THE [STUDY AND PREACHING] WORD OF GOD, AND SERVE TABLES [DISTRIBUTE FOOD]. WHEREFORE, BRETHREN, LOOK YE OUT AMONG YOU SEVEN MEN OF HONEST REPORT, FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST AND WISDOM, WHOM WE MAY APPOINT OVER THIS [CHARITY] BUSINESS. BUT WE [LEADERS] WILL GIVE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER, AND TO THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD [BIBLE]. AND THE SAYING PLEASED THE WHOLE MULTITUDE: AND THEY CHOSE STEPHEN, A MAN FULL OF FAITH AND OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND PHILIP, AND PROCHORUS, AND NICANOR, AND TIMON, AND PARMENAS, AND NICOLAS A [GREEK - JEWISH CONVERT] PROSELYTE OF ANTIOCH: WHOM THEY SET BEFORE THE APOSTLES: AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, THEY LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM. AND THE WORD OF GOD INCREASED; AND THE NUMBER OF THE DISCIPLES MULTIPLIED IN JERUSALEM GREATLY; AND A GREAT COMPANY OF THE [LEVITICAL TEMPLE] PRIESTS WERE OBEDIENT [CONVERTS] TO THE [CHRISTIAN] FAITH. - NOTE: THE GRECIAN CHRISTIANS ISSUED THE COMPLAINT AND THE EARLY CHURCH (PRIMARILY HEBREW) RESPONDED NOT IN A COMPROMISE BUT BY SELECTING ALL SEVEN OF THE APPOINTED CHARITY WORKERS FROM THE GRECIAN GROUP. THE GREEK [GREECE THE 5TH KINGDOM OF THE WORLD - REVELATION 17:10] NATION RULED OVER ISRAEL FOR ABOUT 200 YEARS [336 B.C. - 149 B.C.] BEFORE ROME BEGAN TO RULE OVER ISRAEL AND THE GREEK CULTURE WAS DEEPLY IMPLANTED INTO JEWISH SOCIETY IN ISRAEL.' Acts 6:8-15 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain [Greek - Helenistic Jews] of the Synagogue, which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the [Holy] Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him [Stephen], and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this Holy place [Temple], and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place [Temple], and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, *looking stedfastly on him, saw [observed] his face [with the presence of the Holy Spirit upon him] as it had been the face of an angel [in the very presence of God]. - Stephen living enough in the presence of God to become loving enough to witness to the people around him becomes bold enough to die for the Christian faith and becomes the first Christian martyr.

ACTS 7 - STEPHEN UNDER ARREST FOR BLASPHEMY AND ON TRIAL FOR HIS LIFE IN JERUSALEM - STEPHEN USES AS HIS DEFENSE THE KNOWN FACT THAT NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PROPHET OF IMPORTANCE TO ISRAEL THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL HAVE FIRST REJECTED THE TRUE PROPHET BEFORE THEY ULTIMATELY ACCEPTED THEM AND THEIR MINISTRY AS BEING OF GOD STEPHEN IS SAYING THAT JESUS WAS OBVIOUSLY GOD IN THE FLESH THOUGH MANY PEOPLE REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT BUT THEN REJECTING THE TRUE PROPHETS OF GOD IS THE TRACK RECORD OF MANKIND WHEN IT COMES TO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MAN AND GOD - MANKIND HAS A PROPENSITY TO REJECT THE TRUE INTERACTION WITH GOD WHILE AT THE SAME TIME EMBRACE THE FALSE PROPHETS OF THE WORLD -- 'ACTS 7:52-53 WHICH OF THE [TRUE] PROPHETS HAVE NOT YOUR FATHERS PERSECUTED? AND THEY HAVE SLAIN THEM [TRUE PROPHETS] WHICH SHEWED BEFORE [PROPHESIED] OF THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE [JESUS CHRIST]; OF WHOM YE HAVE BEEN NOW THE BETRAYERS AND MURDERERS [THEIR JEWISH FOREFATHERS PUT TO DEATH THE TRUE PROPHETS BUT THEY MANAGED TO GO A STEP FURTHER AND PUT TO DEATH THE MESSIAH, JESUS THE ONE PROPHESIED ABOUT]: WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE LAW [THE IMAGE OF JESUS] BY THE DISPOSITION OF ANGELS, AND HAVE NOT KEPT IT [BECAUSE THE LAW REVEALED THE NATURE OF JESUS].'

Acts 7:52-60 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One [Messiah]; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law [Divinely] by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart [enraged in their soul], and they gnashed on him with their teeth. *But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, *looked up stedfastly *into heaven, *and saw the glory of God, *and Jesus *standing [Jesus is standing as the Melchizedek High Priest ready to receive into Heaven the acceptable offering of the sacrifice and life of Stephen] on the right hand of God, And said, **Behold, I see the Heavens opened, and the Son of Man [Jesus] standing on the right hand of God [Father]. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city [outside the city limits, probably at the dump], and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul [later the Apostle Paul] {Note: Saul (the Apostle Paul) although perfectly within his rights did not throw a stone himself - Paul was not the violent aggressor that the secular world wants to portray}. And they [not Saul] stoned Stephen, ***calling upon God, and **saying [as Jesus said from His cross (Luke 23:46)], Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. *And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge [as Jesus had said from His cross (Luke 23:34)]. And when he had said this, he fell asleep [to the Christian death is as harmless as sleep and often in the Bible death is referred to simply as a [harmless] sleep for those who are saved and will awake in Heaven]. - Note: Normally in the Bible Jesus is represented as seated [enthroned]at the right hand of the Father Matthew 26:64)however Stephen describes Jesus as standing - standing is a part of the office of the High Priest sitting is a part of the office of the King. Jesus preforms all three offices of God as King of the Universe, High Priest [Melchizedek] and True Prophet. The Christian Stephen lived his life with Jesus as his example, he preached his life with Jesus as his example and in his death (sleep) he departed with Jesus as his example and as such Stephen saw Jesus standing in Heaven and was received directly into Heaven receiving what the Apostle Paul would call the martyrs death the "better resurrection" (Hebrews 11:35).

WIKIPEDIA.ORG - ST. STEPHEN'S DAY [DECEMBER 26TH]: COMMEMORATES SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR

St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian Saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on January 9 according to the Gregorian calendar used in secular (and Western) contexts. It commemorates St Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr. -- Protomartyr (Greek "first" + "martyr") is a term for the first Christian martyr in a country. Alternatively, the phrase the Protomartyr (with no other qualification of country or region) can mean Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church. -- See also: Boxing Day [day after Christiams] - The name derives from the English tradition giving seasonal gifts (in the form of a "Christmas box") to less wealthy people. In the United Kingdom this was later extended to various workpeople such as laborers, servants, tradespeople and postal workers. ... Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day. Unlike St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday and is not always on 26 December: the public holiday is generally moved to the following Monday if 26 December is a Saturday. If 25 December is a Saturday then both the Monday and Tuesday may be public holidays. However the date of observance of Boxing Day varies between countries. In Ireland - when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the UK's Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St Stephen as a nonmoveable public holiday on 26 December. Since Partition, the name "Boxing Day" is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland (which remained part of the United Kingdom). Their Boxing Day is a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the United Kingdom. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the Australian state of South Australia, 26 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day. -- Calendar: In the countries that observe this holiday, 26 December is commonly referred to both as Boxing Day and as St. Stephen's Day, no matter what day of the week it occurs. However, in some countries, holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are observed on the next weekday. Boxing Day cannot be on a Sunday, that day being the officially recognized day of worship, so traditionally it was the next working day of the week following Christmas Day, (i.e. any day from Monday to Saturday). In recent times this tradition has been either forgotten or ignored. Most people consider 26 December to be Boxing Day even when it falls on a Sunday. The last year 26 December was called Christmas Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada was 1993. The next time the date fell on a Sunday (1999), it was known as Boxing Day. If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, then Monday 28 December is declared a bank or public holiday. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a

statutory holiday that is always celebrated on 26 December. As with most statutory holidays in Canada, if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week. If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday then Christmas Day would be on a Saturday, so in countries where these are both bank or public holiday, the Statutory Holiday for Christmas is moved to Monday December 27 and the Statutory Holiday for Boxing Day is moved to Tuesday December 28. If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, then Boxing Day is on Monday 26 December, and no Royal Proclamation is required. In such a circumstance, a 'substitute bank holiday in the place of Christmas Day' is declared for Tuesday 27 December, so the Boxing Day holiday occurs before the substitute Christmas holiday. [link]

ACTS 8 - THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BEGINS TO EXPERIENCE WIDE SCALE OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION -- 'ACTS 8:1-3 AND SAUL [LATER THE APOSTLE PAUL] WAS CONSENTING UNTO HIS [STEPHEN'S] DEATH. *AND AT THAT TIME THERE WAS A GREAT PERSECUTION AGAINST THE CHURCH WHICH WAS AT JERUSALEM; AND THEY [CHRISTIANS - DISCIPLES] WERE ALL SCATTERED ABROAD THROUGHOUT THE REGIONS OF JUDAEA AND SAMARIA, *EXCEPT THE APOSTLES [APOSTLE MEANS 'SENT OUT' AT THIS POINT IN THE CHURCH THE DISCIPLES BASICALLY FLED WHILE THE APOSTLES REMAINED CALM]. AND DEVOUT MEN CARRIED STEPHEN TO HIS BURIAL, AND MADE GREAT LAMENTATION OVER HIM. AS FOR SAUL, HE MADE HAVOCK OF THE CHURCH, ENTERING INTO EVERY HOUSE, AND HALING MEN AND WOMEN COMMITTED THEM TO *PRISON [EARLY CHRISTIANS IN JERUSALEM WERE PRIMARILY SENT TO PRISON FOR A SHORT TIME].' Acts 8:4-25 Therefore they [Christian - Disciples] that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the [Gospel] Word. Then Philip [one of the seven servants as was Stephen] went down to the city of Samaria [ancient capital of Northern Israel], and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon [the Sourcer - Warlock], which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. *But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, *they were baptized, both men and women. *Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God [but not yet the actual Kingdom of God], they sent unto them *Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost [Jesus instructed that the Christian Church would expand orderly and with the participation of Peter (Matthew 16:17-19) the leading Apostle]: For as yet He [Holy Spirit] was fallen upon none of them [Pentecost empowerment]: only they were baptized [Firstfruits] in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they [Peter, John] their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost [i.e. the 2nd Pentecost of the Church "Samaritans" - with the 3rd Pentecost household of Cornelius (Acts 10) Romans-Gentiles yet to come]. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given {actually a new mission field was opened up}, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. **But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee [Peter did not consider Simon the Sourcer to be saved], because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. *Thou [unsaved] hast neither part nor lot in this matter: *for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. *Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. *For I perceive [discern] that thou art in the gall of bitterness [against Jews and Christians], and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon [unwilling to go to God himself], and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Gospel in many villages [in the now open mission field] of the Samaritans. - The spread of Christianity being a work of God ordained in the Holy Spirit was spread only through the opening of opportunities by the Holy Spirit.

ACTS 9 - THE PHARISEE SAUL OF TARSUS WHILE TRAVELING THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS EXPERIENCES A DIVINE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH AND INSTANTLY CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY EVENTUALLY BECOMING THE APOSTLE PAUL THE PERMANENT 12TH APOSTLE (REPLACING JUDAS), THE LEADER AND HUMAN STANDARD FOR PUTTING FORTH CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

HOLY BIBLE'S NEW TESTAMENT -- 'ACTS 9:1-4 AND SAUL, YET BREATHING OUT THREATENINGS AND SLAUGHTER AGAINST THE [CHRISTIAN] DISCIPLES OF THE LORD, WENT UNTO THE HIGH PRIEST, AND DESIRED OF HIM LETTERS [OF AUTHORITY] TO DAMASCUS TO THE SYNAGOGUES, THAT IF HE FOUND ANY OF THIS WAY [CHRISTIANITY], WHETHER THEY WERE MEN OR WOMEN, HE MIGHT BRING THEM BOUND UNTO JERUSALEM. *AND AS HE JOURNEYED, HE CAME NEAR DAMASCUS: *AND SUDDENLY THERE SHINED ROUND ABOUT HIM *A LIGHT FROM HEAVEN: AND HE FELL TO THE EARTH, AND HEARD A VOICE SAYING UNTO HIM, SAUL, SAUL, WHY PERSECUTEST THOU ME?' AND THE WRITER OF THE MAJORITY OF THE

Acts 9:5-22 And he [Saul] said, ***Who [Father, Son Jesus or Holy Spirit] art thou, Lord? *And the Lord said, *I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks [the prodding of God to become a Christian]. And *he trembling and astonished *said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice [but unable to hear the words (Acts 22:9)], but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. *And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And *there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord [Jesus] in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord [Jesus]. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive [through confirmation] his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy Saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy Name. *But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: *for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My Name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house [of Judas]; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. *And immediately there fell from his eyes [Jewish blindness (Romans 11:7)] as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, *and arose, *and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. *And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, *that He [Jesus] is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this Name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the Chief Priests? But Saul increased the more in strength [Holy Spirit empowerment], and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving [Biblically] that this [Jesus] is very Christ. - Saul of Tarsus had a Divine encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ and instantly Saul rejected his past and embraced his future realizing the high calling on his life in Jesus Christ. Note: Saul of Tarsus heard the voice of God from Heaven and in one of the great moments of mankind proclaimed "Who art thou, Lord?" Saul knew instantly that God was speaking to Him and he knew just as instantly that God consisted of the Father, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit just as all of the Christian Disciples had been claiming and teaching all along. Saul of Tarsus [later the Apostle Paul] grasped and seized his moment of destiny with God in the same way that other great men of God had been able to grasp the enormity of their encounter with the living God of Heaven and earth. Saul understood his moment with God just as much as Abraham understood his moment with God when Abraham on the Mount of Sacrifice (Genesis 22:8-14) declared "Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together ... And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the Mount of the LORD it shall be seen." King David understanding the greatness of his Divine moment with God at the Holy entrance of God into His Holy city Jerusalem King David worshiped God not as a King of men but simply as a man of God stripped naked and worshiping in the presence of the Holy God of Israel (2 Samuel 6:14). The Prophet Isaiah grasping the moment (Isaiah 37:14-35) that both the city of Jerusalem and the Temple of God were about to be conquered by the invading Assyrian army, Isaiah rushed into the Temple of God and among the Holy Scrolls spread the letter of defeat before God in the Temple and in a prayer of intercession saved the city of Jerusalem, the Temple and the people of God from the impending attack. The Apostle Peter seized his moment of Divine destiny and Preached to the gathered crowd at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). Saul of Tarsus after hearing the voice of God would rise from the ground and without any disputing or questioning of God's providence and unlike Moses (Exodus 4:10), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:9) the new convert Saul would immediately set his life to fulfill God's calling on his life and with his life as a living sacrifice to God [God the Father, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit] Saul became Paul the Apostle and fulfilled one of the greatest destinies presented by God to a worshiping mankind.

ACTS 10 - ACTS CHAPTER 10 - THE BIRTH OF THE GENTILE CHRISTIAN CHURCH -- 'ACTS 10:1-7 THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN IN CAESAREA CALLED CORNELIUS, A CENTURION [SOLDIER - COMPANY COMMANDER] OF THE BAND [UNIT] CALLED THE ITALIAN BAND, A DEVOUT [GENTILE] MAN, AND ONE THAT FEARED GOD WITH ALL HIS HOUSE, WHICH GAVE MUCH ALMS TO THE [JEWISH AND GENTILE] PEOPLE, AND PRAYED TO GOD ALWAY. HE SAW IN A VISION EVIDENTLY ABOUT THE NINTH HOUR [3:00 PM] OF THE DAY AN ANGEL OF GOD COMING IN TO HIM, AND SAYING UNTO HIM, CORNELIUS. AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM, HE WAS AFRAID, AND SAID, WHAT IS IT, LORD? AND HE [ANGEL] SAID UNTO HIM, *THY PRAYERS AND THINE ALMS [GIVING] ARE COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL [ETERNAL REMEMBRANCE] BEFORE GOD. AND NOW SEND MEN TO JOPPA, AND CALL FOR ONE SIMON, WHOSE SURNAME IS [APOSTLE] PETER HE LODGETH WITH ONE SIMON A TANNER, WHOSE HOUSE IS BY THE SEA SIDE: HE [PETER] SHALL [OPEN THE DOORS FOR THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO NOW RECEIVE GENTILE MEMBERS] TELL THEE WHAT THOU OUGHTEST TO DO. ...' Acts 10:7-48 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour ... And the voice [of God] spake unto him [Peter] again the second time, *What God hath cleansed [with His blood on the cross], that call not thou common [unclean]. ... Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. ... Now therefore are we all here present [back at the house of Cornelious in Caesarea] before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee [Peter] of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons [Jew or Gentile]: But **in every Nation he that feareth Him [God], and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The word which God sent unto the Children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all: That Word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea [Israel], and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; *How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. **And we are witnesses of all things which He [Jesus] did both in the land of the Jews, and in [Holy Week] Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed Him openly [visibly]; ***Not to all the people [only Christians (Firstfruits) those haven received the born again' Spirit of Jesus witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus], but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us [Apostles], who did eat and drink [feasting] with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick [living] and dead. To Him give all the prophets witness, that *through His Name *whosoever believeth in Him *shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, ***the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word [the 3rd and final ethnic Pentecost globally opening the Christian Church to Gentiles]. And they of the circumcision [Jewish Christians] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid [Baptism] water, that these should not be Baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? *And he commanded them to be Baptized in the Name of the Lord [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit]. Then *prayed [communicated] they him to tarry certain days. - Note: By this time in history with the move of the Holy Spirit to allow Gentiles into the Christian this is about 48 A.D. with the cross, resurrection and Pentecost occurring in about 33 A.D. the Christian Church has been firmly established and is about 15 years old when Gentiles are brought into Christian Fellowship with God. The as a result of Gentiles coming directly into the Christian Church in about 51 A.D. the Christian Church will have its first council the Council of Jerusalem to decide the validity and positioning of Gentiles in the already well-established Christian Church. The decision will be that Gentiles who have also been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ are to be welcomed into the Christian Church as full and equal members in the one universal Church body of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

ACTS 11 - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN JERUSALEM IS TOLD BY PETER THAT HE WAS INSTRUCTED BY GOD TO GO TO CAESAREA TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES AND THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD DESCENDED UPON THE GENTILES AND THAT NOW THROUGH THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD THE GENTILES ARE CONVERTING FROM PAGANISM AND ARE NOW ENTERING INTO THEIR TRUE CHURCH OF GOD --

'ACTS 11:1-4 AND THE APOSTLES AND BRETHREN [DISCIPLES] THAT WERE IN JUDAEA [ISRAEL - JERUSALEM] HEARD THAT THE GENTILES HAD ALSO RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD. AND WHEN PETER WAS COME UP TO JERUSALEM, THEY THAT WERE OF THE CIRCUMCISION [JEWISH CHRISTIANS] CONTENDED [ARGUED] WITH HIM, SAYING, THOU WENTEST IN TO MEN UNCIRCUMCISED, AND DIDST EAT [FELLOWSHIP] WITH THEM. BUT PETER REHEARSED THE MATTER [HOW IT WAS INTENDED BY GOD] FROM THE BEGINNING, AND EXPOUNDED IT BY ORDER UNTO THEM, SAYING, ...' Acts 11:19-30 Now they [Jewish Christians] which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians [Gentiles], preaching the Lord Jesus. *And the hand of the Lord was [also] with them: and a great number [of Gentiles] believed, and turned unto the Lord [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit]. Then tidings [news] of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas [Mark's Uncle - Gospel of Mark], that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, *and had seen the Grace of God [among the Gentiles], *was glad, and **exhorted [encouraged] them all [Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians], that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit]. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. *Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul [Apostle Paul]: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that *a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and *taught much people. *And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. *And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth [famine] throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of [Roman Emperor] Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea [Israel]: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. - The early Christian Church exercised great diversity in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Every person within the congregation participated and contributed in some acceptable form or fashion. Barnabas encouraged the people, Saul (Paul) taught the people, others as watchmen prophesied coming events while everyone contributed to the welfare of the grater Christian Church mainly at that time in Jerusalem. - Note: The book of Acts mentions several local prophets and prophecies that at local in scope, composed mainly of events of concern to that day, location or situation. The Book of Acts in regards to Church prophecy seems to be recording a transition the transition from the Old Testament Office of Prophet [given to only a select few] for example Isaiah to the New Testament Gift of Prophecy [given and available at times to every Christian] for example Agabus and the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9).

Acts 11 (Part 2) The early Christian Church in Jerusalem The early Christian Church in Jerusalem was an important witness and an important part of all the things that Jesus did and taught in His earthly Ministry especially regarding the events of Holy Week including the cross, resurrection and 40 days later the Ascension of Jesus back into Heaven from Mount Olivet (near Jerusalem). However the early Church leaders in Jerusalem actually seemed early on to begin to hinder the broader plans and purposes of God that He has for His entire bride of Jesus Christ the Christian Church. The Christian Church in Jerusalem suffered a disproportionate amount of hardships compared to other early Christian Churches including several rather sever famines and eventually in 70 A.D. with the rest of Jerusalem the Christian Church in Jerusalem [what was left of it] ceased to exist and now for almost 2,000 years of Christian Church history there has been no Jerusalem centered leadership for the Christian Church a function that for all practical purposes has emanated from Rome and Catholicism. The Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:5) reveals how Jesus is determined to remove His presence from individual Churches and denominations that cease to be a work of God and instead become a humanistic work of man [glorifying pastors] much as the functioning of the Church in Jerusalem appeared to be. Today in modern Christianity we have a very similar set of circumstances in the Evangelical Church where the leaders, pastors, teachers and organizations of Evangelical Christianity have ceased [or have severely curtailed] to represent God and are now more inclined to represent the agendas and councils of men and as a result the modern broad-based current Evangelical system seems to have come under the judgment of God. This immediately brings up two important points. 1. We as individual Christians do not want to be trapped into a judgment that is upon an unfaithful segment of the Christian Church and therefore we should scatter [like the disciples from Jerusalem] from among the Evangelical establishment so as not to hinder the corrective work of God and by doing so

becoming a partaker of their justly deserved plagues. 2. It is notable that God will first judge His Church (1 Peter 4:17) before the great and terrible Revelation judgment of the entire earth and so it seems that Evangelical Christianity is being judged and removed and with a severe judgment upon the Church the global judgment of Revelation may not be far behind. [If many particularly major Evangelical ministries start collapsing and dissolving *consider that primarily it is a judgment from God and do not even consider assisting them either financially or emotionally (to enable them to remain unrepentant) in what will probably be a much lamented and very public time for them but instead come outside of a system that has become corrupted by men and worship God outside the gates of the past Evangelical-Jerusalem failed Church system. - Note: It seems that modern day Evangelical Christians are at the same place where early Jerusalem Christians found themselves just prior to 70 A.D. where they were at one time a part of something that for a moment was unique and spectacular but had failed to move along with the broad-based and determined plans of God so therefore their system was to be upended by God and being in a system that was more of men than of God many of the early disciples in Jerusalem chose to vacate the Jerusalem Church and by doing so saved themselves from much hardship [even from destruction] and were therefore much more able to continue on with their lives and the lives of their family in a much better unhindered and untangled environment and were able with pure hearts to lift up clean and simple hands in complete worship and adoration to God.

ACTS 12 - THE APOSTLE JAMES THE REPRESENTATIVE OF [AND APOSTLE TO] THE REDEEMED GROUP OF MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION IS HIMSELF MARTYRED -- 'ACTS 12:1-2 NOW ABOUT THAT TIME HEROD [ANTIPAS] THE KING [THE SON OF KING HEROD THE GREAT OF MATTHEW 2:1] STRETCHED FORTH HIS HANDS TO VEX CERTAIN OF THE CHURCH. AND HE KILLED JAMES THE BROTHER OF JOHN WITH THE SWORD.' NOTE: JESUS ONLY ALLOWED THE DISCIPLES PETER, JOHN AND JAMES [EACH REPRESENTING A DISTINCT GROUP OF REDEEMED - SAVED PEOPLE] TO WITNESS AND PARTICIPATE AT THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION (MATTHEW 17:1) AND IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE (MARK 14:33) WHILE THE OTHER DISCIPLES WERE EXCLUDED.' - PETER THE APOSTLE REPRESENTING THE JEWS (GALATIANS 2:7), THE DISCIPLE JOHN REPRESENTING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (REVELATION 4:1) AND JAMES THE APOSTLE REPRESENTING THE MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION (ACTS 12:2) - JOHN AND JAMES WERE BROTHERS AS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND THE FUTURE [PRIMARILY GENTILE] MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION (REVELATION 6:9) ARE BROTHERS (REVELATION 13:7) BUT ARE NOT THE SAME GROUP - THE 144,000 (REVELATION 7:4) JEWISH WITNESSES OF REVELATION ARE ALSO MARTYRED (REVELATION 14:1) DURING THE TRIBULATION PERIOD. The death of Herod Antipas (who put John the Baptist to death) - Herod the Tetrarch (Matthew 14:1): Acts 12:20 And Herod was highly displeased with them [the cities] of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration [speech] unto them. *And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. *And immediately the angel of the Lord smote [stricken] him [Herod], **because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and [five days later] gave up the ghost. *But the Word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul [Apostle Paul] returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry [delivering contributions], and took with them John [Mark John writer of the Gospel of Mark - nephew of Barnabas], whose surname was Mark.

JEWISH HISTORIAN JOSEPHUS (BORN: 37 AD - DIED: 100 AD) ON THE DEATH OF HEROD [ANTIPAS] (BORN: 20 BC - DIED: 39 AD) WHEN HE HAD BEEN QUITE WORN OUT BY THE PAIN IN HIS BELLY [INFECTION FROM WORMS] FOR FIVE DAYS, HE DEPARTED THIS LIFE Josephus on the Death of Herod: By Nathan Busenitz - In Acts 12:20-24, Luke records the remarkable account of the death of Herod Agrippa I (who reigned from A.D. 37-44). Below is the same event described by the historian Josephus. It's fascinating stuff. "Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea, he came to the city Caesarea. . . . . There he exhibited shows in honor of the emperor. . . . On the second day of the festival, Herod put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a truly wonderful contexture, and came into the theater early in the morning; at which time the silver of his garment was illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun's rays upon it. It shone out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror over those that looked intently upon him. At that moment, his flatterers cried out . . . that he was a god; and they added, 'Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature.' Upon this the king did

neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. But as he presently afterward looked up, he saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and he fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, 'I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept of what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.' After he said this, his pain was become violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumor went abroad that he would certainly die in a little time. But the multitude presently sat in sackcloth, with their wives and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on the ground, he could not himself forbear weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and in the seventh year of his reign." (Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 19.343-350). [link]

HEROD ANTIPAS WHO PUT JOHN THE BAPTIST TO DEATH, SON OF HEROD THE GREAT - WAS BORN: 20 BC - DIED: 39 AD - CAUSE OF DEATH: UNSPECIFIED [INFECTED WITH WORMS] Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great by the Samaritan Malthace, and full brother of Archelaus, received as his share of his father's dominions the provinces of Galilee and Peraea, with the title of tetrarch. Like his father, Antipas had a turn for architecture: he rebuilt and fortified the town of Sepphoris in Galilee; he also fortified Betharamptha in Peraea, and called it Julias after the wife of the emperor. Above all he founded the important town of Tiberias on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, with institutions of a distinctly Greek character. He reigned 4 BC to 39 AD. In the gospels he is mentioned as Herod. He it was who was called a "fox" by Christ (Luke 13:32). He is erroneously spoken of as a king in Mark 6:14. It was to him that Jesus Christ was sent by Pilate to be tried. But it is in connection with his wife Herodias that he is best known, and it was through her that his misfortunes arose. He was married first of all to a daughter of Aretas, the Arabian king; but, making the acquaintance of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip (not the tetrarch), during a visit to Rome, he was fascinated by her and arranged to marry her. Meantime his Arabian wife discovered the plan and escaped to her father, who made war on Herod, and completely defeated his army. John the Baptist condemned his marriage with Herodias, and in consequence was put to death in the way described in the gospels and in Josephus. When Herodias's brother Agrippa was appointed king by Caligula, she was determined to see her husband attain to an equal eminence, and persuaded him, though naturally of a quiet and unambitious temperament, to make the journey to Rome to crave a crown from the emperor. Agrippa, however, managed to influence Caligula against him. Antipas was deprived of his dominions and banished to Lyons, Herodias voluntarily sharing his exile. [link]

HEROD THE GREAT (MATTHEW 2:1) [FATHER OF HEROD ANTAPAS] - THIS REVISED CHRONOLOGY DATES THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM TO 43 B.C., THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE TO 32 B.C., AND HEROD'S DEATH TO 8 B.C. - SOME OF THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS REVISED CHRONOLOGY IS SUMMARIZED BELOW

Herod the great captured Jerusalem for the Romans in the first century B.C. He rebuilt the Second Temple of Jerusalem, the Temple where Christ later taught. Herod tried to kill the Christ-Child, by killing the male children 2 years of age or younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Not long before his own death, Herod put to death about forty Jews who studied at the Temple, "and that very night there was an eclipse of the moon." Biblical chronologists generally date the capture of Jerusalem by Herod to 37 B.C., the rebuilding of the Temple as beginning in 20 B.C., and Herod's death to either 4 B.C. or 1 B.C. This revised chronology dates the capture of Jerusalem to 43 B.C., the rebuilding of the Temple to 32 B.C., and Herod's death to 8 B.C. Some of the evidence for this revised chronology is summarized below. For details and references, please see chapter 12 of the book. 1. According to Josephus, the year in which Herod captured Jerusalem was both a Sabbatical year (which must include the summer before the capture of the city) and a year in which Tishri 10 fell in September. To determine the year of the capture of Jerusalem, we must take both these factors into consideration. Notice, in the Table above, that the usual date for the capture of Jerusalem is ruled out, because Tishri 10 did not fall in September in that year. So far, we have three possible dates for the capture of Jerusalem: 44 B.C.,

43 B.C. and 36 B.C. Examining the length of Herod's reign and the year of his death will help us decide between them. [link]

PONTIUS PILATE (MATTHEW 27:2) - EUSEBIUS QUOTED SOME EARLY APOCRYPHAL (THE GENERAL TERM 'APOCRYPHAL' IS USUALLY APPLIED TO THE BOOKS THAT WERE CONSIDERED BY THE CHURCH AS USEFUL, BUT NOT DIVINELY INSPIRED - WIKI.COM) ACCOUNTS WHICH HE DID NOT NAME, THAT SAID PILATE SUFFERED MISFORTUNE IN THE REIGN OF CALIGULA (AD 37-41), WAS EXILED TO GAUL (PRESENT DAY FRANCE AND BELGIUM) AND EVENTUALLY COMMITTED SUICIDE THERE IN VIENNE - THERE IS AN OLD TRADITION LINKING THE BIRTHPLACE OF PILATE WITH THE SMALL VILLAGE OF BISENTI, SAMNITE TERRITORY, IN TODAY'S ABRUZZO REGION OF CENTRAL ITALY. THERE ARE RUINS OF A ROMAN HOUSE KNOWN AS "THE HOUSE OF PILATE" - [EUSEBIUS BORN 263 AD - DIED 339 AD BECAME THE BISHOP OF CAESAREA [HOME OF CORNELIUS (48 A.D.) - ACTS 10:1], IN PALESTINE (ISRAEL), ABOUT THE YEAR 314 A.D. - WIKI.COM] Etymology of the name Pilatus: There are several possible origins for the cognomen Pilatus. A commonly accepted one is that it means "skilled with the javelin". The pilum (= javelin) was five feet of wooden shaft and two feet of tapered iron. When the point penetrated a shield, the shaft would bend and hang down, thus rendering it impossible to throw back. Another definite origin of Pilatus was the name given to a hat worn by the devotees of the Dioskouroi. The Castorian cult was well established throughout the empire and persisted well into the 5th Century AD particularly among the Dacian and Sarmatian soldiers throughout the frontiers of the empire. The name Pileatus was used as a cognomen by the descendants of Burebista of Dacia whose descendants are known to have been soldiers who were stationed in Judea, Britain, Spain, Gaul, and Germany. -- Birth, life and death in legend: Pilate's date and place of birth are unknown. An 1899 article in the New York Times references a Scottish legend that Pilate's father was an ambassador to the Caledonians and that he was born in Fortingall in Glen Lyon, Perthshire; this legend is quite common in Highland Perthshire. The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Pilate said that Pontius suggested a Samnite origin-among the Pontii-and his cognomen Pileatus, if it derived from the pileus or cap of liberty, implied that he was either descended from, or had been himself a freedman. It is also commonly believed that the name 'Pontius' implies that he was descended from Gaius Pontius, the Samnite General. One tradition relates that he married Claudia Procula, daughter of illegitimate birth to Julia, Augustus' only natural offspring and adopted by Tiberius who had previously been married to Julia. Eusebius quoted some early apocryphal accounts which he did not name, that said Pilate suffered misfortune in the reign of Caligula (AD 37-41), was exiled to Gaul and eventually committed suicide there in Vienne. There is an old tradition linking the birthplace of Pilate with the small village of Bisenti, Samnite territory, in today's Abruzzo region of Central Italy. There are ruins of a Roman house known as "The House of Pilate." [link]

ACTS 13 - THE MISSIONARY EFFORTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH PRIMARILY TO GENTILES BEGINS WITH SAUL [APOSTLE PAUL] AND BARNABAS BEING SENT OUT (APOSTLE) BY THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE FIRST OF THREE MISSIONARY TRIPS UNDERTAKEN BY THE APOSTLE PAUL AND RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF ACTS -- 'ACTS 13:1-4 NOW THERE WERE IN THE CHURCH THAT WAS AT ANTIOCH CERTAIN PROPHETS AND TEACHERS; AS BARNABAS, AND SIMEON THAT WAS CALLED NIGER, AND LUCIUS OF CYRENE, AND MANAEN [A CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF HEROD], WHICH HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP WITH HEROD THE TETRARCH, AND SAUL [APOSTLE PAUL]. ***AS THEY MINISTERED TO THE LORD [FATHER, SON JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT], AND FASTED, *THE HOLY GHOST SAID, SEPARATE ME BARNABAS AND SAUL FOR THE [MISSIONARY] WORK WHEREUNTO I HAVE CALLED THEM. AND WHEN THEY [CHURCH FELLOWSHIP] HAD FASTED AND PRAYED, AND LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM, THEY SENT THEM AWAY. SO THEY, *BEING SENT FORTH BY THE HOLY GHOST, DEPARTED UNTO SELEUCIA [IN MODERN SYRIA]; AND FROM THENCE THEY SAILED TO CYPRUS.' - NOTE: WHERE JESUS IS THE HEAD AND AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IT IS PRIMARILY THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT IS IN CHARGE OF GATHERING, ASSEMBLING AND ORCHESTRATING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH INTO BECOMING THE ONE ASSEMBLED BRIDE OF JESUS CHRIST. Acts 13:43-52 Now when the [Jewish synagogue] (redeemed - Jewish redemption) congregation was [concluded for the Saturday] broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath day [Saturday] came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said,

It was necessary that the Word of God [for salvation] should first have been spoken to you [Jews the redeemed of God]: but seeing ye put it [Salvation] from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life [here and now], lo, *we turn to the Gentiles. *For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for *salvation [eternal life] unto the ends of the earth. *And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them [evicted] out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. - Note: What is being offered to the Jews is salvation. The [observant obedient - Synagogue] Jews are already redeemed (in the presence of God) and for the redeemed Jews salvation comes *after death. Jesus is offering Salvation [eternal life] here and now. The Gentiles [us]do not have redemption as the observant Jews do, some Gentiles are (saved) in that their conscience was a witness to them that there is a God but they were saved (also after death) not directly knowing God and not being in the presence of God as the redeemed Jews are. Gentiles who become Christians receive instantly both the Redemption (without sin in the presence of God) and Salvation (eternal life). Where the Jews have Jewish redemption and eventually (after death) eternal life (Salvation) a redeemed Jew can become a Christian and then also receive Salvation already having redemption but the Gentiles coming into the Christian Church only have the option of Salvation and with Christian Salvation comes redemption.

PAUL [THE APOSTLE] HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN WHO EVER LIVED PAUL has been called the greatest Christian who ever lived. He also suffered greatly for the name of Jesus Christ. When Paul defended his calling to the Church, he defined suffering as a major proof of his spiritual office. 'I have worked much harder,' he insisted, 'been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again' (2 Corinthians 11:23). Strength in Weakness: But Paul's many trials did not deter him from living the Christian life. Neither did they restrict his preaching the gospel. To the contrary, suffering seemed to impel Paul to even greater spiritual service. The apostle Paul said something remarkable about his adversities: 'For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10). We shouldn't, however, think of Paul as bigger than life or an indestructible superman. There were times when the tremendous hardships he confronted were far beyond his human endurance. After suffering one rather malicious incident of persecution, Paul admitted he and his companions 'despaired even of life' (2 Corinthians 1:8). But Paul had faith in the living God to see him through his trial. 'On him we have set our hope,' wrote Paul, 'that he will continue to deliver us' (verse 10). But as Paul's life demonstrates, God usually delivers us out of troubles we are already in, not necessarily from troubles before they begin. Yet, as we must, Paul was able to rise above all his many afflictions. How did he do it? And how can we surmount our trials and troubles? Paul certainly didn't overcome by his own strength or will. He never took personal credit for being able to bear his painfully heavy cross. He attributed his spiritual muscle to its true source - Jesus Christ. Paul said: 'I can do everything through him who gives me strength' (Philippians 4:13). He exulted, not in his own will and courage, but in the power of Christ in him. By his example we know that we, too, have access to the same spiritual power and courage. [link]

SELEUCIA [NEAR ANTIOCH (SYRIA)] - SELEUCIA WAS THE SEAPORT FROM WHICH PAUL AND BARNABAS LEFT [FROM THE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH] WITH JOHN MARK [MARK WHO THE DEPARTED FROM THE MISSION AT PAMPHYLIA] FOR THEIR FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY (IN APPROXIMATELY 49 A.D.) (PHOTOS) Seleucus I Nicator of Syria founded Seleucia Pieria in 301 B.C. as a port for his capital in Antioch. The city became one of the "Syrian Tetrapolis," designed to promote Hellenistic culture in Syria. It was then an important political, military, and economic game piece in the Ptolemaic-Seleucid wars. In 63 B.C. Rome made Seleucia a free city and then in 70 A.D. made it the base for the imperial fleet. ... see Acts 13:4). Part of the ancient (manmade) harbor can still be seen, although it has since silted up. This harbor caused continual problems and required frequent maintenance. ... Titus' Tunnel: A stream which led into the harbor was so threatening during the flood season that the Romans built a water channel north of the city to divert it. Legionaries, sailors, and Judean prisoners provided the work for the project. Titus'

tunnel, as it is called today, cuts through the solid rock of the mountain in two places. ... Vespasian Inscription: The tunnel is dated based on two inscriptions. The inscription shown here was dedicated to Vespasian and Titus, so construction of the tunnel probably began in 70 A.D. However it was not finished until the second century. [link]

MAP OF PAUL'S FIRST [OF THREE] MISSIONARY JOURNEYS - [PAUL MADE A FOURTH DOCUMENTED TRIP - AS PRISONER IN HIS FIRST VISIT TO ROME] - THIS MAP REVEALS THE AREAS IN ASIA MINOR WHERE PAUL VISITED IN HIS FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY AROUND 48 AD (MAP - LIST OF BIBLE VERSES) This map reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary Journey's. They had been gone for a year and a half planting churches and appointing elders. They had traveled approximately 1,250 miles. When they [Paul and Barnabas] returned they reported to the Church [in Antioch and later in Jerusalem] all that had happened. [link]

ACTS 14 - THE FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY CONTINUES AND THE APOSTLES [PAUL AND BARNABAS] CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE AND TO WITNESS FIRSTHAND BOTH THE EVENTS OF MIRACULOUS CONVERSIONS TO CHRISTIANITY FROM SOME AND FROM OTHERS OUTRIGHT HOSTILE OPPOSITION AGAINST CHRISTIANITY -- 'ACTS 14:3-7 LONG TIME THEREFORE ABODE [IN THE CITY OF ICONIUM] THEY SPEAKING BOLDLY IN THE LORD, WHICH GAVE TESTIMONY UNTO THE WORD OF HIS [JESUS'] GRACE, AND GRANTED [MIRACULOUS] SIGNS AND WONDERS TO BE DONE BY THEIR HANDS. BUT THE MULTITUDE OF THE CITY WAS DIVIDED: AND PART HELD WITH THE JEWS, AND PART WITH THE APOSTLES. AND WHEN THERE WAS *AN ASSAULT MADE *BOTH OF THE *GENTILES, AND ALSO OF THE *JEWS WITH THEIR RULERS, TO USE THEM DESPITEFULLY, AND TO STONE THEM, THEY WERE AWARE OF IT, AND FLED UNTO LYSTRA AND DERBE, CITIES OF LYCAONIA, AND UNTO THE REGION THAT LIETH ROUND ABOUT: AND THERE THEY [ALSO] PREACHED THE GOSPEL.' The first Missionary Journey is successfully concluded: Acts 14:21-28 And when they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe], and had taught many, they **returned again to Lystra [where Paul was taken outside the city and stoned to death - and also where the Disciple Timothy (1st and 2nd Timothy) was from who joined Paul on the 2nd Missionary Journey], and to Iconium, and Antioch (Pisidia)[now modern central Turkey], **Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia [where Mark left them and the Missionary Journey (a journey Mark was not originally called by the Holy Spirit to be a part of) and went back to Jerusalem]. And when they had preached the Word in Perga, they went down into Attalia: And thence sailed to Antioch (Syria - now modern costal Turkey) [North of Israel - near the port of Seluecia where they originally left from], from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church [in Antioch] together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples.

ANCIENT SYRIAN ANTIOCH (MODERN ANTAKYA IN TURKEY): SEVENTEEN ANCIENT CITIES IN PRESENT DAY TURKEY WERE NAMED ANTIOCH BUT ONLY TWO ARE REMEMBERED TODAY IN A HISTORICAL SENSE - ONE IS MODERN DAY ANTAKYA (LOCATED IN ANCIENT SYRIA) AND THE OTHER IS ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA (CENTRAL TURKEY) Overview: A city of southern Turkey on the Orontes River near the Mediterranean Sea. Seventeen ancient cities in present day Turkey were named Antioch but only two are remembered today in a historical sense. One is modern day Antakya (located in ancient Syria) and the other is Antioch in Pisidia ... The plain of Antioch was occupied from the Neolithic onwards but the city itself was not founded until 300 B.C. by the Greek General Seleucus I after the death of Alexander the Great. Antioch was one of the two capitals of the Parthian Empire and was populated by indigenous groups and Greek colonists. It became a Roman city in 64 B.C. and was made the administrative capital of the Roman Province of Syria. [link]

ACTS 15 - THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL TAKES PLACE ABOUT 52 A.D. AT THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM - THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL WAS SPECIFICALLY IN REGARD TO THE MAJOR NUMBER OF GENTILES THAT WERE NOW JOINING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH DAILY [PREDOMINANTLY THROUGH MISSIONARY EFFORTS] AND WHETHER OR NOT THE GENTILES WOULD HAVE TO BE CIRCUMCISED AND OBSERVE ANY OF THE JEWISH CUSTOMS OR TAKE PART IN ANY OF THE ESTABLISHED LAWS OF MOSES -- 'ACTS 15:6 AND THE APOSTLES AND [CHURCH] ELDERS [INCLUDING JAMES THE ½ BROTHER OF JESUS] CAME TOGETHER FOR TO CONSIDER OF THIS MATTER.' Acts 15:6-22 And the Apostles and Elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing [arguing], [Apostle] Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago [Cornelius and his household at Caesarea] God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, *giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, **purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke [law of Moses] upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? **But we believe that through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jews who are Redeemed] shall be Saved, even as they [Gentiles who are now being Saved - Salvation]. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James [the ½ brother of Jesus - Church leader in Jerusalem] answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon [Apostle Peter] hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, ***to take out of them a [Christian] people for His Name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After [Gentile Christian Church] this I [Messiah] will return [2nd Coming], and will build again the Tabernacle [House Dwelling] of [the Throne of King] David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That [during the Christian Church Age] the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My Name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. ***Known unto God are all His works ***from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God [those who have the Holy Spirit]: But that we write unto them, *that they abstain from pollutions of [Gentile] idols, and from [Gentile] fornication, and from things strangled [Jewish law], and from blood [Jewish law]. **For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him [abstain from idols and fornication because it is un-Christian, abstain from unclean food and blood only if it offends the local Jewish population], being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole Church [in Jerusalem], to send chosen men of their own company to [the Church in] Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren ... - Note: The early Church recognized that God was active in calling Gentiles into His Christian Church and they also recognized that the Gentiles would have to conduct their new life in a manner consistent with Biblical Christianity and finally they concluded that it is important for Christians not to openly offend those that have remained Jewish. Also Note: All food including blood is now clean because the eternal blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed the world. Eating animal blood and probably human blood if it were obtained in a legal manner does not make a person unclean. Satan has devised a scheme that the world is unclean however it is not. It is unprofitable to do questionable things and germs and disease might be involved but if someone for example drank pig blood thinking it is an evil act the act itself is not but the intentions of their heart might be. - Some cultures eat blood foods and if the Jews are simply notified that it is a custom and not a slight on Moses then they are free to eat their blood food of course not offering any of it to a devout Jewish person because that would be terribly offensive. The 1st Church council was saying to the Gentiles to have our Christian Gentile liberties but also to be mindful and respectful of the [Redeemed] Jews who do still follow the laws of Moses. [article link]

ACTS 15 (PART 2) - CHRISTIAN CHURCH COUNCILS - ALL OF THE CHURCH COUNCILS THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE DEALT SPECIFICALLY WITH THE ISSUES OF GOD'S REDEMPTIVE AND SALVATION PLAN FOR MANKIND AND IN LIGHT OF GOD'S PLAN FOR MANKIND THE COUNCILS HAVE ALSO ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHO GOD IS TO MANKIND - A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT: PARTICIPATION IN THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY HAS BEEN GOING EXTRAORDINARILY WELL SINCE THE START OF THE STUDY AND IT CONTINUES AS ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE PROJECTS ON THE BASIC CHRISTIAN WEBSITE. I'M ENCOURAGED AND BLESSED DAILY BY THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SO ACTIVELY STUDYING THE BIBLE AND SEEKING A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN JESUS CHRIST. CONTINUE WITH PRAYER, STUDY AND FELLOWSHIP! CONTINUE THE GOOD WORK IN JESUS CHRIST!

A brief background note on the blog Bible Study and a summary of Redemption and Salvation: The Bible is about the Redemption and Salvation plan of God for mankind therefore the blog Bible Study is attempting to be about the Redemption and Salvation of mankind in examining the predetermined plan of God in Jesus Christ for mankind. Summary: Adam and his wife [later named Eve] were both a part of the original creation of God and were both created possessing Redemption [in the visible, perceivable presence of God] and Salvation [eternal life]. With the fall of Adam and Eve by disobedience to God that directly resulted in sin against God then Adam and Eve lost their Redemption and Salvation and as a result of not having Redemption and Salvation they were then unable to pass along Redemption and Salvation to any of their descendants including us at our present day. The very children of Adam and Eve were without God in any form except in the brief [redemptive] knowledge of God that their parents Adam and Eve were able tell them about from their experiences and for a few corrective and punitive [redemptive] measures from God. It seems we fail to realize how complete the sin separation was for mankind and how devastating the results were. Adam and Eve were a part of the original creation of God and then their immediate children [Cain, Abel, Seth, etc.] composed a group of individuals separated from God but were able through the instructions of their parents to follow substitutional sacrificial practices. This group highly separated from God consisting of individuals and families were known as the 'sacrificing righteous Gentiles' a group of disorganized individuals that encompassed the highly personally [self] esteemed Job and it finally the system spun completely out of control and came to an end in the folly of Balaam the last of the sacrificing Gentiles. God chose the man Abram (Abraham) and his wife Sarai (Sarah) from among the sacrificing Gentiles to become the father of the Jewish Nation of further redeemed of God. Jewish Redemption was to bring mankind through the laws, customs and representation of God into a more direct and more Redeemed presence of God [as an example for all of mankind] than any of mankind had previously been since the fall of mankind. God Redeemed the Jewish Nation of Israel through Covenants (Promises), Laws (Society), Kings (representation of God), Priests (access for the people to God), Prophets (access from God to the people) all a direct representation of the one coming Jesus Christ the Messiah of all mankind. With the now accomplished Redemption and Salvation for all mankind in the Messiah Jesus Christ the finalized Christian Salvation and Redemption provided in the Virgin birth, atoning Redemption blood and eternal Salvation resurrection life of Jesus Christ is the completed work of God among mankind however not everyone is yet at the completed Christian work of God in mankind. The work of God in convicting Gentiles [in remote areas who have not heard the Gospel] through their conscience about the Holy God and through the enormity and splendor of God's creation continues. Also the Redemption of the Jewish people and Nation of Israel continues and soon another group of Redeemed the End Time Martyred Saints of Revelation will be established and quickly joined by the Redeemed 144,000 [Jewish Firstfruits (Revelation 14:4), Jews who acknowledge Jesus and remain Jewish] Jewish Witnesses of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Then after the return of Jesus Christ and during His 1,000 year Righteous Kingdom reign here on earth there will be another group of Redeemed 'Millennial Saints' to continue to fulfill and establish the Redemption and Salvation plan of God in Jesus Christ existing for all of mankind throughout every age and into all of eternity.

THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM ACTS 15:6-31 (APPROX. 52 A.D.): WHERE WE READ OF THE FIRST GENERAL CHURCH COUNCIL - A SERIOUS QUESTION OF DOCTRINE AROSE, AND "THE APOSTLES AND THE PRESBYTERS CAME TOGETHER TO CONSIDER THIS MATTER" THE DECREE OF THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM WENT ON, THEN, TO ESTABLISH A BINDING OBLIGATION UPON ALL CHRISTIANS IN THE LOCAL CHURCHES OF ANTIOCH, SYRIA AND CILICIA: "THAT YOU ABSTAIN FROM THINGS OFFERED TO IDOLS, FROM BLOOD, FROM THINGS STRANGLED, AND FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY" (ACTS 15:29) - DID THE LOCAL CHURCHES BRISTLE AT THIS IMPOSITION OF DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE FROM THE ECCLESIASTICAL LEADERSHIP OF THE WHOLE CHURCH? NOT AT ALL, BUT RATHER THEY "REJOICED OVER ITS ENCOURAGEMENT" (ACTS 15:31) {THE 50 A.D. JERUSALEM COUNCIL DECISION WAS YES, GENTILES CAN BECOME CHRISTIANS AND THEN SIMPLE DIRECTIONS AND REMINDERS WERE GIVEN SO THAT THE NEW GENTILE CHRISTIANS WOULD NOT OFFEND GOD. THE FOOD (ABSTAIN FROM EATING BLOOD) DECISION WAS GIVEN SO THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD NOT OFFEND THE JEWS. CHRISTIANS CAN EAT ANY FOOD HOWEVER GOD IS STILL PROTECTING THE JEWS AND HE DOES NOT WANT THEM OFFENDED BY OTHERS EVEN CHRISTIANS. ACTS 15:21 FOR MOSES OF OLD TIME HATH IN EVERY CITY THEM (JEWS) THAT PREACH (LAW) HIM, BEING READ IN THE SYNAGOGUES EVERY SABBATH DAY.} The Council of Jerusalem: We may prove this quite readily by turning to Acts 15:6-31, where we read of the first General Church Council. A serious question of doctrine arose, and "the apostles and the presbyters came together to consider this matter" (Acts 15:6). After hearing the arguments and testimony of Peter, Paul and Barnabas, the leader of the Council, James [half brother of Jesus, writer of the book of James], then passed a decree with the words, "Therefore I

judge" (Acts 15:19, 'dio ego krino'). This passage describes no truly democratic process, but rather it describes submission to the judgment of a central ecclesiastical authority [an authority completely submitted to Jesus Christ]. -After receiving the judgment of James, "it pleased the apostles and presbyters together with the whole Church" (Acts 15:22: 'apostolois kai tois presbyterois syn hole ekklesia') to dispatch delegates with a letter promulgating the decree of the Council. The council then drafted a letter in the name of "the apostles and the brother-presbyters" (Acts 15:23: 'hoi apostoloi kai hoi presbyteroi adelphoi'). This phrasing, and especially the apposition of 'presbyteroi' and 'adelphoi', is quite precise in establishing the authority of the decision of the Council in the office of the ministers who serve and lead the Church, as opposed to a democratic process. -- Does the phrase "whole Church" here refer to the universal Church, or merely to the entirety of the congregation at Jerusalem. Recalling that the leadership of the Council was comprised of the apostles who were planting local churches in the Hellenistic world, delegates of the Hellenistic churches, and the presbyters of the church at Jerusalem, we can only rightly conclude that they spoke in the name of the universal Church. Indeed, the letter explicitly states that the authors speak in the authority of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28); since Paul tells us that it is by one Spirit that we were baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:13) which is Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) and over which Christ is the head (1 Eph. 1:22-23), when Luke writes in Acts 15:22 of the leadership of the whole Church assenting to the decree of James which is binding on all Gentile Christians, he is necessarily speaking of the Church in its universal or catholic sense. -- The Council then sent the letter to the local churches in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. This letter remarks that the false doctrine which the council repudiated was in fact discernibly false because "we gave no such commandments" (Acts 15:24). Hence, the Bible tells us that right doctrine is subject to the discernment of the leadership of the whole Church. The decree of the Council of Jerusalem went on, then, to establish a binding obligation upon all Christians in the local churches of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: "that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality" (Acts 15:29). Did the local churches bristle at this imposition of doctrine and practice from the ecclesiastical leadership of the whole Church? Not at all, but rather they "rejoiced over its encouragement" (Acts 15:31). Clearly, the Bible itself sets a precedent for the government of the universal Church by means of General Councils. [link]

WIKIPEDIA.ORG: FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA BY THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I IN 325 AD - THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA IS

ECUMENICAL [REPRESENTING THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH] COUNCIL OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH [THAT IS IF NEGLECTING THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM IN 52 AD] - MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, IT RESULTED IN THE FIRST UNIFORM CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, CALLED THE CREED OF NICAEA COMMONLY REGARDED TO HAVE BEEN THE FIRST

History: The purpose of a creed is to act as a yardstick of correct belief. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of a particular doctrine or set of doctrines. For that reason a creed was called in Greek a word that meant half of a broken object which, when placed together with the other half, verified the bearer's identity. The Greek word passed through Latin "symbolum" into English "symbol", which only later took on the meaning of an outward sign of something. The Nicene Creed was adopted in the face of the Arian controversy. Arius, a Libyan preacher, had declared that although Jesus Christ was divine, God had actually created him, and there was a time when he was not. This made Jesus less than the Father and contradicted the doctrine of the Trinity. Arius's teaching provoked a serious crisis. The Nicene Creed of 325 explicitly affirms the divinity of Jesus, applying to him the term "God". The 381 version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. The Athanasian Creed describes in much greater detail the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Apostles' Creed, not formulated in reaction to Arianism, makes no explicit statements about the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit, but, in the view of many who use it, the doctrine is implicit in it. [link]

NICENE CREED OF 325 A.D. - CONSTANTINOPLE CREED OF 381 A.D. First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate

and was made man; He suffered, and the third day He rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come to judge the quick (living) and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost. -- First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.) We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (eons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick (living) and the dead; *whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. [link]

4 GREAT CHURCH COUNCILS PART 1 & 2 (MP3S) {NOTE: THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM ACTS 15:6-31 (APPROX. 52 A.D.) IS THE ORIGINAL AND FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH COUNCIL. ALL OF THE LATER CHURCH COUNCILS ARE MODELED AFTER THE FIRST JERUSALEM COUNCIL.} Excellent!!! [link]

THE BIBLE AND THE CREEDS - SERMON SERIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CREEDS (MP3S) Brian Borgman is the founding pastor of Grace Community Church. He earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Biola University (La Mirada, CA), a Master of Divinity from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary (Portland, OR) and a Doctor of Ministry from Westminster Seminary (Escondido, CA). [link]

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (1662) - "I BELIEVE THERE IS NO LITURGY IN THE WORLD, EITHER IN ANCIENT OR MODERN LANGUAGE, WHICH BREATHES MORE OF A SOLID, SCRIPTURAL, RATIONAL PIETY THAN THE COMMON PRAYER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND" JOHN WESLEY (PDF) The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England (you can download it by clicking the picture to the left or the link below) is still technically the only "official" prayer book of the Church of England, the mother church (for the moment at least) of the Anglican Communion. It itself is the result of more than a century of liturgical development through a turbulent time in British history. Its literary and theological influence is immense; this alone makes it an important document. [link]

WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH (1647) - DOWNLOADABLE DOCUMENTS (DOC) The Westminster Catechism was completed in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly and continues to serve as part of the doctrinal standards of many Presbyterian churches. [link]

on doctrine, church government, and worship that have largely defined Presbyterianism down to this day. These documents included a Confession of Faith (1646), a Larger Catechism (1647), and a Shorter Catechism (1647), often collectively called "the Westminster standards." Parliamentary efforts to reconstitute the established Church of England along Presbyterian lines were soon thwarted by the rise to power of Cromwell (who favored Independency) and the expulsion of Presbyterians from Parliament in 1648, and then the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, which quickly led to the reinstitution of Episcopacy and the suppression of Puritanism. -- But things were different in Scotland. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland adopted the Confession of Faith in 1647 and the Catechisms in 1648. The Scottish Parliament ratified them in 1649 and again (after a time of political and religious strife) in 1690. The Presbyterian character of the Church of Scotland was safeguarded when Scotland and England were united under one crown in 1707. Numerous Presbyterian bodies have been formed since then, both in the United Kingdom and around the world, and they have always been constituted on the basis of the Westminster standards (although declension from them has sometimes followed). -- When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was formed in 1788, it adopted the Westminster standards, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. However, it revised chapters 20.4, 23.3, and 31.2 of the Confession, basically removing the civil magistrate (i.e., the state) from involvement in ecclesiastical matters. [link]

THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH 1648 - THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH (WCF) AND ITS RELATED DOCUMENTS ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL THE CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (MP3S) "As truly as in the cases of the Nicene and Chalcedonian formularies, the Westminster Standards mark an epoch in the history of human reflection on the truths of the gospel--an epoch in the attainment and registry of doctrinal truth; and as truly in the one case as in the other the statements they give of the truths that fall in their sphere are scientifically final. All attempts at restatement must either repeat their definitions or fall away from the purity of their conceptions or the justness of their language." (Benjamin B. Warfield, "The Significance of the Westminster Standards as a Creed," 1897). [link]

HISTORIC BAPTIST DOCUMENTS - CONFESSIONS, CATECHISMS, CREEDS Many contemporaries have a deep-seated suspicion of catechisms. In our own Baptist denomination, many would consider the words "Baptist catechism" as mutually exclusive. A popular misconception is that catechisms are used in times and places where inadequate views of conversion predominate or the fires of evangelism have long since turned to white ash. If the Bible is preached, they continue, no catechism is necessary; catechisms tend to produce mere intellectual assent where true heart religion is absent. This concern reflects a healthy interest for the experiential side of true Christianity. Concern for conversion and fervor, however, should never diminish one's commitment to the individual truths of Christianity nor the necessity of teaching them in a full and coherent manner.~An Encouragement to Use Catechisms, Tom Nettles. [link]

ACTS 16 - THE APOSTLE PAUL DEPARTS FOR HIS 2ND OF THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS - BARNABAS AND PAUL HAVE DIVIDED COMPANY SO PAUL TAKES SILAS ON HIS SECOND JOURNEY -- 'ACTS 15:35 PAUL ALSO AND BARNABAS CONTINUED IN ANTIOCH, TEACHING AND PREACHING THE WORD OF THE LORD, *WITH MANY OTHERS ALSO. AND SOME DAYS AFTER PAUL SAID UNTO BARNABAS, LET US GO AGAIN [ON A 2ND MISSIONARY JOURNEY] AND VISIT OUR BRETHREN IN EVERY CITY WHERE WE HAVE PREACHED THE WORD OF THE LORD, AND SEE HOW THEY DO. AND BARNABAS DETERMINED TO TAKE WITH THEM [MARK] JOHN, WHOSE SURNAME WAS MARK. BUT PAUL THOUGHT NOT GOOD TO TAKE HIM WITH THEM, WHO DEPARTED FROM THEM FROM PAMPHYLIA, AND WENT NOT WITH THEM TO THE WORK. *AND THE CONTENTION WAS SO SHARP BETWEEN THEM, THAT THEY DEPARTED ASUNDER [SPLIT] ONE FROM THE OTHER: AND SO BARNABAS TOOK MARK, AND SAILED UNTO CYPRUS; AND PAUL CHOSE SILAS, AND DEPARTED, BEING RECOMMENDED BY THE BRETHREN [FELLOW CHRISTIANS] UNTO THE GRACE OF GOD. AND [STARTING] HE WENT THROUGH SYRIA AND CILICIA [LOCAL EXISTING CHURCHES], CONFIRMING THE CHURCHES.'

Acts 16:1-4 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra [where Paul was stoned to death on the first trip]: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus [Timothy, 1st and 2nd Timothy], the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess [Jewish], and believed; but his father was a Greek [Gentile]: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. **Him [Timothy, Â˝ Jewish - Â˝ Gentile] would Paul have to go forth with him; *and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek [but that his mother was Jewish so Timothy should have been circumcised as an infant - Paul was trying to right a previous wrong - and most importantly Paul was trying to find a way for Christianity and Judaism to exist side by side an effort that will almost get Paul killed and will lead to his arrest and being sent to Rome]. And as they [Paul, Silas, Timothy and soon Luke (Acts 16:11)] went through the cities, *they delivered them the decrees [New Testament writings - book of James - probably Gospel of Matthew - and possibly the Didache (extra-Biblical material)] for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. ... Acts 16:5-10 And so were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of *Galatia [book of Galatians], **and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia [even though the Holy Spirit had previously directed the Apostle Peter to open up Christianity to all ethnicities there are still barriers that remain in preaching and spreading the Gospel], After they were come [diverted] to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not [again more barriers and another closed door]. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. *And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a [contact] man of Macedonia, and prayed [asked] him, saying, Come over into Macedonia [Greece], and help us. And after he had seen the vision, *immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us [the door was open] for to preach the gospel unto them. ... Acts 16:16-32 And it came to pass [in the city of Philippi, later the book (letter) of Philippians], as we went to prayer, a certain damsel [young lady] *possessed with a spirit of divination [lit. python] [knowledge of Satan's plans or intentions for people, always bondage, usually false hope and often evil - i.e. tragedy, death, illness] met us, which brought her masters much gain [money] by soothsaying [fortunetelling]: *The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation {she has the Holy Spirit of God upon here (since Pentecost - Acts 2:17) and an conflicting evil spirit inside of her}. And this did she many days [Paul took a while to assess and discern the spirits at work through and around her] {not outright confusion but a grey (foggy) area of Christianity and of the world - the events of the world and of the spiritual realm are not always just black and white and we do need to pray and to exercise and use Biblical discernment}. **But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit [of divination], I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her [stop possessing her]. And he came out the same hour [hour - with concern, patience and discernment]. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains [the evil spirit] was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates [city officials], saying, These men, being Jews [early Christianity until Rome's edict was still considered a sect of Judaism], do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner [most escape proof part of the] prison, *and made their feet fast in the stocks [wooden handcuffs]. ***And at midnight [the darkest hour] Paul and Silas *prayed, *and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great [actual] earthquake [God intervened], so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled [escaped]. *But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here [we value your life and have not fled]. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas [grateful they did not flee], And brought them out, **and said, Sirs, what must I do to be Saved? **And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house [Christianity is available to everyone, male, female, young, old, etc.]. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. - The life changing message of Christianity continues to be given to a grateful mankind!

THE DIDACHE [LIT. THE TEACHINGS] - THE DIDACHE IS ALSO CALLED THE "TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES" - IT WAS POSSIBLY WRITTEN AROUND 65 - 80 A.D. {POSSIBLY 52 A.D. ABOUT THE TIME OF THE LETTER FROM THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL IN JERUSALEM} AND IS SUPPOSED TO BE WHAT THE TWELVE APOSTLES TAUGHT TO THE GENTILES CONCERNING LIFE AND DEATH, CHURCH ORDER, FASTING, BAPTISM, PRAYER, ETC. - THERE IS DEBATE AS TO ITS AUTHENTICITY - THE WORK IS CITED BY EUSEBIUS WHO LIVED FROM 260

- 341 [A.D.] AND ATHANASIUS (293-373 A.D.) IT SEEMS TO BE REFERENCED BY ORIGEN WHO LIVED FROM 185-254 [A.D.] - IN THE DIDACHE, 16:2-3 IS QUOTED IN THE EPISTLE OF BARNABBAS IN 4:9, OR VICE VERSA - THE EPISTLE OF BARNABBAS WAS [POSSIBLY] WRITTEN IN 130-131 A.D. - THE DIDACHE IS NOT (PURELY) INSPIRED {EXTRA-BIBLICAL}, BUT IS VALUABLE AS AN EARLY CHURCH DOCUMENT

A total of 16 Chapters: CHAPTER 1 1:1 There are two paths, one of life and one of death, and the difference is great between the two paths. 1:2 Now the path of life is this -- first, thou shalt love the God who made thee, thy neighbor as thyself, and all things that thou wouldest not should be done unto thee, do not thou unto another. 1:3 And the doctrine of these maxims is as follows. Bless them that curse you, and pray for your enemies. Fast on behalf of those that persecute you; for what thank is there if ye love them that love you? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? But do ye love them that hate you, and ye will not have an enemy. 1:4 Abstain from fleshly and worldly lusts. If anyone give thee a blow on thy right cheek, turn unto him the other also, and thou shalt be perfect; if any one compel thee to go a mile, go with him two; if a man take away thy cloak, give him thy coat also; if a man take from thee what is thine, ask not for it again, for neither art thou able to do so. 1:5 Give to everyone that asketh of thee, and ask not again; for the Father wishes that from his own gifts there should be given to all. Blessed is he who giveth according to the commandment, for he is free from guilt; but woe unto him that receiveth. For if a man receive being in need, he shall be free from guilt; but he who receiveth when not in need, shall pay a penalty as to why he received and for what purpose; and when he is in tribulation he shall be examined concerning the things that he has done, and shall not depart thence until he has paid the last farthing. 1:6 For of a truth it has been said on these matters, let thy almsgiving abide in thy hands until thou knowest to whom thou hast given. CHAPTER 2 2:1 But the second commandment of the teaching is this. 2:2 Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not corrupt youth; thou shalt not commit fornication; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not use soothsaying; thou shalt not practice sorcery; thou shalt not kill a child by abortion, neither shalt thou slay it when born; thou shalt not covet the goods of thy neighbour; 2:3 thou shalt not commit perjury; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not speak evil; thou shalt not bear malice; 2:4 thou shalt not be double-minded or double-tongued, for to be double tongued is the snare of death. 2:5 Thy speech shall not be false or empty, but concerned with action. 2:6 Thou shalt not be covetous, or rapacious, or hypocritical, or malicious, or proud; thou shalt not take up an evil design against thy neighbour; 2:7 thou shalt not hate any man, but some thou shalt confute, concerning some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love beyond thine own soul. CHAPTER 3 3:1 My child, fly from everything that is evil, and from everything that is like to it. 3:2 Be not wrathful, for wrath leadeth unto slaughter; be not jealous, or contentious, or quarrelsome, for from all these things slaughter ensues. 3:3 My child, be not lustful, for lust leadeth unto fornication; be not a filthy talker; be not a lifter up of the eye, for from all these things come adulteries. 3:4 My child, be not an observer of omens, since it leadeth to idolatry, nor a user of spells, nor an astrologer, nor a travelling purifier, nor wish to see these things, for from all these things idolatry ariseth. 3:5 My child, be not a liar, for lying leadeth unto theft; be not covetous or conceited, for from all these things thefts arise. 3:6 My child, be not a murmurer, since it leadeth unto blasphemy; be not self-willed or evil-minded, for from all these things blasphemies are produced; 3:7 but be thou meek, for the meek shall inherit the earth; 3:8 be thou longsuffering, and compassionate, and harmless, and peaceable, and good, and fearing alway the words that thou hast heard. 3:9 Thou shalt not exalt thyself, neither shalt thou put boldness into thy soul. Thy soul shall not be joined unto the lofty, but thou shalt walk with the just and humble. 3:10 Accept the things that happen to thee as good, knowing that without God nothing happens. CHAPTER 4 4:1 My child, thou shalt remember both night and day him that speaketh unto thee the Word of God; thou shalt honour him as thou dost the Lord, for where the teaching of the Lord is given, there is the Lord; 4:2 thou shalt seek out day by day the favour of the saints, that thou mayest rest in their words; 4:3 thou shalt not desire schism, but shalt set at peace them that contend; thou shalt judge righteously; thou shalt not accept the person of any one to convict him of transgression; 4:4 thou shalt not doubt whether a thing shall be or not. 4:5 Be not a stretcher out of thy hand to receive, and a drawer of it back in giving. 4:6 If thou hast, give by means of thy hands a redemption for thy sins. 4:7 Thou shalt not doubt to give, neither shalt thou murmur when giving; for thou shouldest know who is the fair recompenser of the reward. 4:8 Thou shalt not turn away from him that is in need, but shalt share with thy brother in all things, and shalt not say that things are thine own; for if ye are partners in what is immortal, how much more in what is mortal? 4:9 Thou shalt not remove thine heart from thy son or from thy daughter, but from their youth shalt teach them the fear of God. 4:10 Thou shalt not command with bitterness thy servant or thy handmaid, who hope in the same God as thyself, lest they fear not in consequence the God who is over both; for he cometh not to call with respect of persons, but those whom the Spirit hath prepared. 4:11 And do ye servants submit yourselves to your masters with reverence and fear, as being the type of God. 4:12 Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy and everything that is not pleasing to God; 4:13 thou shalt not

abandon the commandments of the Lord, but shalt guard that which thou hast received, neither adding thereto nor taking therefrom; 4:14 thou shalt confess thy transgressions in the Church, and shalt not come unto prayer with an evil conscience. This is the path of life. ... [link]

ACTS 17 - THE 2ND MISSIONARY JOURNEY CONTINUES TO TAKE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST INTO FURTHER REACHES OF MANKIND -'ACTS 17:1-4 NOW WHEN THEY HAD PASSED THROUGH AMPHIPOLIS AND APOLLONIA, THEY CAME TO THESSALONICA [1ST AND 2ND THESSALONIANS], WHERE WAS A SYNAGOGUE OF THE JEWS: AND PAUL, AS HIS MANNER WAS, WENT IN UNTO THEM, AND THREE SABBATH DAYS *REASONED {NOW THE BOOK OF HEBREWS} WITH THEM OUT OF THE SCRIPTURES, OPENING AND ALLEGING, THAT CHRIST MUST NEEDS HAVE SUFFERED, AND *RISEN AGAIN FROM THE DEAD; AND THAT THIS JESUS, WHOM I PREACH UNTO YOU, IS CHRIST [MESSIAH]. AND SOME OF THEM BELIEVED ...' Paul's sermon in Athens Greece at the Mars Hill outdoor Auditorium: Acts 17:16-34 Now while Paul waited for them [Silas and Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. *Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, *and in the market daily with them [Gentiles] that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans [pleasure seekers - food, wine, music, sex, adventure, etc.], and of the Stoicks (Stoicism) [pleasure deniers - no emotions, submit the body to the mind, overcome all obstacles in life with no emotions], encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because *he [Paul] preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. *And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus [Mars' Hill], saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, **Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are *too *superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I [starting with God's creation] unto you. God that made [created] the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord [owner - authority] of Heaven and earth, **dwelleth not in temples made with hands; *Neither is worshipped with men's hands [abilities, accomplishments], as though He [God] needed anything [for His existence from man], seeing He [God] giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; **And hath made of one blood [Adam and Eve] *all Nations of men [everyone] for to dwell on all the face of the earth, *and hath determined the times [generations] before appointed, and the bounds [city, state, nation - Limits] of their habitation; [restrictions] That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel [with their conscious] after Him, and find Him, though he be not far from every one of us [God is always close]: ***For in Him [in God's created realms] we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own [Greek] poets have said, For we are also His offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit] is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. **And the times of this ignorance [before Pentecost] God winked at [allowed mankind to rebel]; ***but now [after the cross, resurrection, Pentecost] commandeth all men everywhere to repent [in the Church age]: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Son of Man] whom He hath ordained; whereof ***He hath given assurance unto all men, ***in that he hath raised [resurrection] Him [Jesus - Son of God - Son of Man] from the dead. *And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, *some mocked: and *others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. *Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed [became Christians]: *among the which was *Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named *Damaris, *and others with them.

AREOPAGUS (MARS HILL), ATHENS [GREECE] - THE AREOPAGUS OR MARS HILL IS A BARE MARBLE HILL NEXT TO THE ACROPOLIS IN ATHENS - IT IS ESPECIALLY POPULAR WITH TRAVELERS FOR ITS CONNECTIONS WITH A SPEECH MADE BY PAUL THE APOSTLE (PHOTOS) History: In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, like the Roman Senate. Like the Senate, its membership derived from those who had held high public office, in this case that of Archon. In 462 BC, Ephialtes put through reforms which deprived the Areopagus of almost all its functions except that of a murder tribunal. In classical times, the Areopagus functioned as the chief homicide court of Athens. At the foot of the Areopagus was a temple dedicated to the Erinyes, where murderers could find sanctuary. -- In the Bible: The Areopagus,

like most city-state institutions, continued to function in Roman times, and it was then that the Apostle Paul delivered his famous speech about the identity of "the Unknown God." According to the biblical account (Acts 17) ... [link]

ACTS 18 - THE EVENTFUL, FAR REACHING AND HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL 2ND MISSIONARY JOURNEY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES AS PAUL VISITS THE SEAPORT CITY OF CORINTH IN GREECE AND THEN AFTER A BRIEF VISIT TO EPHESUS [IN MODERN TURKEY] HE QUICKLY MAKES HIS WAY BACK TO THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH HOPING FIRST TO MAKE IT TO JERUSALEM IN TIME TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER [HOLY WEEK] IN JERUSALEM - AFTER A VERY SHORT VISIT IN JERUSALEM POSSIBLY DURING HOLY WEEK [IT'S NOT MENTIONED IF PAUL MADE IT IN TIME] AND THEN ON TO ANTIOCH AND AFTER SPENDING A SHORT TIME IN ANTIOCH HE SOON DEPARTED FOR HIS 3RD AND FINAL MISSIONARY JOURNEY -- 'ACTS 18:9-10 THEN [WHILE IN CORINTH] SPAKE THE LORD [JESUS] TO PAUL IN THE NIGHT BY A VISION, *BE NOT AFRAID [OF PERSECUTION], BUT SPEAK, AND HOLD NOT THY PEACE: *FOR I AM WITH THEE, AND NO MAN SHALL SET ON THEE TO HURT THEE: FOR I HAVE MUCH PEOPLE IN THIS CITY.' Acts 18:18-23 And Paul after this [put on trial before Gallio] tarried [stayed] there [at Corinth] yet a good while [longer], and then took his leave of the brethren, and [beginning to conclude the 2nd Missionary Journey] sailed thence [in the direction] into Syria [back to Antioch], *and with him Priscilla and Aquila [friends from Corinth]; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a [Nazarite] vow. And he came to [the Church in] Ephesus [in the modern day Nation of Turkey], and left them [Priscilla and Aquila] there [in Church]: but he himself entered into the Synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they [Christians] desired him to tarry [stay] longer time with them, he consented not; But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast {Passover?} that cometh in Jerusalem [now Holy Week]: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Caesarea [an ancient seaport in Turkey - not Caesarea Philippi in Israel near Mount Hermon], and gone up, and saluted the church [in Jerusalem], he went down to Antioch. [--- End of the 2nd Missionary Journey] And after he had spent some time there [Antioch], he departed [--- Start of Paul's 3rd and probably final Missionary Journey (though disputed - there might have been a fourth Missionary Journey after Paul was released from prison in Rome)], and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. - The second Missionary Journey concludes and the Apostle Paul now with a permanent passion [and even a fever] for Missionary life shortly begins another Missionary Journey.

DRIVE THRU HISTORY :: ANCIENT GREECE - A TV SERIES DVD PROMO (YOUTUBE) In the first episode Dave hops on a car ferry and ends up where you could once find the Oracle at Delphi. After some weird fun Dave looks at the origin of the Olympics, follows the conquests of Alexander the Great, and begins a look at the Apostle Paul. It's in this episode, Drive Thru History presents what is perhaps the most thorough, yet condensed, (about 15 minutes) story of Paul's missionary journeys ever produced for television. In Athens, Dave will take you to the Acropolis and the Parthenon and provides a quick lesson in Greek philosophy learning about Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. In the last episode Dave visits the ruins of ancient Corinth. He examines the decadence of the Corinthians during the Roman era. Corinth sits near an isthmus, and you will see why understanding the geography of Corinth was so important to understanding the people of Corinth. Lastly, Dave will examine the Apostle Paul's life in Corinth and his writings to the church there-writings that forever changed history. Visit the Drive Thru History Website: http://www.drivethruhistory.com. [link]

ACTS 19 - WITH THE 3RD MISSION JOURNEY THE APOSTLE PAUL MAKES MORE OF A CONCERTED EFFORT TO CLEAN UP LOOSENED DOCTRINES THAT ARE STILL AROUND, TO DEEPEN AND INSTRUCT THE DISCIPLES IN THE CORRECT CHURCH DOCTRINES OF JESUS CHRIST AND TO STRENGTHEN THE FAITH OF THE NEW LEADERS AND NEW DISCIPLES BY HAVING A FAITH BASED SOLELY ON THE LIVING RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST -- 'ACTS 19:10 AND THIS CONTINUED BY THE SPACE OF TWO YEARS; SO THAT ALL THEY WHICH DWELT IN

ASIA

HEARD THE WORD OF THE LORD JESUS, BOTH JEWS AND

GREEKS.' - 'ACTS 19:21 AFTER THESE

THINGS WERE ENDED,

PAUL

PURPOSED *IN THE SPIRIT, [THAT LATER] WHEN HE HAD PASSED THROUGH MACEDONIA AND ACHAIA [GREECE], TO GO TO JERUSALEM, SAYING, AFTER I HAVE BEEN THERE, I MUST ALSO SEE ROME.'

Acts 19:1-7 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos [a disciple from Alexandria, Egypt - he was a disciple of an early disciple of John the Baptist] was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John [the Baptist] verily baptized with the baptism of repentance [renewed heart], saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him [Jesus] which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. *When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. ... Acts 19:13-20 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the Name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed. - Other people even Jewish people were trying to use the Name of Jesus to command evil spirits however Jesus is not a Name to be thrown around like an incantation instead Jesus is the Name above every name and in His name He is to be worshiped!

ACTS 20 - BY THE 3RD MISSIONARY JOURNEY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH MUCH AS WE KNOW IT TODAY [WITH WEEKLY SUNDAY WORSHIP] WAS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED AND IN OPERATION THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE ROMAN WORLD -- 'ACTS 20:711 AND UPON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK [SUNDAY], WHEN THE DISCIPLES CAME TOGETHER TO BREAK BREAD [REGULAR CHRISTIAN CHURCH DAY], PAUL PREACHED UNTO THEM, READY TO DEPART ON THE MORROW; AND CONTINUED HIS SPEECH UNTIL MIDNIGHT. ... WHEN HE [INJURED MAN WAS HEALED] THEREFORE WAS COME UP AGAIN, AND HAD BROKEN BREAD, AND EATEN, AND [PAUL] TALKED A LONG WHILE, EVEN TILL [THE] BREAK OF DAY [SUNRISE], SO HE [PAUL THEN] DEPARTED.' Acts 20:16-38 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. And *from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the Church. *And when they were come to him, he said unto them [a farewell sermon], Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: *And how I kept back nothing [all Christian doctrines were publically taught] that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you [every doctrine], and have taught you publickly (publically), and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, **so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. *Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. **Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock [Christian Church], over the which the *Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the ***Church of God, ***which He [Jesus] ***hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous *wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His Grace, *which is able to build you up, and to give you an *inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He [Jesus] said, *It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he [Paul] had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing

most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship [to continue on his way to Jerusalem].

URBANA INVITE VIDEOS - URBANA IS INTENDED FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN MISSIONS - IT'S OUR PRAYER THAT URBANA 09 WILL BE AN EYE-OPENING, LIFE-TRANSFORMING, COMMITMENT-PRODUCING CALL TO JOIN GOD'S MISSION (VIDEO - DOWNLOADS) Urbana 09 is intended for anyone interested in missions. The target audience is college-aged women and men between the ages of 18 and 30. But every Urbana draws people from all over North America who want to learn more about global realities, current missions issues, and their place in God's mission. ... Register here at www.urbana09.org. A minimum $100 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit must accompany your registration. The remaining balance should be paid by credit card, e-check, or check by December 15, 2009. [link]

ACTS 21 - THE APOSTLE PAUL GOES ONCE AGAIN TO THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM AND ONCE AGAIN THE APOSTLE PAUL ATTEMPTS TO RECONCILE CHRISTIANITY WITH JUDAISM AND THIS TIME THE EVENTS ARE DISASTROUS AND NEARLY FATAL FOR THE APOSTLE AS PAUL ENDS UP ARRESTED AND IN THE CUSTODY OF ROME NO LONGER A FREEMAN BUT A PRISONER OF ROME -- 'ACTS 21:4 AND FINDING DISCIPLES, WE TARRIED THERE [IN TYRE] SEVEN DAYS: WHO SAID TO PAUL THROUGH THE SPIRIT, *THAT HE SHOULD NOT GO UP TO JERUSALEM.' - NOTE: CHRISTIAN LAITY PROPHECY, THOSE EXERCISING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY [FORTH TELLING] OFTEN SIMPLIFY AND UNDER COMPLICATE THE PROPHECY MESSAGE THEY ARE INTENDED TO GIVE. THE MANY DISCIPLES WHO PROPHESIED TO THE APOSTLE PAUL DID SO IN OVERSIMPLIFIED BLACK AND WHITE TERMS [DON'T GO TO JERUSALEM]. THE APOSTLE PAUL CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED THE PROPHESIES AS MORE COMPLEX AND AS A WARNING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTENDING THAT PAUL SHOULD GO TO JERUSALEM BUT NOT TO GO THERE UNPREPARED FOR THE UNSUSPECTED AND DISASTERS EVENTS THAT WERE ABOUT TO OCCUR MAINLY THE WHOLESALE AND UNIVERSAL REJECTION OF PAUL'S GOSPEL MESSAGE BY HIS JEWISH BRETHREN IN JERUSALEM.

Acts 21:17-24 And when *we [Luke was among the disciples with Paul in Jerusalem] were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James [Â˝ brother of Jesus - leader of the Church in Jerusalem - book of James]; and all the elders were present. And when he [Paul] had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his Ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law [of Moses]: And they are informed [misinformed] of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude [Christians in Jerusalem] must needs come together [be in agreement regarding the customs and laws of Moses for Jewish Christians]: for they [Jewish Christians] will hear that thou art come. **Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men [Jewish Christians] which have a [Temple] vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them [at the Temple], **and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: **and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law [of Moses]. - The Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem and with the advanced knowledge of Paul's pending arrival the Christian Church in Jerusalem just happened to have four men who were in dire need of a Temple ritual service and of someone to accompany them in their ritual Temple Service. The Christian leaders in Jerusalem being concerned for their own customs didn't even bother to ask Paul what his message was but instead insisted that Paul participate in their customs regardless of any circumstances that might occur. The Apostle Paul attempted to appease the Church in Jerusalem and while following and participating in their manmade localized customs disaster ensued.

ACTS 22 - THE APOSTLE PAUL COMPLIES WITH THE DESIRES OF THE LEADERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN JERUSALEM - THE RESULTS ARE A DISASTER AS ONCE IN THE TEMPLE AREA JEWS OF ASIA [MODERN TURKEY] RECOGNIZED PAUL AND IMMEDIATELY SOUGHT TO KILL HIM - BEING ARRESTED BY THE ROMAN AUTHORITIES THE APOSTLE PAUL REQUESTED TO SPEAK TO THE CROWD OF JEWS - THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM [MANY PREVIOUSLY FRIENDS OF PAUL (SAUL)] COMPLETELY REJECTED THE APOSTLE AND MORE DISHEARTENING REFUSED EVEN TO HEAR HIS MESSAGE IN ITS ENTIRETY -- 'ACTS 22:24 THE CHIEF [ROMAN] CAPTAIN COMMANDED HIM [PAUL] TO BE BROUGHT

INTO THE CASTLE [INTO THE JAIL CELL], AND BADE THAT HE SHOULD BE EXAMINED BY SCOURGING; THAT HE WHEREFORE THEY

[JEWS]

CRIED SO AGAINST HIM

[PAUL].' - NOTE: EVEN

THOUGH THE

[ROME] MIGHT KNOW

APOSTLE PAUL

WAS UNEXPECTEDLY

IMPRISONED IN A ROMAN JAIL AND FACING DEATH WITH CHARGES OF TREASON AND RIOTOUSNESS THE DISCIPLES WHO ACCOMPANIED

PAUL USED THEIR PRECIOUS TIME IN JERUSALEM WISELY. LUKE USED THE TIME TO RESEARCH AND TO WRITE HIS GOSPEL OF LUKE WHILE PAUL EVEN THOUGH IN JAIL HE USED THE TIME TO WRITE HIS LETTER TO HIS JEWISH CHRISTIAN BRETHREN IN JERUSALEM HIS BOOK OF HEBREWS. Acts 22:25-30 And as they [Roman guards] bound him [Paul] with thongs [leather ropes], Paul said unto the Centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and un-condemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman [citizen]. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him [Paul], Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea (yes). And the chief captain answered, With a great sum [money] obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born [Paul has family that can come to his defense in the Roman courts]. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined [scourged] him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. On the morrow [next day], because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the [Jewish] Chief Priests and all their Council (Jewish Supreme Court) [Sanhedrin] to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them. - The Apostle Paul, the disciples, the Church in Jerusalem, the Jews, the Romans and all the world are trying to initiate their plan to get things to go their way by bringing in their customs, preferences, laws, rituals and their order however everyone is about to find out that there is a new plan being established in the universe and that it is not the plans and desires of man but instead the predetermined purposes and plans of God in Jesus Christ.

ACTS 23 - PAUL GOES ON TRIAL BOTH IN JEWISH AND ROMAN COURTS - ULTIMATELY IN ROME PAUL IS ACQUITTED AND RELEASED FROM PRISON - HOWEVER AFTER A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEDOM IN ROME PAUL WAS REARRESTED, BEING A WELL-KNOWN CHRISTIAN LEADER AND DURING THE CONTINUED PERSECUTION OF NERO THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS PUT TO DEATH WHILE IN HIS SECOND PRISON STAY - A SHORT TIME LATE THE APOSTLE PETER WAS ALSO EXECUTED IN ROME DURING THE SAME PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS BY CAESAR NERO -- 'ACTS 23:1-5 AND PAUL, EARNESTLY BEHOLDING THE [SANHEDRIN] COUNCIL, SAID, MEN AND BRETHREN, I HAVE LIVED IN ALL GOOD *CONSCIENCE BEFORE GOD UNTIL THIS DAY. AND THE HIGH PRIEST ANANIAS COMMANDED THEM THAT STOOD BY HIM TO SMITE HIM [PAUL] ON THE MOUTH [BEING STRUCK PAUL BECOMES A TYPE OF JESUS (JOHN 18:22)]. THEN SAID PAUL UNTO HIM, GOD SHALL SMITE THEE, THOU WHITED WALL: FOR [BECAUSE] SITTEST THOU TO JUDGE ME AFTER THE LAW, AND COMMANDEST ME TO BE SMITTEN CONTRARY TO [AGAINST] THE LAW? AND THEY THAT STOOD BY SAID, REVILEST THOU GOD'S HIGH PRIEST? *THEN SAID PAUL, I WIST (LIT. PERCEIVED) NOT, BRETHREN, THAT HE WAS THE HIGH PRIEST [PAUL IS SAYING THAT THE ONLY HIGH PRIEST IS JESUS CHRIST]: FOR IT IS WRITTEN [EXODUS 22:28], THOU SHALT NOT SPEAK EVIL OF THE RULER OF THY PEOPLE.' The letter (epistle) that accompanied Paul written by the Chief army Captain of Rome in Jerusalem to the Roman Governor Felix in Caesarea: Acts 23:25-35 And he [Roman army Captain] wrote a letter (epistle) after this manner: [army Captain] Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent Governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man [Paul] was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood {well actually later} that he was a Roman. And when I would have known [uncertain of their accusations] the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council [to clarify their charges against him]: Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee [clearly] what they had against him. Farewell [end of letter]. Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned [the foot soldiers] to the castle [back in Jerusalem]: Who, when they [the horse soldiers] came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle (letter) to the Governor [Felix], presented Paul also before him. And when the Governor had read the letter, he asked [why do I have to deal with this mess] of what province he was. And when he understood that he [Paul] was of Cilicia [Tarsus of Cilicia]; I will hear thee, said he, *when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall. - The Apostle Paul entered the often clear but sometimes murky Roman judicial system. Paul was kept in prison in Caesarea and not forwarded to Rome in the hopes of Governor Felix that Paul would

pay him a large bribe or ransom to obtain his freedom (Acts 24:26) but the Apostle Paul had been told in a vision that this was to take Paul to Rome to testify of Jesus in Rome so the Paul didn't even consider paying money for his release.

ACTS 24 - THE APOSTLE PAUL

WOULD NOW SPEND OVER TWO YEARS' TIME IN JAIL IN

CAESAREA - THE APOSTLE PAUL HAVING ALREADY WRITTEN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS [WHILE IN JAIL IN JERUSALEM] COULD HAVE WRITTEN HIS FAMOUS 'CONFINEMENT' (PRISON) EPISTLES [THE BIBLE BOOKS - COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS] WHILE IN JAIL IN CAESAREA THOUGH CHURCH TRADITION HOLDS THAT THE FOUR EPISTLES WERE WRITTEN BY PAUL WHILE UNDER HOUSE ARREST IN ROME AFTER HAVING LEFT CAESAREA AND HAVING TRAVELED BY SHIP TO ROME -- 'ACTS 24:27 BUT AFTER TWO YEARS PORCIUS (PROCURATOR) [HIGH ROMAN OFFICIAL - 2ND IN COMMAND TO THE EMPEROR - WIKI.COM] FESTUS CAME INTO [GOVERNOR] FELIX' ROOM: AND FELIX, WILLING TO SHEW THE JEWS A PLEASURE, LEFT PAUL BOUND [IN JAIL]. - NOTE: BESIDES THE FOUR COMMON PRISON EPISTLES OF PAUL THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS A PRISON EPISTLE [HEBREWS 13:19] (FROM PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT IN JERUSALEM) AND THE BOOK OF 2ND TIMOTHY [2ND TIMOTHY 1:8] IS A PRISON EPISTLE FROM PAUL'S SECOND IMPRISONMENT IN ROME AND WAS WRITTEN POSSIBLY JUST DAYS BEFORE PAUL WAS EXECUTED AS A PRISONER OF ROME Acts 24:24-27 And after certain days, when [Governor] Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he [Paul] reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come *Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. He hoped also that [bribe] money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius (Procurator) Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. - The Apostle Paul navigates the many and varied ramifications of being a prisoner of not only of Rome and Jerusalem but also of the many and varied administrative officials of the Roman Empire.

THE EPISTLES OF PAUL BY C.I. SCOFIELD - THE TWO SILENCES: TWO PERIODS IN THE LIFE OF PAUL AFTER HIS CONVERSION ARE PASSED OVER IN A SILENCE WHICH IS ITSELF SIGNIFICANT--THE JOURNEY INTO ARABIA, FROM WHICH THE APOSTLE RETURNED IN FULL POSSESSION OF THE GOSPEL EXPLANATION AS SET FORTH IN GALATIANS AND ROMANS; AND THE TWO SILENT YEARS IN PRISON IN CAESAREA, BETWEEN HIS ARREST IN THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM AND HIS DEPORTATION TO ROME - IT SEEMS MOST CONGRUOUS [HARMONIOUS] WITH THE EVENTS OF PAUL'S LIFE TO SUPPOSE THAT THESE GREAT REVELATIONS [PAUL'S EPISTLE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE] CAME DURING THE SILENT YEARS AT CAESAREA--OFTEN SPOKEN OF AS WASTED The Two Silences: Two periods in the life of Paul after his conversion are passed over in a silence which is itself significant--the journey into Arabia, from which the Apostle returned in full possession of the Gospel explanation as set forth in Galatians and Romans; and the two silent years in prison in Caesarea, between his arrest in the temple at Jerusalem and his deportation to Rome. It was inevitable that a trained intellect like that of Paul, a convinced believer in Mosasism, and, until his conversion on the Damascus road, an eager opponent of Christianity, must seek the underlying principles of the Gospel. Immediately after his conversion he preached Jesus as the Messiah; but the relation of the Gospel to the Law, and, in a lesser degree, of the great Jewish promises, needed clear adjustment if Christianity was to be a reasonable faith, and not a mere dogma. In Arabia Paul sought and found that adjustment through revelation by the Spirit. Out of it came the doctrinal explanation of salvation by grace through faith, wholly apart from the law, embodied in Galatians and Romans. But the Gospel brings the believer into great relationships--to the Father, to other believers, to Christ, and to the future purposes of God. It is not only a salvation from sin and the consequences of sin, but into an amazing place in the Divine counsels. Furthermore, the new thing, the church in its various aspects and junctions, demanded clear revelation. And these are the chief themes of the Epistles written by Paul from Rome, and commonly called the Prison Epistles--Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. It is contrary to the method of inspiration, as explained by Paul himself, to suppose that these crowning revelations were made apart from deep meditation, demanding quietness, and earnest seeking. It seems most congruous with the events of Paul's life to suppose that these great revelations came during the silent years at Caesarea--often spoken of as wasted. - Article from Scofield Reference Notes (1917) (Public Domain) For over 90 years people have relied on this reference work in their daily study of God's

Word. Written originally in 1909, C. I. Scofield's intent was to provide a concise but complete tool that would meet the need of someone just beginning to read the Bible. [link]

ACTS 25 - THE APOSTLE PAUL FAMOUSLY APPEALS HIS CASE TO CAESAR AND PROCURATOR FESTUS [NOW INTERIM GOVERNOR FOR FELIX] FAMOUSLY UNAWARE OF THE SPIRITUAL MATTERS THAT THE CASE INVOLVES GRANTS PAUL'S APPEAL AND AGREES TO SEND PAUL ON TO ROME TO BE TRIED BY CAESAR HIMSELF -- 'ACTS 25:10-12 THEN SAID PAUL, I STAND AT CAESAR'S JUDGMENT SEAT, WHERE I OUGHT TO BE JUDGED: TO THE JEWS HAVE I DONE NO WRONG, AS THOU VERY WELL KNOWEST. FOR IF I BE AN OFFENDER, OR HAVE COMMITTED ANY THING WORTHY OF DEATH, I REFUSE NOT TO DIE: BUT IF THERE BE NONE OF THESE THINGS WHEREOF THESE ACCUSE ME, NO MAN MAY DELIVER ME UNTO THEM. *I APPEAL UNTO CAESAR. THEN FESTUS, WHEN HE HAD CONFERRED WITH THE COUNCIL, *ANSWERED, HAST THOU APPEALED UNTO CAESAR? UNTO CAESAR SHALT THOU GO.' Acts 25:24 And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man [Paul], about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. *But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus [Caesar], I have determined to send him. [But] Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord [Caesar]. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, *I might have somewhat to write [in an epistle to Rome]. For it seemeth to me unreasonable [and unlawful] to send a prisoner [to Rome], and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him. - Festus found himself in a predicament of having an extremely hot button issue on his hands. An issue that was not going to resolve itself or go away by itself and after several attempts Festus was still unable to grasp or understand the exact nuances and the nature of the differences of the event that was creating such a great and catastrophic disturbance in Jerusalem.

ACTS 26 - THE APOSTLE PAUL GIVES HIS TESTIMONY TO KING AGRIPPA, THE KING'S WIFE BERNICE AND TO FESTUS - WHILE THE APOSTLE PAUL IS SPEAKING - FESTUS THEN HAS HIS FAMOUS 'I DIDN'T KNOW CHRISTIANITY WAS ABOUT THAT' MOMENT AND IN A LOUD OUTBURST FESTUS PUBLICALLY CHALLENGES WHAT HE SEES AS THE ABSURDITY OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'ACTS 26:1-2 THEN [KING] AGRIPPA SAID UNTO PAUL, THOU ART PERMITTED TO SPEAK FOR THYSELF. THEN PAUL STRETCHED FORTH THE HAND, AND ANSWERED FOR HIMSELF ...' Acts 26:21-32 21 For these [preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Messiah to the world] causes the Jews caught me in the Temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God [not of Rome, the Roman Captain], *I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ [Messiah] should suffer, and that He should be *the first *that should ***rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. **And as he thus spake for himself, Festus [came undone and] said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art [crazy] beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but **speak forth the Words of Truth and soberness. For the king [Agrippa] knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; ***for this thing [cross and resurrection of Jesus] was not done in a [secret] corner. King Agrippa, *believest thou the prophets? I know (lit. perceive) that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a *Christian. **And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds [chains]. And when he had thus spoken, the King rose up, and the Governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man [Paul] doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty [freed], if he had not appealed unto Caesar. - Festus has his famous 'I didn't know Christianity was about that' moment. Festus had though that Jesus was just some guy that some people though he was dead and some other people though he was alive because they had seen him and that the confusion and the controversy was over whether or not the man was dead or alive. When Festus realized that the controversy is about the Lord Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh and was killed before the eyes of many and was buried in a sealed, stone tomb but then Resurrected back to life three days later to interact with and to be witnessed by many eyewitnesses then Festus realizing that he was being told of spiritual life overcoming the physical death of mankind and of eternal life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ for the human as the doctrine of Christianity, for the moment at least Festus had gone

beyond the scope of what he was capable of retaining and Festus publically could hear no more of the concept of Christianity. Did Festus later come to grips with and understand the reality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and himself become a Christian, we don't know at least not at the moment.

ACTS 27 - THE APOSTLE PAUL IS FINALLY SENT ON TO ROME AND AFTER SURVIVING A MAJOR SHIPWRECK WILL EVENTUALLY MAKE IT INTO ROME -- 'ACTS 27:1-2 AND WHEN IT WAS DETERMINED THAT WE SHOULD SAIL INTO ITALY [AND GO TO ROME THE CAPITAL CITY OF ITALY], THEY DELIVERED PAUL AND CERTAIN OTHER PRISONERS UNTO ONE NAMED JULIUS, A CENTURION OF [CAESAR] AUGUSTUS' BAND [UNIT]. AND ENTERING INTO A SHIP OF [THE CITY OF] ADRAMYTTIUM, WE LAUNCHED, MEANING TO SAIL BY THE COASTS OF ASIA; ONE ARISTARCHUS, A MACEDONIAN OF THESSALONICA, BEING WITH US.' Acts 27:13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. **For there stood by me this night the Angel of God, *whose I am, *and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, *lo, God hath given [with] thee [to safety] all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island [the island of Malta]. - The Apostle Paul is shipwrecked onto the mysterious island of Malta.

ACTS 28 - THE APOSTLE PAUL FINALLY ARRIVES IN ROME AND DISCOVERS THAT NO CHARGES HAVE BEEN FORWARDED FROM JERUSALEM TO ROME -- 'ACTS 28:16-21 AND WHEN WE CAME TO ROME, THE CENTURION DELIVERED THE PRISONERS TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD: BUT PAUL WAS SUFFERED [ALLOWED] TO DWELL BY HIMSELF WITH A SOLDIER THAT KEPT HIM. AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT AFTER THREE DAYS PAUL CALLED THE CHIEF OF THE JEWS TOGETHER: AND WHEN THEY WERE COME TOGETHER, HE SAID UNTO THEM, MEN AND BRETHREN, THOUGH I HAVE COMMITTED NOTHING AGAINST THE PEOPLE, OR CUSTOMS OF OUR FATHERS, YET WAS I DELIVERED PRISONER FROM JERUSALEM INTO THE HANDS OF THE ROMANS. WHO, WHEN THEY HAD EXAMINED ME, WOULD HAVE LET ME GO, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CAUSE OF DEATH IN ME. BUT WHEN THE JEWS SPAKE AGAINST IT, I WAS CONSTRAINED TO APPEAL UNTO CAESAR; NOT THAT I HAD OUGHT TO ACCUSE MY NATION OF. FOR THIS CAUSE THEREFORE HAVE I CALLED FOR YOU, TO SEE YOU, AND TO SPEAK WITH YOU: BECAUSE THAT FOR THE HOPE OF ISRAEL I AM BOUND WITH THIS CHAIN. AND THEY SAID UNTO HIM, WE NEITHER RECEIVED LETTERS OUT OF JUDAEA [ISRAEL] CONCERNING THEE, NEITHER ANY OF THE BRETHREN THAT CAME SHEWED OR SPAKE ANY HARM OF THEE.' The book of Acts concludes: Acts 28:22-31 But we [Jews of Rome] desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect [Christianity], we know that everywhere it is spoken against. And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the Kingdom of God [God's perceivable (discernible) presence on earth - the Kingdom of Heaven, the eternal Visible Kingdom of God], persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some [Jews] believed the things which were spoken, and some [Jews] believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted [become Christians], and I should heal [lit. make whole - Salvation] them. Be it known therefore unto you, that *the Salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said

these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. - Note: The redemption of the Jews is not disputed by the Apostle Paul or by anyone what is at issue is the Salvation of the Jews. The Jews as redeemed are a part of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven and receive their Salvation later in the Kingdom of Heaven while the Christians are a part of the Kingdom of God on earth and we receive our Salvation [eternal life] while still on the earth having received the 'born again' - 'born from above' Spirit given by Jesus Christ. As is presented through the interaction of the Apostle Paul with his own Jewish brethren the difference between Jewish redemption and Christian salvation is immense and though both groups [Jews and Christians] are redeemed by God, the one and only God, the differences are still vast. Therefore historically and Biblically Jews and Christians are two distinct groups of People, however Jesus as the firstborn of the Resurrection receives both the Jews and the Christian Gentiles and with Jesus receiving as His firstborn [double portion] both the Jews and the Gentiles it is imperative that the Jews and the Gentiles assist each other at a certain level or at least it is imperative that the Christians give every bit of understanding, compassion and consideration to the "Jewish Sect" in order to please God and to fulfill our Biblical demands as given in alms from the House of Cornelius to the decrees of the 1st Church Council in Jerusalem and as they are presented throughout the entire Bible in both the Old and New Testaments of God.

ROMANS THE BOOKS OF ROMANS, GALATIANS AND HEBREWS ARE BEING GROUPED TOGETHER AND PRESENTED AS A TRILOGY OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY BY THE APOSTLE PAUL The three books were written by the Apostle Paul with the primary audiences being the Roman Empire, the remaining Gentile world and all Hebrew/Jewish Christians. -- Romans --> Roman Empire, Galatians --> remaining Gentile world, Hebrews --> Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and scattered throughout the world. --- The Apostle Paul in part built his Trilogy written to the empowered Gentiles (Rome), the Gentiles (Galatia) and to the Christian Jews (Hebrews) off of a verse from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. "Habakkuk 2:4 ... but the just shall live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:4 appears only three times in the New Testament and it is in each of the three Trilogy epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Nations. 'Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.' - 'Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.' - 'Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in Him.' --- Romans --> who are *the just [the just are in a right relationship with God, the people who acknowledge God in the living resurrection of Jesus Christ and believe in His promise the free gift of eternal salvation available to all mankind]. Galatians --> how the just *shall live [the just shall live in the Holy Spirit, not after the law and not after physical self-serving, worldly desires]. Hebrews --> the just shall live *by faith [the just shall live by faith - Hebrews chapter 11 with its examples of faith in the lives of believers is known as the Bible's Hall of Faith].

ROMANS 1 - PAUL A SERVANT (BOND SLAVE) OF JESUS CHRIST - AT THE WRITING OF HIS LETTER TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT ROME THE APOSTLE PAUL HAD NOT YET BEEN TO ROME - IT WOULD BE THREE MORE YEARS BEFORE PAUL WOULD MAKE IT TO ROME - IT WOULD NOT BE AS A FREE PERSON THAT THE APOSTLE PAUL WOULD TAKE HIS FIRST STEPS INTO ROME BUT AS A PRISONER OF ROME THAT THE APOSTLE PAUL WOULD ENTER INTO ROME -- 'ROMANS 1:3-6 CONCERNING HIS SON JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, WHICH WAS MADE OF THE [PHYSICAL] SEED OF DAVID ACCORDING TO THE FLESH; AND DECLARED TO BE THE SON OF GOD WITH [SPIRITUAL] POWER, ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS [HOLY SPIRIT], BY THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD: BY (JESUS) WHOM WE HAVE RECEIVED GRACE AND APOSTLESHIP, FOR OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH AMONG ALL NATIONS, FOR HIS NAME: AMONG WHOM ARE YE ALSO THE CALLED OF JESUS CHRIST' 'Romans 1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men [mankind], who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest [conscience] in them; for God hath shewed it [spiritually] unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made [creation], *even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they [all mankind] are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.' - The Apostle Paul is making the point to the people in Rome [the center of world power and domination] that citizenship in Rome does not constitute access into heaven and that slavery in Rome does not constitute a denial of access into Heaven. The Apostle Paul makes the deliberate point that all people have sinned and are separated from God whether they are Romans in Rome, slaves in Rome, Jews in Jerusalem or anyone anywhere at any place or time in the world. The Apostle Paul makes the point that the whole world is in a lost and sinful condition and that everyone; man, woman and child is in need of the free gift of the salvation of Jesus Christ.

XENOS.ORG: BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS - SCHOLARS ALSO AGREE UPON THE DATE AND PLACE OF AUTHORSHIP, BELIEVING [APOSTLE] PAUL WROTE THIS LETTER WHILE IN CORINTH (ACTS 20), BETWEEN A.D. 55 AND 58 A.D. (TEACHINGS - MP3S, VIDEO, POWERPOINT) History of the church: The origin of the Roman Church is historically obscure. There is no indication when or by whom the church in Rome was founded. Scholars theorize the founders were part of the Diaspora (Acts 8). This church already

had a world-wide reputation by the time of Paul's writing (1:8). Because Paul had been unable to visit the church, he writes a letter stating his intentions (1:13-15). Authorship of the Epistle: There is no doubt the author of Romans is Paul. He clearly states this in the opening verse, and the style and content is identical to Paul's other letters. His primary theme is the gospel; God's plan of salvation; and righteousness for all mankind, Jew and Gentile alike (1:16-17). Scholars also agree upon the date and place of authorship, believing Paul wrote this letter while in Corinth (Acts 20), between A.D. 55 and 58. [link]

DRIVE THRU HISTORY :: ANCIENT ROME - A TV SERIES DVD PROMO (YOUTUBE) In this series Dave takes you through the ancient history of Rome. Dave doesn't just talk about history either; he lives it in fast, easy-to-digest road trips. Like the trip to the Coliseum in Rome where Dave accidentally picks a fight with one of those cheesy "Roman Guards" who'll pose for a picture for a couple of Euros. Topic Summary: Episode 1: Lost in Rome, The Forum & Palatine Hill, the Emperors during the time of Christ, the Arch of Titus, and the destruction of Jerusalem. Episode 2: the Circus Maximus, chariot racing, the great fire of Rome, Nero's persecution of Christians and the Roman Pantheon. Episode 3: Hannibal invades Rome, the Coliseum, the Gladiators and the early Christian influence. Visit the Drive Thru History Website: http://www.drivethruhistory.com. [link]

ROMANS 2 - AS THE APOSTLE PAUL STATED "THE WRATH OF GOD IS GOING TO BE REVEALED FROM HEAVEN" NOW THE APOSTLE PAUL MAKES CLEAR THAT WE ARE ALL UNDER THAT WRATH - THIS IS SELF-EVIDENT IN THAT NO PERSON HAS EVEN MET THEIR OWN STANDARDS THEY SET FOR THEMSELVES LET ALONE GOD'S STANDARDS SET FOR ALL MANKIND -- 'ROMANS 2:33 AND THINKEST THOU THIS, O MAN, THAT JUDGEST [OTHERS] THEM WHICH DO SUCH [EVIL] THINGS, AND DOEST THE SAME [ONE SIN IS JUST AS EVIL AS ANOTHER AND WE ALL SIN], THAT THOU SHALT ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT OF GOD?' Romans 2:14-16 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law [of Moses], do by nature [created in the image of God] the things contained in the law [image of God], these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts [soul, intellect, conscience], *their [Gentile] conscience also bearing witness [to God's intentions for all mankind], and their thoughts the mean while accusing [convicting in wrong thoughts] or else excusing [exhorting in godly thoughts] one another [each thought]; In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ [Jesus is the standard set for all mankind] according to my gospel. This is explaining that all of mankind has within each individual a conscience placed there by God that provides a witness and a testimony about the nature and image of God. There is a right and a wrong and a difference between the two and there is also a certain higher power and authority [God] that will judge each individual for the right and wrong thoughts and actions that they commit. - This concept that God is in contact with every single human who has ever existed is the Biblical concept that God has created each individual in the womb and that God is intimately in contact and knowledgeable about every thought and intention of every human. God is not far-off and away from His creation. God is very close and intimate to His creation regardless of anyone's location or industrial standard on the earth. Clearly someone even in modern times on some remote island who has never heard the name of Jesus is still well within fellowship with God as their conscience testifies between right and wrong and of the existence of God though they may not know God by Name or know the love that God has for them in going to the cross for them they know of God's existence and are a 'law unto themselves' until the day of God's judgment. Having accepted in their conscience the authority of God in the universe they are not condemned on judgment day but receive eternal salvation because their conscience desires to obey God and to fellowship with God. Note: Part of what the Apostle Paul is saying is that before the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ all mankind had a conscience to direct their thoughts, intentions and actions but since the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit has been poured out [from Pentecost] upon all mankind so since the cross and resurrection of Jesus the knowledge of God has increased among mankind from just the conscience to the conscience plus the conviction and directing of the Holy Spirit. It is at the leading of the Holy Spirit that one ultimately becomes a Christian by accepting the Spirit of God inside of them to become a 'born again' Spiritual person, a Child of God now in the family of God.

ROMANS 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES TO REVEAL GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION FOR MANKIND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST - 'ROMANS 3:29-30 IS HE THE GOD OF THE JEWS ONLY? IS HE NOT ALSO OF THE GENTILES? YES, OF THE GENTILES ALSO: SEEING IT IS ONE GOD, WHICH SHALL JUSTIFY THE [JEWISH] CIRCUMCISION BY ["A SEAL OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE FAITH" - SIGN OF CIRCUMCISION] FAITH, AND [GENTILE] UNCIRCUMCISION THROUGH [RESURRECTION] FAITH.' - 'ROMANS 4:9-11 9 COMETH THIS BLESSEDNESS [SINS ARE COVERED] THEN UPON THE CIRCUMCISION [JEWS] ONLY, OR UPON THE UNCIRCUMCISION [GENTILES] ALSO? FOR WE SAY THAT FAITH (BELIEF) WAS RECKONED TO ABRAHAM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. HOW WAS IT THEN RECKONED? WHEN HE WAS IN CIRCUMCISION, OR IN UNCIRCUMCISION? NOT IN CIRCUMCISION, BUT IN UNCIRCUMCISION. AND HE RECEIVED *THE SIGN OF CIRCUMCISION, *A SEAL OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS *OF THE FAITH WHICH HE HAD YET BEING UNCIRCUMCISED: THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FATHER OF ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE [JEWS AND GENTILES], THOUGH THEY [GENTILES] BE NOT CIRCUMCISED [JEWS]; THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS MIGHT BE IMPUTED UNTO THEM ALSO:' Romans 3:20-26 Therefore by the deeds [works] of the law there shall no flesh be justified [made right] in His sight: *for by the law is the knowledge of sin [not salvation from sin]. But now the righteousness [Jesus] of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified [made right] freely by His grace through the redemption [cross] that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [full payment of sins] through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of {our} sins that are past, through the forbearance [patience] of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just [God], and the justifier [imputing His righteousness onto the believer] of him which believeth in Jesus. - The Apostle Paul is pointing out that no unrighteousness is allowed into the direct presence of the Holy God. Therefore God has to give [impart] of His righteousness onto humans in order to allow us humans into His presence. The way we receive the righteousness of God from God is for us to acknowledge that Jesus Christ came to mankind and died for our sins, all of our sins and that there was nothing we could do but that Jesus did it all for us and in His doing it all for us we can freely receive of His righteous standing that He is freely offering to us if we will just accept that He died for our sins and is resurrected [shown to be righteous] for our righteousness.

ROMANS ROAD - PROGRAM DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE (MP3) The Romans Road is a series of verses from the New Testament book of Romans, written by the Apostle Paul. These verses describe God's plan to redeem men's hearts and to give us eternal hope in the person of Jesus Christ. The Romans Road has been used by Christians over the centuries as a tool to share the good news of the gospel in an easy and effective way. [link]

QUESTION: "WHAT IS THE ROMANS ROAD TO SALVATION?" Answer: The Romans Road to salvation is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive salvation, and what are the results of salvation. [link]

THE ROMANS ROAD TO SALVATION - LET ME TAKE YOU DOWN THE PATH OF THE ROMAN ROAD TO SALVATION AND THE GATE OF ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS CHRIST Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). I have only two choices either Jesus' statement is true or false. Think about this statement what does it mean? I either accept that Jesus is the way for salvation or I reject it. When people say all religions lead to the same path that is obviously wrong. How could that be true with Jesus above statement. It does not work. If we look at Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says the following, "Enter the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are

many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. You may be asking yourself what is this narrow gate and how do I get through it? The Bible clearly tells us how to find this gate. Let me take you down the path of the Roman Road to Salvation and the gate of eternal life with Christ. [link]

TAKE THE ROMANS ROAD TO SALVATION Take the Romans Road to salvation: --> Who is good? ~Romans 3:10~ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. --> Who has sinned? ~Romans 3:23~ For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. --> Where sin came from. ~Romans 5:12~ 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. --> God's price of sin. ~Romans 6:23~ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. --> Who paid The price? ~Romans 5:8~ God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. --> The only way out. ~Romans 10:9-10~ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart God hath raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. --> Take God at His word and claim His promise for your salvation. ~Romans 10:13~ For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. [link]

ROMANS 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES AND NOW USES EXAMPLES IN THE LIVES OF ABRAHAM AND KING DAVID TO ILLUSTRATE HOW CONSISTENT THE WORD OF GOD IS - HOW RELIABLE THE WORD OF GOD IS - AND ALSO HOW LONG AGO IT WAS THAT THE PROMISES OF GOD WERE GIVEN [THE ORIGINAL PROMISE OF THE REDEEMER WAS GIVEN TO ADAM AND EVE] AND ARE STILL IN USE BY GOD TODAY [IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS MOSES WILL BE CONTRASTED TO JESUS] - 'ROMANS 4:3 FOR WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURE? ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD [THAT GOD HAS THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF LIFE OVER DEATH], AND IT WAS COUNTED UNTO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' -- 'ROMANS 4:6-8 EVEN AS [KING] DAVID ALSO DESCRIBETH THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE MAN, UNTO WHOM GOD IMPUTETH RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT WORKS, SAYING, BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WILL NOT IMPUTE SIN [BECAUSE OF A FAITH LIKE ABRAHAM].' 'Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him (Jesus) that justifieth the *ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.' Romans 4:17- As it is written, I (God) have made thee (Abraham) a father of many nations, before Him whom he believed, even God, *who quickeneth [makes alive] the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope [against all odds] believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith [the life giving power of God], he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God [to be the father of many] through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it [faith - that God 'quickeneth the dead'] was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it [justification - righteousness] was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it [faith] shall be imputed, *if we believe on Him that raised up [eternal life] Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered [to the cross] for our offences, and was raised again [resurrection] for our justification. - The faith of Abraham, the faith of King David and the faith of the Christian is that God is the giver of life and as the giver of life God has the power and authority of life over death. In Abraham God demonstrated His ability to give life in the two bodies that were completely beyond the capability of childbirth and yet Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 75 years old. -- King David had grievously sinned with Bathsheba and then later had her husband Uriah killed in a battle. When the prophet Nathan came to King David [2 Samuel 12] and told of a sin in the land King David said that person who sinned shall be put to death. It turned out that King David was that person who was to be put to death however "2 Samuel 12:13 And [King] David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD and Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die" because King David had a righteousness imputed by God not of works but by faith, the same faith that his forefather Abraham had in the faith that God will make right our wrongs and that God will give life even when death is required.

ROMANS 5 - THE APOSTLE PAUL NOW DECLARES THAT ONCE JUSTIFIED [IN A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD] THAT WE DO IN FACT AND IN ACTUALITY HAVE ACCESS INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD WE RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD NOTABLY PEACE AND GRACE -- 'ROMANS 5:1-3 THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE [NO LONGER AT WAR] WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: BY WHOM ALSO WE HAVE ACCESS BY FAITH INTO THIS GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND, AND REJOICE IN HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD. AND NOT ONLY SO, BUT WE GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS [WE ARE STILL IN THIS WORLD] ALSO: KNOWING THAT TRIBULATION WORKETH PATIENCE ...' 'Romans 5:5-6 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts *by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time *Christ died for the ungodly.' - 'Romans 5:10-11 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled [cross] to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved [resurrection] by His [resurrection] life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom *we have now received the atonement.' - 'Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned [lit. kingdom of sin] unto death, even so might grace reign [lit. kingdom of grace] through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.' Note: Jesus gave His life for the "ungodly" it is in our condition of a sinner that we become saved by Jesus and by Jesus we are transformed into a Saint. The clear message of Christianity is that God came to mankind to save mankind not that mankind somehow in some vague way went to God. There is no way to make a saint out of ourselves for we are "without strength" and even if we could, though we can't, make ourselves into a saint it would be rejected by God. We as humans just do not have righteousness or godliness in and of ourselves. Jesus gave His life for the ungodly so that through the righteousness of Jesus the ungodly can receive of His righteousness and with His righteousness and the Holy Spirit now "in our heart" we become an authentic, genuine and valid godly person.

ROMANS 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL REVEALS TO US THAT HAVING RECEIVED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS CHRIST AND WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR HEART WE NOW HAVE A "NEWNESS OF LIFE (ETERNAL)" -- 'ROMANS 6:4 THEREFORE WE ARE BURIED WITH HIM (JESUS) BY BAPTISM [IDENTIFYING OURSELVES WITH JESUS - ALSO REPRESENTED IN OUR ACTUAL WATER BAPTISM] INTO DEATH [CROSS]: THAT LIKE AS CHRIST WAS RAISED UP [RESURRECTION] FROM THE DEAD BY THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, EVEN SO WE ALSO SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.' Romans 6:5-14 5 For if we (Christians) have been planted [baptized] together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: *Knowing this, that our old [physical nature] man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead [to sin] is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe [faith] that we shall also [eternal life] live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members {talents} as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: *but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members {talents} as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion [authority] over you: for ye are not under the law [of sin], but under [the law of] grace. Note: in order for us to live eternally in the righteousness of Jesus Christ we have to first identify with the cross of Jesus Christ and with our need for His going to the cross for us in order for Jesus to completely remove [make dead] sin. But then with sin dead on the cross and removed from us we do now have eternal life through the eternal resurrection life of Jesus Christ. -- 'Romans 6:23 For the wages [works] of sin is death; but the [free] gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.'

ROMANS 7 - THE APOSTLE PAUL MAKES CLEAR THAT OUR EMOTIONS AND INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO BE JUST REFORMED AND MADE A LITTLE BETTER BUT ARE ACTUALLY TO BE RENEWED AND MADE NEW INTO THE SPIRITUAL IMAGE AND PRESENCE OF GOD IN HIS SPIRIT INSIDE OF US - 'ROMANS 7:24 O WRETCHED [DUAL NATURE - PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL (ACTUALLY - BODY, SOUL, SPIRIT)] MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH [AND LIMITATION]? I THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD {THAT HIS RESURRECTION SPIRIT LIFE DELIVERS ME FROM LIMITATIONS THAT LIMIT AND DISTANCE ME FROM GOD}. SO THEN WITH THE

MIND [MY NEW UNLIMITED SPIRITUAL INTENTIONS] I MYSELF SERVE [OBEY] THE LAW [IMAGE] OF

GOD; BUT WITH THE FLESH [I STILL

UNWILLINGLY AND REGRETFULLY SERVE] THE LAW OF SIN.'

'Romans 7:9-14 For I was alive [in the conscience] without the law [of Moses] once: but when the commandment [laws of Moses][Bar Mitzvah at 13 years of age] came, [knowledge of] sin revived, and I died [saw myself as the sinner I am]. And the commandment [law of Moses], which was ordained to [spiritual] life [image of God], I found to be unto [revealing physical and spiritual] death. For sin, taking occasion [in part before knowledge of the commandment] by the [absence of the] commandment, [sin] deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law [of Moses] is Holy, and the commandment [of Moses] Holy, and just, and good {but the law of sin and death is unholy}. Was then that which is good [law of Moses - image of God] made death unto me? God forbid. But sin [is death], that it might appear [reveal] sin, working death [physical and spiritual] in me by that which is good [law of Moses - image of God]; that sin by the commandment [laws of Moses] might become exceeding [obviously] sinful. *For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal [physical], sold [by Adam and Eve] under sin.' - The Apostle Paul is explaining how the spiritual law is both needed and able to give spiritual life where sin and death took away life and that the renewing ability of the Holy Spirit of God is completely capable of overcoming the sin, death and destruction that have ravaged mankind for such a long time. - In a sense there are no works involved in receiving the Holy Spirit because there is no struggle [no works] between the Holy Spirit and death as the Holy Spirit has a complete victory over sin and death no human works are required or needed. The concept that the Holy Spirit is a good start in overcoming sin and death but that then a person needs to add to it to overcome sin is an incorrect concept. As Paul will go on to say we do struggle and sometimes we struggle immensely in our Christian walk but that is because of our new dual nature in being still physical but now also having the Holy Spirit within us. This internal struggle is not an indication that the Holy Spirit is struggling to overcome it is an indication that our old nature is struggling to overcome and the remedy to this battle is to trust, rest and rely on the victory that the Holy Spirit has already accomplished over both sin and death. It is in the trusting, resting and relying on the Holy Spirit through seeking after the relationship with God that is now available to us that we are transformed and renewed though never to the point of ceasing from struggles because as long as we live in our physical body we will struggle. However along with our struggles we also now have hope and with hope the knowledge that one day through the victory of Jesus Christ we will escape this limited physical body of struggle and receive a new heavenly body that will not struggle against us, a new spiritual body that will correctly match our new spiritual nature that we now have in Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 8 - THE APOSTLE PAUL REMINDS US THAT WITH ALL THE CONDEMNATION IN THE WORLD AND IT IS A WORLD OF CONDEMNATION THAT JESUS IS ONE PERSON WHO IS NOT CONDEMNING US - JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR US, JESUS IS FOR US AND CERTAINLY NOT AGAINST US - JESUS IS OUR BIGGEST SUPPORTER AND IN FACT THE SUPPORT OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THE CONDEMNATION OF THE WORLD - HIS SUPPORT FOR US IS CONFIRMATION AND AFFIRMATION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL THAT GOD DOES LOVE US AND THAT GOD DOES WANT US TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE AND A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM - 'ROMANS 8:34 WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNETH? IT IS CHRIST THAT DIED, YEA RATHER, THAT IS RISEN AGAIN, WHO IS EVEN [ACCEPTABLE] AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION [MEDIATION] FOR US.' Romans 8:2-13 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law [of Moses] could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending [incarnating] His own Son (Jesus) in the likeness of sinful [human] flesh, and for sin, *condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled *in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the [Holy] Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be [Holly] spiritually minded is [eternal] life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [at war] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. *So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the [Holy] Spirit, *if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. 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 [Holy] Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him [Father, Holy Spirit] that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die [eternally]: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live [eternally]. - Throughout the book of Romans and

with all of his writing about the ease and certainty of receiving the free gift of the Holy Spirit of God and our becoming a new creation in God the Apostle Paul is revealing to the Gentile Empire a Spiritual and Personal Truth about God. It is that God is the God of Life and that God is so much the God of life that it is actually easier to receive Salvation Life from God then it is to receive damnation from God. God is for us and has not condemned us, He died for us, it is we who condemn ourselves. Those who do receive eternal damnation will have done it at their own hands by their own conduct with their own strenuous hard work and mortal striving in order to receive the damnation that they so diligently sought for so long. Had they sought the righteousness of Jesus Christ they could receive it instantly and freely however it has taken them a lifetime to turn from God and to reject the eternal life and goodness of God.

ROMANS 8 (PART 2) - THE APOSTLE PAUL NOW HAVING ESTABLISHED THE TRANSITION FROM OUR MORTALITY IN EARTHY SIN TO IMMORTALITY IN JESUS CHRIST - NOW BEGINS TO EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT THE HEAVENLY REALM AND MORE ABOUT ETERNAL CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES -- 'ROMANS 8:11 BUT IF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT OF HIM (GOD) THAT RAISED UP JESUS FROM THE DEAD DWELL IN [INSIDE] YOU, HE THAT RAISED UP CHRIST FROM THE DEAD SHALL ALSO QUICKEN [MAKE HEAVENLY AWARE] YOUR MORTAL BODIES BY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN YOU.' 'Romans 8:14-17 For as many (Christians) as are led by the [Holy] Spirit of God, they [looking ahead to the adoption in heaven] are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are [now while on earth] the children of God: And if children, then [after the adoption in heaven] heirs [sons]; heirs [sons in heaven] of God, and joint-heirs [a living inheritance in heaven] with Christ; if so be that we suffer [on earth] with Him, that we may be also glorified [in heaven - accomplished and in our new heavenly spiritual body] together [the Christian Church and Jesus].' - The Biblical concept of adoption is that a child when mature enough (adulthood) is then adopted and once adopted becomes a son and as a son receives an inheritance from the father. Abraham was a father of many Nations however Isaac was his only son, his only child to be adopted by Abraham and his only child to receive the inheritance of the promises, covenants and land in the Promise Land given by God to Abraham. Isaac would later adopt his child Jacob and give Jacob the inheritance over his brother Esau. Jacob then would adopt all twelve of his male children (Joseph via his children) as Jacob would even adopt two of his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh to give his son Joseph a double inheritance in his portion of land in the Promise Land. Ephraim and Manasseh are grandchildren of Jacob but because of their adoption by Jacob [Genesis 48:5-6] Jacob told Joseph that he would adopt his first two children but if Joseph had any more children Jacob would not adopt them, they would not get a same sized portion of the Promise Land as their uncles they become equal to and receive and equal portion of land in the Promise Land that their Uncles the children of Jacob received. Part of the adoption and inheritance process on earth and in heaven is then to receive glorification the fine robes, family ring, finances, authority and recognition by others as a son. A child cannot make decisions regarding the family wealth and possessions but an adopted son now has authority that a child doesn't have and a son is able to make decisions and do things a child is not permitted to do. Joseph in the Bible is the only person besides Jesus to be glorified. Joseph as a type of Jesus was glorified twice. First [Genesis 37:3] as a Jew by his father Jacob with the coat [robe] of many colors of glorification and second [Genesis 41:42] as a gentile when he received raiment and a ring from the Pharaoh of Egypt. Jesus was actually bodily temporarily glorified [Matthew 17:2] meaning that Jesus had no sin as sin will not be glorified in the presence of God. It is because sin will not be glorified in the presence of God [1 Corinthians 1:29] that the adoption as sons and the inheritance as sons has to take place in heaven after we have physically died and separated from our physical body were sin [Romans 8:3] has been confined.

ROMANS 8 (PART 3) - THE APOSTLE PAUL

CONCLUDES HIS SECTION ON

CHRISTIAN

HEAVENLY SPIRITUALITY BY PROCLAIMING THE

SPIRITUAL TRUTH THAT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST - 'ROMANS 8:38-39 FOR I AM PERSUADED, THAT NEITHER [PHYSICAL] DEATH, NOR [EVENTS OF] LIFE, NOR ANGELS, NOR PRINCIPALITIES [FALLEN ANGELS], NOR

[DEMONIC] POWERS, NOR THINGS PRESENT, NOR THINGS TO COME, NOR HEIGHT [SUCCESS], NOR DEPTH [FAILURE], NOR ANY OTHER [I.E. UNEXPLAINED UFOS (NOTE: UFOS ARE EITHER MANMADE OBJECTS, OR FALLEN ANGELS MANIFESTING OR JUST DEMONS MANIFESTING)] CREATURE, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD, WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.'

'Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things [for the believer] work together for good to them that love [agape, highest love] God, to them who are the called [all are called] according to His [election] purpose. For whom He did foreknow [those who answer His call like Abraham did], He also did predestinate [eternal destination] to be conformed [glorified] to the image of His Son (Jesus), that He [His Son Jesus] might be the firstborn [inheritance with a double portion - both the Jews and the (Gentile) Nations] among {very, very} many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate [eternal destination], them He also called [i.e. Abraham]: and whom He called, them he also justified [i.e. Jacob]: and whom he justified, them he also glorified [i.e. Joseph].' - The predestination of the Bible is that the people who answer the call of God and enter into a relationship with God like Abraham answered the calling of God are then after answering the call predestined to be completed [eventually in Heaven] by being changed into the glorious resurrection image of Jesus Christ. What this is saying in part is that God will complete what He has begun in us and that God will never leave us or abandon us part way but that He will guaranteed get us safely into Heaven. With predestination we can also know in advance a little of what our completed process will be like because we will be somewhat similar to the resurrected Jesus Christ in that we will be able to belong in Heaven and to interact in the Heavenly realm among God and among the Angels of Heaven. - The predestination is only after the calling and everyone is called so it isn't that some are predestined to heaven and others are predestined to hell. Eternity is our own freewill decision a decision that we all have to make and in our decision we all have the same opportunity in Jesus Christ to go to heaven. Lastly predestination rules out a variety of false teachings that would allude to different heavens or different levels of heavens or vastly different appearances in heaven based on individual rewards because with predestination we are all predestined to the same place and into about the same image though there will be slight variations because we remain individuals and do not become clones but we do become Sons of God transfigured into the glorious image of Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 9 - THE APOSTLE PAUL IN CONTINUING HIS SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO THEOLOGY NOW CHANGES TOPICS FROM SIN AND JUSTIFICATION TO THE CURRENT STANDING OF HIS FELLOW JEWS - PAUL EXPRESSES HIS REGRETS THAT THE JEWS ARE NOT PARTAKERS WITH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN SALVATION [THOUGH THE JEWS STILL HAVE THE PROMISES OF GOD AND ARE PARTAKERS OF THE ADOPTION IN THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF GOD] - 'ROMANS 9:4-5 WHO ARE ISRAELITES (JEWS); TO WHOM PERTAINETH THE ADOPTION [HEAVENLY ADOPTION AS SONS OF GOD], AND THE GLORY [EARTHLY GLORY AND HEAVENLY GLORIFICATION], AND THE COVENANTS [INCLUDING THE NEW TESTAMENT], AND THE GIVING OF THE LAW [OF MOSES], AND THE SERVICE [PRODUCING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, BRINGING IN THE MESSIAH, THE 144,000 WITNESSES OF REVELATION, THE SECOND COMING, ETC.] OF GOD, AND THE PROMISES [OF GOD]; WHOSE ARE THE FATHERS [ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB (ISRAEL)], AND OF WHOM AS CONCERNING THE FLESH CHRIST [THE MESSIAH] CAME, WHO IS OVER ALL, GOD BLESSED FOREVER. AMEN.' 'Romans 9:27-28 Esaias (Elijah) also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved [become Christians]: For He (God) will finish the work [among the Gentiles and the Jews], and cut it short [make His work effective] in righteousness: because a short [effective] work will the Lord make upon the earth.' - A Summary of the righteous effective 'short work' of the Lord upon the earth: After the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden mankind has been separated from God and dispersed from one another. In re-gathering a separated and dispersed mankind unto Himself God has used segments of groups and epochs of time to re-gather His Kingdom. After the fall of Adam and Eve the first group of Biblical redeemed people were the Ancient Sacrificing Righteous Gentiles, this group had to sacrifice their own animals in order to have the blood covering for their sins and to be in a relationship with the Holy God. The Ancient Sacrificing Righteous Gentiles as a group and as individuals had little knowledge of God who they were sacrificing to and in fact they primarily had a physical relationship with God and they thought the blessing of God were physical in wealth and status and that curses from God were physical as well in poverty and sickness, this group also understood that to see God was to die that a sinful human could not enter the presence of the Holy God and live. Job was one of the later Sacrificing Gentiles [Job 1:5] and in the book of Job it is revealed that Job had some knowledge of God but really no idea how to fellowship with God and later Balaam possibly the last Sacrificing Gentile the system of Gentile sacrifice has become so misrepresented that Balaam just goes completely off course in serving God and Balaam becomes one of the Bibles primary examples in how not to conduct your life. From the Ancient group of Sacrificing Gentiles, a system that was spinning out of control, God called Abraham [Genesis 12:1] and created the Jewish Nation. Through Abraham and His Jewish Nation descendants especially through the giving of the Law to Moses and of the teachings of the Prophets that God was able to correct many of the misconceptions that persisted during the Ancient Sacrificing Righteous Gentile era. The Jews with their improved

knowledge of who God is were able to get closer to God in their relationship with God. To the Jews God sent Himself the Redeemer and the Savior [Jesus Christ] of all mankind. The Christian Church was started from the midst of the Jewish Nation chosen of God and with the Churches advanced knowledge of God, knowledge [Romans 5:5-8] that God loves mankind so much that God was willing to die for mankind in order to reconcile mankind back to Himself the Church is in a much more intimate relationship with God then the Jews are able to be in. After the Christian Church has been completed and is taken (raptured) into Heaven there is another group after the Church called the Martyred Saints of Revelation [Revelation 6:9] and this group having missed out on the Church age but coming to the realization of their desire to fellowship with God they will be put to death by the world for their love of God. The Martyred Saints of Revelation will have been forgiven much for their sins and because they have been forgiven much they will love God much [Luke 7:47], even more than the Church loved God and the Martyred Saints with their love for God will be close to God in Heaven [Revelation 7:15] even in His Temple. The group that will become the closest to God in love and knowledge will be the 144,000 Jewish Witnesses of Revelation they will follow God continually in Heaven and they sing a song [Revelation 14:3] that no other group knows. However no group of people or person gets to know God completely as Jesus will have on Him a Name [Revelation 19:12] that no one knows.

ROMANS 10 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES HIS TEACHING MAKING THE ABSOLUTE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT DIRECT ACCESS TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IS NOW ALSO AVAILABLE TO THE GENTILES AS WELL AS TO THE JEWS - FOR ABOUT THE FIRST 10-15 YEARS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WAS ENTIRELY JEWISH AND THERE WAS SOME CONCERN WHETHER OR NOT GENTILES COULD ENTER INTO THE PROMISES OF GOD AS A GENTILE - PAUL REVEALS THAT YES, BECAUSE THE DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS FINALIZED THE PHYSICAL EARTHLY SYSTEM AND THAT CHRISTIANITY IS A NEW HEAVENLY SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION SYSTEM THAT YES THE GENTILES CAN ENTER INTO THE NEW HEAVENLY SYSTEM OF CHRISTIANITY AND RECEIVE THE PROMISES AND BLESSINGS OF CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT FIRST BECOMING JEWISH -- 'ROMANS 10:10-13 FOR WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND WITH THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO SALVATION. FOR THE SCRIPTURE SAITH, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM (JESUS) SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED. FOR THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JEW AND THE GREEK: FOR THE SAME LORD (JESUS) OVER ALL IS RICH UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM. FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD (JESUS) SHALL BE SAVED (SALVATION - SOTERIA).' 'Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel (Jews) is, that they might be saved (Soteria).' 'Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away His people [the Jews] which He foreknew.' - 'Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved (Soteria): as it is written, There shall come out of Sion (Zion) the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:' - Soteria - Salvation (healing) in Jesus Christ. The name Jesus actually means God is Salvation. - In a sense the Jews have redemption from God the Father [and ultimatly Jesus] however Salvation at this moment is only from Jesus and they do not yet have a relationship with Jesus and are not yet experiencing the healing Salvation work of Jesus Christ. Salvation in Jesus is the primary difference between the Jews and the Christian Church. The Christian Church has emotional and spiritual Salvation healing while the Jews have not yet received their salvation healing. Note: All of the Jews includes all of the redeemed Jews; the Jewish forefathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob], the Jews in slavery in Egypt, those that died in the desert wandering, those in the Promise Land and those outside the Promise Land {Reuben, Gad and the Â˝ Tribe of Manasseh as an example}, those with a Temple and those without a Temple, those in Captivity in Babylon, those who returned to rebuild Jerusalem, those in the 2000 years of Diaspora, those who have returned, those who have not returend and those who are in the Tribulation of the End Times and it also includes the Jewish subset the 144,000 called out Jewish Witness of Revelation. -- 'Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away His people [the Jews] which he foreknew. [The Jews have stumbled over Jesus but have not fallen and are not cast away.]' - 'Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion [Greek Sion, Hebrew Zion -- there is also a Hebrew 'Sion' though not to be confused with the Greek 'Sion' (Zion)] the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:' -- 'Revelation 19:1 And after these [End Time, Great Tribulation] things I heard a great voice of *much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; *Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:' This is the Host of Heaven, it includes all the saved people from Adam and Eve (the 'Mother of all living' - saved) until the last redeemed person; this includes the ancient Righteous Sacrificing Gentiles [i.e. Job], all the redeemed Jews [from Abraham until the Second Coming], those saved in the Christian Church era, the Righteous Gentiles in remote areas who do not hear the Name or Gospel of Jesus Christ but their conscience is a witness to them, the Martyred Saints of Revelation who die for their faith and the 144,4000 Jewish Witnesses of Revelation.'

ROMANS 11 - HAVING MADE CLEAR THAT GENTILES NOW HAVE ACCESS INTO THE ORIGINALLY ALL JEWISH CHRISTIAN CHURCH THE APOSTLE PAUL GOES ON TO CONTRAST THE NEW [PARTICULARLY IN ROME] PREDOMINANTLY GENTILE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CUSTOMS WITH THE OLD JEWISH CUSTOMS IN ISRAEL - PAUL IS SAYING TO THE GENTILES IN ROME THAT IT ISN'T ENOUGH TO JUST BOAST THAT GOD IS THEIR SAVIOR AS THE JEWS HAD DONE IN ISRAEL IN THE PAST - BUT THAT GOD REQUIRES MORE THAN BOASTING AND LIKE THE JEWS THE GENTILES WILL HAVE TO SEEK AFTER, OBEY AND FOLLOW GOD IN ORDER TO REMAIN CHILDREN OF GOD - THE JEWS IN A SENSE WERE SET ASIDE AS THE PRIMARY WORK OF SALVATION HAS GONE TO THE GENTILES HOWEVER PAUL WARNS THE GENTILES THAT JUST AS GOD WAS UNDER NO MANMADE MANDATE OR OBLIGATION TO THE JEWS GOD REMAINS UNDER NO MANMADE MANDATE OR OBLIGATION TO THE GENTILES - ANY GENTILE CAN FIND THEMSELVES REMOVED FROM THE CHURCH AND FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD BY GOD JUST ANY BRANCH CAN BE REMOVED FROM A PLANT AND THE BRANCH IS DEAD OR DIES YET THE PLANT WITH THE GOOD HEALTHY ROOT CONTINUES TO GROW AND FLOURISH -- 'ROMANS 11:20-21 WELL; BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF THEY [JEWS] WERE BROKEN OFF [FROM SALVATION], AND THOU STANDEST BY FAITH. BE NOT HIGH-MINDED, BUT FEAR: FOR IF GOD SPARED NOT THE NATURAL [JEWISH] BRANCHES, TAKE HEED LEST HE ALSO SPARE NOT THEE.' The Jews have redemption and those Jews who do not become Christians (Salvation) their Jewish salvation is postponed until they enter into heaven. To the Gentiles however Salvation is a package deal and both redemption and salvation begin at the same moment. The Apostle Paul goes on to explain in the Book of Hebrews to the Jewish Christians that for those Jews who do become Christians and receive the Salvation but then later reject their Christian (Salvation) that there is no ability to fall back into the redemption of Judaism. Anyone who has the blood covering of Jesus and later rejects the blood of Jesus and tramples it underfoot [Hebrews 10:29] is guilty of the blood of Jesus and will be condemned. At this point the Jews as a Covenant Nation do not yet have the blood of Jesus and therefore have not trampled underfoot the blood of Jesus. The Jews not yet having the blood of Jesus Christ are entitled to and do need our encouragement, our cooperation, our support and most important of all our Christian compassion and mercy. -'Romans 11:30-36 For as ye (Gentiles) in times past have not [faith] believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [Jewish] unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your (Christian) mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all [Gentiles and Jews] in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the Mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him (Jesus), and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.'

ROMANS 12 - HAVING ESTABLISHED BEYOND A DOUBT THAT GENTILES DO BELONG AND HAVE A HOME IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH THE APOSTLE PAUL GOES ON TO INSTRUCT THE ROMANS IN CHRISTIAN LIVING AND IN CHRISTIAN CONDUCT -- 'ROMANS 12:21 BE NOT OVERCOME OF EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD.' Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you (Christian) therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove [live outwardly] what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Christianity is a living relationship with God. Sometimes it is thought that God is far away from us or that Christianity doesn't actually start until after we die and go to heaven but the truth is that God is intimately close to us and with God being intimately close to us here and right now in our physical body that Christianity does have just as much meaning, significance and practice while we are still alive on earth as Christianity has once we enter into our eternal condition in Heaven.

ROMANS 13 - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN ROME SPECIFICALLY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD GENERALLY IS BEING INSTRUCTED TO OBEY CIVIL AUTHORITIES BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT IS GOD IS IN CONTROL AND IN CHARGE - GOD HAS PERMITTED EACH CIVIL AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE THEIR POSITION OF AUTHORITY - 'ROMANS 13:5 WHEREFORE YE MUST NEEDS BE SUBJECT [TO GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES], NOT ONLY FOR WRATH [THE WRATH OF GOD IS UPON THOSE WHO DISOBEY], BUT ALSO FOR [OUR] CONSCIENCE SAKE.'

'Romans 13:10-14 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time [End Times], that now it is high time to awake out of [spiritual] sleep: for now is our salvation [the return of Jesus Christ] nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [sexual perversion] and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.' - The ability to have a successful Christian walk and a meaningful Christian life is going to come by focusing on and looking to Jesus Christ. As we place our attention and desires on the return of Jesus and on His Divine Heavenly Kingdom our earthly physical desires will be replaced with godly, spiritual, Heavenly desires. Mankind was originally created to be in fellowship with God by being eternally heavenly focused however our sin nature does now distract us from our desired heavenly focus. Because of sin our emotions have been damaged and are now incomplete so a relationship with God and even a relationship with others is something that is not entirely natural to us so we do have make the effort to overcome sin in order to have a godly relationship with God and to be in fellowship with others. It is however only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we will be able to overcome our sin and to have our desired meaningful, godly relationship with God and to also be able to participate in our desired godly fellowship with others.

ROMANS 14 - THE APOSTLE PAUL INSTRUCTS THAT CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT ENCOURAGEMENT, EDIFICATION AND BUILDING UP OF EACH OTHER IN JESUS CHRIST AND THAT IT IS NOT LIKE THE WAYS OF THE WORLD WHERE TEARING DOWN, MANIPULATING AND EVEN DESTROYING ONE ANOTHER ARE THE NORM -- 'ROMANS 14:18-19 FOR HE (CHRISTIAN) THAT IN THESE THINGS [CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS] SERVETH CHRIST IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD, AND APPROVED OF MEN. LET US THEREFORE FOLLOW AFTER THE THINGS WHICH MAKE FOR PEACE, AND THINGS WHEREWITH ONE MAY EDIFY [ENCOURAGE AND BUILD UP] ANOTHER.' 'Romans 14:11-13 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me (Jesus), and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.' - The Apostle Paul is saying that everyone Christian and non-Christian is going to have to give an account of their life that God gave to them to God. However for the Christian the account that we give to God is going to be a pleasing account it is an account of our intimate relationship with God and of our blessed fellowship with others. Our account to God is not intended to be a negative thing so let's all be careful that we don't turn our blessed account before God into an account that is less than blessed because we have been less than a blessing to God, ourselves and to others.

ROMANS 15 - THE APOSTLE PAUL AGAIN PROVIDES MORE BIBLICAL STANDING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES THAT JESUS CAME BOTH TO FULFILL THE PROMISES GIVEN TO THE JEWS AND TO RECEIVE UNTO HIMSELF THE GENTILE NATIONS - PAUL CONFIRMS THE HE INDEED IS GOD'S CHOSEN MISSIONARY TO DELIVER GOD'S MESSAGE TO THE GENTILE NATIONS - 'ROMANS 15:15-17 NEVERTHELESS, BRETHREN, I HAVE WRITTEN THE MORE BOLDLY UNTO YOU IN SOME SORT, AS PUTTING YOU IN MIND, BECAUSE OF THE GRACE THAT IS GIVEN TO ME OF GOD, THAT I SHOULD BE THE MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE GENTILES, MINISTERING THE GOSPEL OF GOD, *THAT THE OFFERING UP OF THE GENTILES MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE, BEING SANCTIFIED BY THE HOLY GHOST. I HAVE THEREFORE WHEREOF I MAY GLORY [BE ACCOMPLISHED] THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IN THOSE THINGS WHICH PERTAIN TO GOD.' 'Romans 15:8-14 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a Minister of the circumcision [Jews] for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made [to the Jews] unto the fathers [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob]: And *that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is written [2 Samuel 22:50], For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again He saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people [the Jews]. And again [Deuteronomy 32:43], Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud Him, all ye people. And again, Esaias (Isaiah) saith [Isaiah 11:10], There shall be a root [offspring] of Jesse [of the Jews, Jesse is the father of King David], and He (Jesus) that shall rise {shall stand} [resurrection] to reign over the Gentiles; in Him (Jesus) shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing (faith), that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish [instruct] one another.' - 'Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand {shall rise} [resurrection] for an ensign [flag of authority] of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.' -

The apostle Paul is confirming that even after the sin and separation of mankind that God still has authority over mankind over both the Jews who He instructed through the Law and the Prophets and who He physically came to becoming one of them and that God also has authority over the Gentiles who He also came to. No human is outside of the authority and representation of the resurrected Jesus Christ and it is in His resurrection authority that Jesus Christ does Heavenly reign and rule all the Nations of the world.

ROMANS 16 - PHEBE

DEACONESS [LIT. SERVANT, A FEMALE CHURCH WORKER] AT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN CENCHREA [THE SEAPORT NEAR THE MAJOR CITY OF CORINTH IN GREECE WHERE PAUL WROTE HIS LETTER TO ROME] - PHEBE WAS ENTRUSTED TO TAKE PAUL'S LETTER FROM CORINTH TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN ROME A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 617 MILES - PHEBE DELIVERED THE LETTER THAT PAUL WROTE AND TERTIUS WAS THE SCRIBE FOR WRITING THE LETTER, OFTEN A SCRIBE WROTE ON PARCHMENT WHILE THE AUTHOR OF THE LETTER SPOKE - TERTIUS [THE SCRIBE] SALUTES THE CHRISTIANS IN ROME 'I TERTIUS, WHO WROTE [SCRIBED] THIS EPISTLE, SALUTE YOU IN THE LORD' - 'ROMANS 16:16 SALUTE ONE ANOTHER WITH AN HOLY KISS. THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST SALUTE YOU.' A

'Romans 16:24-27 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to Him (Holy Spirit) that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the Mystery [the Mystery of God], which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest [the Mystery that God would dwell in human harts], and by the [Bible] scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all Nations for the obedience of faith [belief]: To God only wise, be Glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.' - The Apostle Paul mentions the previously unknown Mystery of God and reveals that the Mystery of God is that God in His love for mankind would come and die for mankind and that having died for mankind that God would unite with those who choose to unite with Him in such an intimate and meaningful way that God would actually with His Holy Spirit enter into the human spirit and dwell in the body of living human beings and that this blessing of intimate fellowship with God is for both the Jews and also the Gentiles. - 'Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the Mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:' - 'Ephesians 3:3-7 How that by revelation He (God) made known unto me (Apostle Paul) the Mystery; as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the Mystery of Christ Which in other [past] ages [Prophets and Law] was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the [Holy] Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs [with the Jews], and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His power.' - 'Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the Glory of this Mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.' - The Apostle Paul concludes his letter to the Christian Church at the center of the Roman Empire in Rome [and to all of Christianity] with these words. 'Romans 16:27 To God only wise, be Glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.'

MEMO - THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY HAS COMPLETED THE BOOK OF ROMANS AND NEXT IS THE BOOK OF GALATIANS - THE STUDY PACE HAS BEEN FAST THOUGH IN THE FUTURE THE PACE WILL PROBABLY VARY A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THERE MIGHT EVEN BE SOME PAUSES IN THE STUDY IT DEPENDS MOSTLY ON THE QUALITY OF MATERIAL BEING PRESENTED - I HAVE SOME OTHER THINGS SCHEDULED BUT I THINK WE CAN KEEP STUDYING AROUND ANY OTHER EVENTS

The blog Bible Study has been continuing at a fairly quick rate though it isn't the intention of the study to go at a fast pace and to set some sort of speed record although we might have set some record at the pace we have been going. The intentions are to only go as fast as we can get good material posted and we are getting good Bible study material posted at this rate however the rate will fluctuate from time to time. My intentions and concerns when committing to and starting the blog Bible Study were 1. That it wouldn't become a 2-3 year project as I don't even remotely have a schedule for that to happen. 2. Another major concern is that the study might not get finished and the slower the pace the more likely it won't finish in this window of opportunity that we have for the study. 3. Another concern was that the Bible study might go at such a slow pace that people wouldn't have enough material to study. There are few thing worse than

going to a website to do a Bible Study and they have incomplete studies though that is fine and understandable for a study in progress however it is the intention of this website to have enough material so that people can do more than just get started in their studies but that everyone visiting the site, at all levels of Christian maturity will be able to find enough material to make good progress in their Christian Studies. Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and understanding. Keep up the excellent work in staying with the Bible study! God bless everyone, David Anson Brown

1 CORINTHIANS THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS: INTRODUCTION - AUTHOR: PAUL, THE APOSTLE (1:1; 16:21) - PLACE OF WRITING: EPHESUS (16:8) - TIME OF WRITING: PROBABLY IN THE SPRING OF 57 A.D., SHORTLY BEFORE THE JEWISH FEAST OF PENTECOST (16:8), *DURING HIS THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY [WHILE IN EPHESUS] (AC 19:1-41) - WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS EPISTLE? TO CORRECT SINFUL PRACTICES AND REFUTE FALSE DOCTRINE - WHERE IS THE THEME OF THE EPISTLE STATED? 1 CORINTHIANS 1:10 BACKGROUND OF THE CITY OF CORINTH: Corinth was situated on the Isthmus of Greece (called Achaia in the Bible) between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea, above the Mediterranean Sea. About 50 miles to the east was the city of Athens. ... BACKGROUND OF THE CHURCH AT CORINTH: The establishment of the church occurred during Paul's second missionary journey. It is recorded by Luke in Ac 18:1-18, which can be divided into three sections: 1) Abiding with Aquila and Priscilla, fellow tentmakers; reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath (Ac 18:1-6). 2) In the house of Justus, abiding there and teaching for a year and six months (Ac 18:7-11). 3) An incident before Gallio, proconsul of Achaia (Ac 18:1218). It appears from reading the epistle that the church was adversely affected by the immoral environment found in the city. Pride caused division in the church and disruption in the services (1 Cor 1-4, 11). Immorality and immodesty found its way into the church, which gave it a bad reputation (1 Cor 5). The brethren were taking their personal problems with each other before the heathen courts instead of working them out among themselves (1 Cor 6). Other issues affecting the church included questions about marriage (1 Cor 7), meats sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8-10), women praying and prophesying with heads uncovered (1 Cor 11), the use of spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12-14), the resurrection from the dead (1 Cor 15), and the collection for the saints in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16). Thus the church was one beset with problems and questions that needed to be answered. -- PURPOSE OF WRITING: The bad news concerning the problems at Corinth had reached Paul in Ephesus. It seems that this news came from at least two sources: 1) the household of Chloe (1:11); and 2) a letter sent to him (7:1), possibly by the hands of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (16:17). Therefore, in answer to these reports Paul writes: TO CORRECT SINFUL PRACTICES AND REFUTE FALSE DOCTRINE - THEME: 1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." [ link]

THERE IS GOING TO BE A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THE EMPHASIS OF THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY REGARDING THE CHURCH EPISTLES (PART OF STUDY SEGMENT #6) 1ST CORINTHIANS, 2ND CORINTHIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, 1ST THESSALONIANS AND 2ND THESSALONIANS - DURING THE STUDY OF THE CHURCH EPISTLES THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY IS GOING TO STUDY AND EMPHASIZE THE RAMPANT DECEPTION CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE WITHIN THE MODERN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH Of the many problems and perils that face the current Christian Church the main problems and breakdowns within Christianity itself are not from the outside forces such as the events of the day as portrayed on the nightly news or by secular authorities or even by cults and groups that openly oppose Christianity the main peril and problem in modern Christianity is a breakdown in the leadership, the pastors, the teachers and the organizations of the current Christian Church. While studying the Bible's Church epistles the blog Bible Study is going to explore and examine some of the aspects of modern Christian leadership and current Church practices that are both unbiblical and unstable and that are now wreaking havoc and destruction on the Church, the body of Christ, from within the Church. Pastors, men and ministries that even a few short years ago seemed to be faithful and honest have now in a short time become so

compromised and compromise is a byproduct of corruption so we have to assume corrupt, that they are now openly and outwardly opposing the work of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. The blog Bible Study is going to actually look at two aspects of deception. 1. How we ourselves as true worshipers of God can over time and usually through hardships, bitterness, neglect or misconceptions can become deceived. 2. How outright wolves in sheep's clothing are deceiving and taking advantage of the Christian Church. Note: As important as it is to be able to discern and avoid the workings of the wolves and the false shepherds I think it is much more important that we ourselves the individual Christian worshipers of God be able to present ourselves to God as holy and undefiled (Romans 12:1-3) because ultimately our relationship and accountability with God is going to be the final result of our actions and our intentions and not the actions and intentions of others or of organizations.

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orinthians 1:4-9 4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the Testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; **waiting [watching] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the [Judgment] Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called [invited] unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. - The Christian Church, fellowship with the living God as a Child of God is open and available to everyone who calls upon the Name of Jesus Christ in His resurrection glory, power and authority!

1 CORINTHIANS 2 - PAUL NOTES THAT EARTHLY HUMAN WISDOM WILL ONLY GO SO FAR IN UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRITUAL MATTERS AND NATURE OF GOD AS GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO MANKIND IN THE 3 IN 1 [TRIUNE - TRINITY] NATURE OF GOD - THEREFORE PAUL SPEAKS TO PEOPLE IN A SPIRITUAL WAY SO PEOPLE CAN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND MANKIND -- '1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5 AND I, BRETHREN, WHEN I CAME TO YOU, [I] CAME NOT WITH EXCELLENCY OF SPEECH OR OF WISDOM, [IN] DECLARING UNTO YOU THE TESTIMONY OF GOD [JESUS]. FOR I DETERMINED NOT TO KNOW ANYTHING AMONG YOU, SAVE JESUS CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED. AND I WAS [HUMBLE] WITH YOU IN WEAKNESS, AND IN FEAR, AND IN MUCH TREMBLING. AND MY SPEECH AND MY PREACHING WAS NOT WITH ENTICING [SALESMANSHIP] WORDS OF MAN'S WISDOM, BUT IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER: *THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD.' 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect [complete in Jesus]: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought [nothing]: But we speak the wisdom of God *in a mystery [Triune - Father, Son Jesus , Holy Spirit], even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew [the Triune nature of God as revealed to mankind]: for had they known it [Triunity - Trinity], they would not have crucified the [the Triune] Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the [Triune] things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them [Triunity] unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God [are unknown to man] knoweth no man, but [unless the Spirit of God is within the born again person] the Spirit of God. [and] Now we have received [the born again Spirit of Jesus], *not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God [Jesus - Firstfruits];* that we might know the [Spiritual] things [of God] that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak [about], not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; *comparing Spiritual things with Spiritual. But the natural [physical, earthly] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [lacking]. *But

he that is spiritual [born again] judgeth [considers] all things, yet he himself is judged [condemned] of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have [a mind above the earthly] the [heavenly, eternal] mind of Christ. - The Apostle Paul repeatedly throughout his writings refers to the 3 in 1 Triune (Trinity) nature of God [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit] as revealed by God to mankind as a "Mystery". If God were exclusively the Father and not the Son or the Holy Spirit than (singular) God in man is not really a mystery. Having one Spirit of God inside of one man could be easily explained and would not be encompassed in a mystery. However having the 3 in 1 nature of God, God the Father and equally God the Son Jesus Christ and just as equally God the Holy Spirit the three being individually separated [as revealed to mankind] as well as eternal (always existent, self-sustaining), omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and yet the three being one it is a great mystery. The eternal, undefined, exact True nature of God is a mystery [at least currently] to mankind because God is unique and God is complex as revealed by God to mankind in the 3 in 1 complexness of God in the Bible.

1 CORINTHIANS 3 - THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF GOD IS REVEALED TO NOW BE INSIDE AND COMINGLED WITH THE [CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS] HUMAN SPIRIT IN THE [COMPLETED] SPIRITUALLY BORN AGAIN PERSON -- '1 CORINTHIANS 3:16 KNOW YE NOT THAT YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU?' - '1 CORINTHIANS 3:21 THEREFORE LET NO MAN GLORY IN MEN. FOR ALL THINGS ARE [EQUALLY] YOURS ...' 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 For we [labor] are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry [living plant, vine branch], ye are God's building [structure]. According to the grace [individuality] of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder [of the Church structure of God], I have laid [revealed] the [Gospel] foundation, and another [Christian] buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed [be very careful] how he buildeth thereupon [the Gospel of Jesus]. For other [new] foundation can no man lay than [the original foundation] that is laid, *which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man [labors] build upon this [Jesus] foundation [then accordingly] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work [labor on the one Christian structure] shall be made manifest [revealed]: for the [Judgment - rewards judgment] day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [extreme judgment]; and the fire [Judgment of God] shall try [test] every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide [remain after the fire] which he hath built thereupon [the Christian foundation], *he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss [of rewards]: but he himself shall be saved [enter into Heaven]; yet so [emptied] as by fire. - The one eternal foundation of Jesus Christ is to be built on by all Christians of all denominations, at all times and throughout all locations. There are no alternate foundations in the House of God there is only the one True, Divine, precious [gold, silver, precious gemstones] eternal foundation of Jesus Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 4 - IT IS REQUIRED THAT THOSE WHO OVERSEE AND ADMINISTER THE ELEMENTS [MYSTERY] OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO THEMSELVES AND TO OTHERS THAT THEY DO SO BEING FAITHFUL TO JESUS CHRIST -- '1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-2 LET A MAN SO ACCOUNT OF US, AS OF THE MINISTERS OF CHRIST, AND STEWARDS [KEEPERS, AGENTS] OF THE *MYSTERIES OF GOD. MOREOVER *IT IS REQUIRED IN STEWARDS, THAT A MAN BE FOUND FAITHFUL.' 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge [make final] nothing before the time, until the Lord [Jesus] come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and **will make manifest the counsels of the hearts [soul]: and then shall every man have praise of God [in the truth manifested of Jesus]. ... 1 Corinthians 4:7-15 For who maketh thee [beginning Christian] to differ from another? and what hast thou [of Christianity] that thou didst not [freely] receive? now if thou didst receive it [Salvation], why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received [but created] it? Now ye [beginning Christians] are full [have everything including all understanding and know all knowledge], now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us [the Apostles]: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might [benefit] reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last [least in the Church], as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to Angels, and to men. We [experienced Christians] are fools for Christ's sake, but ye [beginning Christians] are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: **being reviled, we bless [as Jesus did]; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring [rejected] of all things

unto this day. *I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons *I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors [to lord and reign over you] in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers [who care more for you than for themselves - to build you up and pray for your continued success]: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten [fathered] you through the Gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me [the Apostle Paul a mature, accomplished Christian, father of others in the faith]. - Christianity at first glance to some might look like an opportunity to get ahead in this world as an opportunity to gain status, respect, eat a free lunch, sell some books, increase some finances, gain earthly pleasures and flaunt authority over others. However true Christianity is about giving yourself to God and to others in an unselfish godly way and that the world is bitterly opposed to and completely at odds against. The beginning Christian sees what appears to be a good earthly opportunity for comfort and advancement in Christianity but the mature Christian experiences the difficulty of the reality of existing in an environment [both physical and spiritual (demonic)] that is truly hostile towards Christianity [the Christianity of Jesus Christ].

1 CORINTHIANS 5 - THE APOSTLE PAUL REBUKES SOME OF THE UNHOLY BEHAVIOR TAKING PLACE IN THE CHURCH AND STATES THAT AS A DISCERNING CHRISTIAN PAUL DOES NOT EVEN HAVE TO BE IN THEIR PRESENCE TO DISCERN THAT THEIR BEHAVIOR IS UNSCRIPTURAL -'1 CORINTHIANS 5:3-5 FOR I [PAUL] VERILY, AS ABSENT [NOT PHYSICALLY AMONG YOU] IN BODY, *BUT PRESENT [DISCERNING] IN SPIRIT, *HAVE JUDGED ALREADY, AS THOUGH I WERE PRESENT, CONCERNING HIM THAT HATH SO DONE THIS [IMMORAL] DEED, IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHEN YE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER, AND MY SPIRIT [OF FELLOWSHIP], WITH THE POWER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, TO DELIVER SUCH AN ONE UNTO SATAN [REMOVE THE OFFENDER FROM CHURCH FELLOWSHIP] FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH [HAVING DISCOVERED THE HARD WAY AFTER ENCOUNTERING SATAN THAT SERVING (SELF) OR IS NOT WORTH IT], THAT [THROUGH REPENTANCE] THE SPIRIT MAY BE SAVED IN THE DAY OF THE LORD JESUS.' 1 Corinthians 5:6-13 Your glorying [about sin] is not good. Know ye not that a little [sin] leaven leaveneth [corrupts] the whole lump [fellowship]? Purge [remove] out therefore the old leaven [old sinful ways], that ye may be a new [fellowship] lump, as ye are unleavened [holy and undefiled]. *For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: ***Therefore let us keep the Feast [in Jesus], not with old leaven, neither with the leaven [sin] of malice [hostility] and wickedness; but with the [holy] unleavened bread of Sincerity and Truth. *I wrote unto you in an [previous] epistle [letter] not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators [Gentiles] of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company [with evil people within the Church], if any man that is called a brother [a fellow Christian] be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; **with such an one [avoid] no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them [don't judge non-Christians] also that are without? do not ye judge them [do judge fellow Christians] that are within? But them that are without [non-Christians] God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves [remove from fellowship] that wicked person. - Paul teaches of the necessity to judge people within the Church. It is of particular importance to Judge the pastors, leaders, teachers and elders of a Church or fellowship those are the offices most easily corrupted and they are the offices that need the most oversight. Don't hesitate to go to another fellowship in fact ALWAYS try to fellowship in two or more locations [denominations] although today the same tired message is repeated from denomination to denomination so that any actual variety is a rarity but it is unadvisable to be taught only by one man or only in one denomination particularly in this day and age of rampant deception with so many church personnel impersonating and pretending to be true Christian Church authorities. Note: The man that Paul referred to in this passage was removed from the fellowship, he then repented but the Church in Corinth would not receive him back into fellowship so part of the letter of 2nd Corinthians [which is actually 3rd Corinthians]is Paul instructing the Church to accept the repentant person back into fellowship. Also Note: The referenced previous letter from the Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth was probably brief enough and specific enough that it was intended only for a few people in Corinth for the one specific matter. In all of the other writings of Paul he wrote broadly to encompass the complete body of Christ in his writings and in his letters even in his personal letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon the Apostle Paul directed them as Church wide epistles.

1 CORINTHIANS 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS CHRISTIAN LIBERTY - WE AS CHRISTIANS IN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN HEAVEN ARE FREE TO DO ANYTHING ON EARTH - HOWEVER ON EARTH THERE ARE STILL HARMFUL (UNPROFITABLE) THINGS AND IF A CHRISTIAN IS NOT DISCERNING ENOUGH TO AVOID AND STAY AWAY FROM THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THINGS THAT STILL REMAIN ON

THIS EARTH THAN A CHRISTIAN CAN SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF BAD PERSONAL DECISIONS

-- '1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-12 KNOW YE NOT THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS [UNSAVED] SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? *BE NOT DECEIVED: NEITHER FORNICATORS, NOR IDOLATERS, NOR ADULTERERS, NOR EFFEMINATE, NOR ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND, NOR THIEVES, NOR COVETOUS, NOR DRUNKARDS, NOR REVILERS, NOR EXTORTIONERS, SHALL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. **AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU [WE HAVE ALL SINNED]: ***BUT YE ARE [NOW] WASHED [CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS], BUT YE ARE SANCTIFIED [SET APART TO GOD], BUT YE ARE JUSTIFIED [RIGHT WITH GOD] **IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, AND BY THE SPIRIT [BORN AGAIN] OF OUR GOD. **ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL UNTO ME [WE HAVE LIBERTY NOT THE LAW], BUT ALL THINGS ARE NOT EXPEDIENT [WELL]: ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL FOR ME, ***BUT I WILL NOT BE BROUGHT UNDER THE POWER [INTO BONDAGE] OF ANY [WORLDLY THING].' 1 Corinthians 6:13 Meats [food is] for the belly, and the belly [is] for meats [food]: *but God shall destroy both it [physical stomach] and them [food urges] {food, bodily urges and our physical body become obsolete}. **Now the body *is *not *for *fornication, but [it is to worship] *for *the *Lord; and the Lord for the body. **And God hath both raised [resurrection] up the Lord, **and will also *raise *up *us by His own power [in a new body without food or sexual urges] {worship and our new resurrection body become everything}. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? *know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith He, shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24). **But he that is [born again] joined unto the Lord *is one Spirit. **Flee fornication. **Every sin that a man doeth [greed, envy, etc.] is [in the soul] without the body; **but he that committeth fornication sinneth [both against the soul and the physical body] against his own [physical] body. What? *know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price [death on the cross]: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your [human] spirit, which are God's. - Sexual sin is one of the sins that a person can commit that has larger ramifications than other sins. When a person sins in their soul it is bad enough but when we sin body and soul it is a double portion of sin in a sense. When we sin in our mind for instance if we think God does not love us or does not hear our prayers then that is sin and God can and will deal with that sin (shortcoming) by revealing more of Himself to us. Sometimes our sins do bring us closer to God. God is able to use both our obedience and our disobedience in order to reveal Himself to us. The cults are often so wrong when they say that God can't do something because of our sin however with physical sin like murder, drugs, pornography, etc. it involves other people and brings our physical body and the bodies of others into the sinful act therefore the consequences of the sin are often multiplied [in a sexual encounter you might not have a social disease at the start of the encounter but because another person is involved you might have one at the end of the encounter] and yes God can and does overcome our physical sins however physical sins are an indication that a person is further away from God and being further away from God the person often needs more and drastic measures in order to bring them into a honorable relationship with God.

1 CORINTHIANS 7 - 1 CORINTHIANS 7:12-13 BUT [THIS IS A NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING] TO THE REST SPEAK I [IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT], NOT THE LORD [THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT]: IF ANY BROTHER [CHRISTIAN] HATH A [NON-CHRISTIAN] WIFE THAT BELIEVETH NOT, AND SHE BE PLEASED TO DWELL WITH HIM, LET HIM NOT [DIVORCE] PUT HER AWAY. AND THE [CHRISTIAN] WOMAN WHICH HATH AN [NON-CHRISTIAN] HUSBAND THAT BELIEVETH NOT, *AND *IF *HE *BE *PLEASED *TO *DWELL [NO VIOLENCE OR ABUSE] WITH HER, LET HER NOT LEAVE HIM. *FOR THE UNBELIEVING HUSBAND IS SANCTIFIED [SET APART] BY THE WIFE [THROUGH HER PRAYERS AND INTERCESSION FOR THE FAMILY], AND THE UNBELIEVING WIFE IS SANCTIFIED BY THE HUSBAND [THROUGH HIS PRAYERS AND INTERSESSION FOR THE FAMILY]: ELSE WERE YOUR CHILDREN UNCLEAN [WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE OF GOD]; BUT NOW ARE THEY HOLY [HAVING SOME KNOWLEDGE OF GOD]. - NOTE: DIVORCE IS UNFORTUNATE HOWEVER LOVE IS ABOVE THE LAW (GALATIANS 5:22). IF SOMEONE IS DIVORCED THEY CAN REMARRY ANYONE OUT OF LOVE [A HIGHEST COMMITMENT OF GOOD TO GOD]. DIVORCE BREAKS THE LAW, IT BREAKS THE MARRIAGE, IT BREAKS THE FAMILY AND IT BREAKS SOCIETY BUT MARRIAGE [ANY MARRIAGE, 2ND, 3RD, ETC.] IN A COMMITTED UNION THROUGH LOVE IN JESUS CHRIST CAN OVERCOME ALL THINGS. GOD IS THE GOD OF A NEW LIFE AND OF SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH CHANCE ETC. HAVE THE FREEDOM [FREEDOM MEANS MAKING MISTAKES] AND THE LIBERTY [TO MAKE MORE MISTAKES] IN THIS LIFE BUT BE SURE TO LIVE IT FOR GOD AND GOD IS MORE THAN WILLING AND MORE THAN CAPABLE OF PICKING UP THE PIECES OF OUR LIFE INCLUDING AND ESPECIALLY IN FAILED RELATIONSHIPS AND IN MARRIAGES. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 But as God hath distributed [life's circumstances] to every man, as the Lord [comes down to man and meets man] hath called [invited] every one, so let him walk [where he first met God]. And so ordain I in all churches.

Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. **Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called [where he met God, until or if you discern a change in your life]. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it [God can fellowship with a servant (slave)]: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; **be not ye the servants of men. *Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called [where he met God], therein abide [fellowship] with God. - The Apostle Paul is saying that God meets individual mankind where we are, at any particular moment in life. If someone is famous and they meet God then God has met them there in that condition they don't have to sell everything and become poor to fellowship with God they have already met God. So don't chase after God according to the wisdom of men but just consider that God has already dealt us many of our cards in life and God can work in and around the cards we hold in our life. Once meeting God that is a new relationship and some things do change [like going into some form of ministry]and many things stay the same in life. Make sure the changes and any new directions in life are from God when and if they happen.

1 CORINTHIANS 8 - CONTINUING WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CHURCH THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS THAT CHRISTIAN LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT AND MORE MEANINGFUL THAN KNOWLEDGE AND IT IS CERTAINLY MORE POWERFUL THAN HIDDEN (OCCULT) KNOWLEDGE IF SOMEONE HAS VAST OCCULT KNOWLEDGE THE ANSWER OFTEN ISN'T OUR CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE BUT OUR CHRISTIAN LOVE AND OF OUR CONCERN FOR THEM, THEIR SAFETY AND THEIR WELLBEING -- '1 CORINTHIANS 8:1 NOW AS TOUCHING (OCCULT) THINGS OFFERED UNTO IDOLS, WE KNOW THAT WE ALL HAVE KNOWLEDGE. KNOWLEDGE PUFFETH UP, BUT CHARITY (LOVE) EDIFIETH [BUILDS UP].' 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing [without authority] in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many, and lords many, But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. *Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge [of Jesus Christ]: for some with conscience [knowledge] of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat [food] commendeth [recommended] us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not [fast], are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty [to eat foods sacrificed to idols] of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak [suspect idols have authority]. For if any man see thee which hast [Biblical] knowledge sit at meat [rejecting the idol] in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols [accepting the idol]; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish [fall away], for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend [follow idols]. - Loosely this is about a Christian who has a good walk and goes into a pagan temple and has lunch as a Christian in a pagan place knowing that God is above all. Then a weaker Christian sees this and wrongly thinks that the Christian really worships idols so that person begins to think maybe idols do have power and is seduced away from Christianity all because a Christian went into a pagan place. 1. Always make sure [to the best of our ability]that when we do go into a non-Christian environment that we try to keep our Christian bearing if we act non-Christian at a sports event or whatever it is an issue. 2. Our actions do affect other Christians both for good and for bad so just be aware of it that our actions do affect other people even if we don't know them directly or realize it.

1 CORINTHIANS 9 - THE APOSTLE PAUL POINTS OUT THAT ALTHOUGH SERVANTS OF GOD ARE ALLOWED TO MAKE A LIVING FROM THEIR SERVICE TO GOD IT IS NOT INTENDED THAT THE GOSPEL [GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST] IS TO BE PERCEIVED BY OTHERS AS HAVING BEEN SOLD FOR INCOME -- '1 CORINTHIANS 9:18 WHAT IS MY REWARD THEN? VERILY THAT, *WHEN I PREACH THE GOSPEL , I MAY MAKE THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST [FREE] WITHOUT CHARGE, *THAT I ABUSE NOT MY POWER IN THE GOSPEL.' 1 Corinthians 9:16-27 16 For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may

make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the Gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a [temporary] corruptible crown; but we [Christians] an [eternal] incorruptible [crown]. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air [shadowboxing]: But I keep under [submission]my body, and bring it into subjection: *lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, *I myself should be a [disqualified] castaway. - The Apostle Paul is continuing to talk about God's ability to meet people when and where they are. Paul is not saying that he joins [lawless] people in their activities, what the Apostle Paul is saying is that some people eat only certain foods and that is fine God can meet them there. Some people have certain customs and rituals and that's fine God can meet them there. At times in Church history missionaries have gone from developed countries like England and America to remote areas to spread the Gospel but at times the missionaries were so intent on making foreign people British or American subjects first that the teaching of the gospel was neglected. The Apostle Paul is saying that he does not try to convert people to a nationality or a custom but only to the eternal, living, Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 10 - A CONTINUING ENCOURAGEMENT FOR CHRISTIANS TO CONDUCT OUR LIVES WITH AN EVER-PRESENT KINGDOM OF GOD CONDUCT AND WITH AN ETERNAL LIFE PURPOSE OF MIND -- '1 CORINTHIANS 10:31-33 WHETHER THEREFORE YE EAT, OR DRINK, *OR WHATSOEVER YE DO [WITH YOUR LIBERTY], *DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD. GIVE NONE OFFENCE, NEITHER TO THE *JEWS, NOR TO THE *GENTILES, NOR TO THE *CHURCH OF GOD: EVEN AS I PLEASE ALL MEN IN ALL THINGS, NOT SEEKING MINE OWN PROFIT [BENEFIT], BUT THE PROFIT [BENEFIT] OF MANY, **THAT THEY MAY BE SAVED. - NOTE: THE BIBLE DIVIDES THE THREE GROUPS; JEWS, GENTILES AND CHRISTIANS.' 1 Corinthians 10:23-29 All things are lawful for me, *but all things are not expedient [well]: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify [build-up] not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth [benefit]. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles [market], that eat, asking no question [about its occult origins] for conscience sake: **For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. If any of them [non-Christians] that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no [about its occult origins] question for conscience sake. **But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not [don't join in] for his sake that shewed it, and for [our] conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof [God is Lord and does not want us to fellowship with idols (demons)]: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other [try not to give people the false impression that Christians compromise and go along with the idols of others]: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? - Note: Why is our Christian liberty judged for another man's conscience? Paul is saying that we have a more complete knowledge and we also have the backing of the God of the universe therefore we need to represent God to an unsaved world with as clear and uncompromised message as we can. If Christians send a message of compromise it conflicts with the no compromise message of Jesus and His cross but if we also send a message of no love then it also conflicts with the message of Jesus and His cross where His love for us was so complete that He died for us so we can live. Therefore try to keep and give and accurate representation of Jesus Christ and of His cross and of His resurrection to others who we interact with especially in social interactions.

1 CORINTHIANS 11 - THE CHURCH IS INSTRUCTED IN THE COMMUNION OF JESUS CHRIST -- '1 CORINTHIANS 11:23 FOR I HAVE RECEIVED OF THE LORD [JESUS] THAT WHICH ALSO I DELIVERED UNTO YOU, THAT THE LORD JESUS *THE SAME NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED [BY JUDAS] TOOK BREAD ...' - NOTE: THE COMMUNION REPRESENTS AND IS A PART OF THE LEVITICAL FEATS OF "THE LORD'S PASSOVER" JESUS WAS BETRAYED ON THE NIGHT OF THE PASSOVER FEAST [14TH OF NISAN - LEVITICUS 23:5]. THE VERY NEXT DAY, THE DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION (CROSS) OF JESUS IS THE LEVITICAL FEAST THE "FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD" [15TH OF NISAN LEVITICUS 23:6] THEN THAT FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK [SUNDAY] IS THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS [LEVITICUS 23:7] - JESUS RESURRECTED ON SUNDAY THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS AND BEGAN (JOHN 20:22) TO GIVE INDIVIDUALLY TO EACH ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES THE

FIRSTFRUITS

- 'ROMANS 8:23 AND NOT ONLY THEY [ALL OF CREATION GROANS FOR REDEMPTION], BUT OURSELVES ALSO, WHICH HAVE *THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, EVEN WE OURSELVES GROAN WITHIN OURSELVES, WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION [FROM CHILDREN OF GOD TO SONS OF GOD], TO WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.' OF

HIS HOLY,

ETERNAL RESURRECTION LIFE

Christian Communion - The New Testament - The body [both the physical and the resurrection body of Jesus] and the blood [both the physical blood and the resurrection - eternal life, spiritual blood] of Jesus Christ: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 23 For I [Apostle Paul] have received of the Lord [Jesus] that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is *My body [representing both the physical body and resurrection (spiritual) body of Jesus], which [physical body] is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood [both physical blood and resurrection Spirit-life blood]: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. *For as often as ye eat *this [unleavened] bread, and drink this [grape and water mingled] cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily [thinking they are not a sinner], shall be guilty of the [sacrifice for our sins] body and blood of the Lord. **But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, **not discerning the Lord's body [that the physical body of Jesus was given physically for our sin on the cross (redemption) and that the Spiritual body of Jesus is given to us from His eternal life resurrection (Salvation)]. For this cause [not knowing that the same body of Jesus from the cross is the same body that resurrected and is for our eternal, resurrection life, salvation] many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [are unaware of the power and of the pending resurrection in our own life]. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened (Hebrews 12:6) of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. - Note: The 'cup' is in reference to both the physical life-blood and the Spiritual life-blood of Jesus. The Communion of Jesus Christ represents both the body on the cross and the resurrection life body of Jesus. The New Testament - Communion of Jesus Christ represents both the Redemption (cross) and Salvation (resurrection) body of Jesus Christ. - Also Note: Jesus being without sin in His body (Matthew 17:2), bodily resurrected in His same body. We having sin our own physical body we vacate our physical body and it returns to dust [Genesis 3:19] then we each receive a new spiritual body - not a new physical body [not a reincarnation of a physical body] but a new eternal spiritual body for the purposes of our [continuing] eternal spiritual life.

1 CORINTHIANS 12 - THE INDIVIDUAL NATURE AND USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS [ABILITIES] GIVING FROM GOD ARE DISCUSSED -- '1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-7 NOW CONCERNING SPIRITUAL GIFTS [ABILITIES FROM GOD], BRETHREN, I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU IGNORANT. YE KNOW THAT YE WERE GENTILES, CARRIED AWAY UNTO THESE DUMB IDOLS, EVEN AS YE WERE LED. WHEREFORE I GIVE YOU TO UNDERSTAND, THAT NO MAN SPEAKING BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD CALLETH JESUS ACCURSED: AND THAT NO MAN CAN [HONESTLY] SAY [WITH THE HUMAN SPIRIT] THAT JESUS IS THE LORD, BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST [BUT DECEIVERS CAN EASILY SAY IN THEIR MIND OR WITH THEIR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS GOD - OR SOME VARIATION 'ALMIGHTY' TO ATTEMPT TO FOOL PEOPLE]. NOW THERE ARE DIVERSITIES OF [DIFFERENT] GIFTS, BUT [DONE IN] THE SAME [HOLY] SPIRIT. AND THERE ARE DIFFERENCES OF ADMINISTRATIONS [USES FOR THE SAME GIFT], BUT THE SAME LORD [JESUS]. AND THERE ARE DIVERSITIES OF OPERATIONS [HOW EACH GIFT IS USED BY EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON], BUT *IT IS THE SAME GOD WHICH WORKETH ALL IN ALL [IN ALL CHRISTIANS]. BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS GIVEN TO EVERY MAN TO PROFIT [EACH MAN] WITHAL [EACH IN A SIMILAR MANNER].' 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some [individuals] in the Church, first Apostles [sent out ones - evangelists], secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments [administration], diversities of tongues. *Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? [No!] But covet [seek] earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. ... [the way of love (agape)]. - All of the gifts, offices and functions of God are valuable and all work together in the one resurrection body of Jesus Christ. Note: The individual workings and accomplishments through the use of the gifts are not a substitute for love. We have to love, God and one another in Jesus Christ or else any of the works we do are meaningless.

1 CORINTHIANS 13 - THE SUPERIOR CHRISTIAN WAY - THE WAY OF LOVE (AGAPE) - SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION LIFE LOVE IN JESUS CHRIST -- '1 CORINTHIANS 13:12-13 FOR NOW [WHILE IN OUR PHYSICAL BODY] WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS [EYE], DARKLY [BARELY VISIBLE OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM]; BUT THEN [AFTER OUR RESURRECTION AND SPIRITUAL BODY THEN] FACE TO FACE [WITH JESUS GOD]: NOW I KNOW [EXPERIENCE - GINOSKO, G1097] IN PART; BUT THEN SHALL I KNOW [EXPERIENCE DIVINELY - EPIGINOSKO, G1921] EVEN AS ALSO I AM KNOWN. AND *NOW [IN THE DARKENED PHYSICAL REALM] ABIDETH [EXISTS] *FAITH, *HOPE, CHARITY (LOVE - AGAPE, G26), THESE THREE; BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY (LOVE - AGAPE, G26).' 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that [Jesus] which is perfect is come [2nd coming], then that which is in part [the gifts - Apostle, teaching, prophecy] shall be done away. When I was a child [incomplete], I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man [adult complete (sonship)], I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. - Note: Many of the various gifitngs of God the Holy Spirit are only temporary and will later be unnecessary in the presence of Jesus during His 2nd Coming Kingdom reign. Where the abilities of some gifts will cease of diminish in the presence of Jesus the ability to have faith, to have hope, to give and to love will increase in the presence of Jesus.

1 CORINTHIANS 14 - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS TO FUNCTION IN AN AND ORDERLY MANNER AND IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF MUTUAL RESPECT -- '1 CORINTHIANS 14:31-33 FOR YE [CHRISTIAN] MAY ALL PROPHESY [EXPLAIN BIBLICAL CONCEPTS] ONE BY ONE, THAT *ALL MAY LEARN, AND *ALL MAY BE COMFORTED. AND *THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS ARE SUBJECT TO THE PROPHETS [THEMSELVES] {PEOPLE ARE NOT POSSESSED (TAKEN OVER) BY THE HOLY SPIRIT THE WAY A DEMON MIGHT (OVERPOWER) A PERSON'S FREEWILL}. FOR GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, *BUT OF PEACE [COMFORT], AS *IN ALL CHURCHES OF THE SAINTS [HOLY - SAVED].' 1 Corinthians 14:36-40 What? came [originated] the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you [exclusively] only? *If any man think himself to be a prophet, *or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I [Apostle Paul] write unto you are the commandments of the Lord [Jesus]. But if any man be ignorant [self-serving], let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy [explain to others the concepts of Christianity], and forbid not to speak with tongues. *Let all things be done decently [respecting one another] and [functionally] in order. - Note: This is a major indictment against the popularity preaching [one man shows] of modern Christianity. Everyone in the Christian Church is equal among each other and everyone can contribute equally among the fellowship, no exceptions. The one man shows of modern Christianity are completely unbiblical and worse yet having one person in several positions of leadership [i.e. leadership, teaching, counseling, guiding, etc.] is disastrous and almost always, without fail it leads to the eventual destruction of the fellowship.

1 CORINTHIANS 15 - THE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL IS GIVEN AS THE [CROSS] REDEMPTION AND [RESURRECTION] SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST FOR OUR BENEFIT OF RECEIVING ETERNAL [RESURRECTION] LIFE -- '1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4 MOREOVER, BRETHREN, I DECLARE UNTO YOU *THE GOSPEL [JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN] WHICH I PREACHED UNTO YOU, WHICH ALSO YE HAVE RECEIVED, AND WHEREIN YE STAND; BY WHICH ALSO YE ARE SAVED [SALVATION], IF YE KEEP IN MEMORY WHAT I PREACHED UNTO YOU, UNLESS YE HAVE BELIEVED IN VAIN. FOR I DELIVERED UNTO YOU FIRST OF ALL THAT WHICH I ALSO RECEIVED, HOW THAT CHRIST DIED [CROSS - REDEMPTION] FOR

OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES;

AND

THAT

WAS BURIED [PROVEN TO BE DEAD], AND THAT

ROSE AGAIN

[RESURRECTION - SALVATION] THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES' 1 Corinthians 15:12-58 Now if [Jesus] Christ be preached [proclaimed] that He rose [resurrection] from the dead, *how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? *But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, *then is our preaching vain [empty], and your faith is also vain [empty]. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. **But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the Firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man [Adam] came death, by man [Jesus] came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in [Jesus] Christ shall all be made alive. *But every man [individually] in his own order: Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming [in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17, Acts 3:21)]. Then cometh the end [Tribulation - Great Tribulation], when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God [from here on earth], even {to} the Father; when He shall have put down all [Satanic] rule and all authority and power. For He [Messiah] must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. **The last enemy that shall be destroyed is [physical] death [spiritual death (separation from God) - lake of fire remains (Revelation 20:14)]. For He [Jesus] hath put all things under His feet [authority - soul]. But when He [Holy Spirit] saith, all things are put under Him [Jesus], it is manifest that He [Holy Spirit] is excepted [excluded - the Holy Spirit is not at odds with Jesus and is not subjected], which did put all things under Him [Jesus]. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him [Jesus], then shall the Son [Jesus] also Himself be subject unto Him [Father] that put all things under Him, **that God [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit] may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead {at times of severe persecution to get baptized was practically a death sentence}, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead {why baptize if it will cause your death if there is no resurrection}? *And why stand we [professing Christ] in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. ***Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that [plant seed] which thou sowest [plant in the ground] is not quickened [made alive], except it die: And that which thou sowest, *thou sowest not that body [blossoms] that shall be, but bare grain [seed], it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But *God giveth it a body [from a seed] as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies [sun], and bodies terrestrial [moon]: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. **So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption [physical flesh, sin]; it is raised in incorruption [spiritual body]: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: *It [human life] is sown a natural [physical] body; it [human life] is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [Jesus] was made a quickening [life giving] spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [physical]; *and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [Jesus] is the Lord from Heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: **and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. **Now this I say, brethren, that [physical] flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed [from physical body to spiritual eternal body], In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump [Church announcement from God - not the trumpet judgments of Revelation]: for the trumpet [announcement] shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [in their resurrection body], and we [who are alive] shall be changed [into a spiritual body]. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality [eternity]. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, **then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ***Death is swallowed up in [the] victory [of Jesus]. *O death, where is thy sting? *O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. **But thanks be to God, **which giveth us **the victory **through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, *be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding

in the work of the Lord, *forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain [emptiness] in the Lord [our labor is eternal].

1 CORINTHIANS 16 - PAUL

CHURCH AT CORINTH -- '1 CORINTHIANS 16:1-2 NOW CONCERNING THE COLLECTION [DONATION] FOR THE SAINTS [IN JERUSALEM], AS I HAVE GIVEN ORDER TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA [MODERN DAY ASIA, TURKEY], EVEN SO DO YE [IN GREECE]. UPON [CHURCH DAY] THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK [SUNDAY] LET EVERY ONE OF YOU LAY BY HIM IN STORE (SAVINGS), AS GOD HATH PROSPERED HIM, *THAT THERE BE NO GATHERINGS WHEN I COME.' NOTE: THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUALLY SEPARATES HIMSELF FROM ANY APPEARANCE OF BEING PERSONALLY ENRICHED BY THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. - ALSO NOTE: THE COLLECTION WAS TAKEN FOR THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM AND LIKELY 100% OF THE COLLECTION WENT DIRECTLY TO THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM. TODAY IN MODERN CHRISTIANITY SOME MINISTRIES WOULD PROBABLY TAKE THEIR OWN CUT [THOUGH HONESTLY MANY CHURCH MINISTRIES DO NOT TAKE A CUT - BUT IN A MODERN NONCHURCH, VISITING PASTOR (AS THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS) OR CRUSADE TYPE OF SETTING THE DONATIONS ARE OFTEN MISAPPROPRIATED] OF THE DONATIONS [FOR A SPECIFIC CAUSES] AND USUALLY ONLY A FRACTION OF THE DESIGNATED AMOUNT OF THE ORIGINAL STATED PURPOSE WOULD NOW MAKE IT TO THE ORIGINAL CAUSE. CONCLUDES HIS CURRENT LETTER TO THE

The Epistle (book) of 1st Corinthians concludes: 1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch [be alert, continually look for the 2nd Coming return of Jesus] ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you [behave] like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the Firstfruits of Achaia [a part of grater Greece], and **that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints, That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to everyone that helpeth with us, and laboureth. I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. The Churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla [good friends of Paul, Jewish Christians originally from Rome] salute you much in the Lord, with the Church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss [friendly embrace]. The salutation [closing remark] of me Paul [written] with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema [lit. banished] Maranatha [lit. until - Our Lord, come!]. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2 CORINTHIANS SECOND CORINTHIANS "A MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION" - THIS IS A UNIQUE LETTER WITH A WRITING STYLE THAT IS VERY PERSONAL, BOLD, AT TIMES SARCASTIC, AND VERY DEFENSIVE - IT SHARES THE CONCERN, PASSION, INTIMATE FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS OF AN APOSTLE [PAUL] WHO IS DEFENDING HIS OWN APOSTLESHIP AND MINISTRY IN A CHURCH WHICH HE FOUNDED - THE LETTER IS THE LEAST SYSTEMATIC [THEOLOGY] OF THE APOSTLE PAUL'S WRITINGS - EVEN A CASUAL READING GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF A MAN WHO IS ON HIS FEET FIGHTING A BATTLE WITH HIS FEELINGS AND PERSONAL BIASES CLEARLY INVOLVED - IT READS ALMOST LIKE A MAN WHO EXPRESSES FREELY HIS FEELINGS ABOUT HIMSELF AND HIS MINISTRY IN A JOURNAL

Second Corinthians reveals Paul's deep concern for a troubled Greek church. The Church at Corinth had great potential, but its history was marked by dissension, confusion in theology, distortions in worship, and apathy in moral concerns. Therefore, it is a letter of extreme relevance for churches in our day and age. This is a unique letter with a writing style that is very personal, bold, at times sarcastic, and very defensive. It shares the concern, passion, intimate feelings and thoughts of an apostle who is defending his own apostleship and ministry in a church which he founded. The letter is the least systematic of the Apostle Paul's writings. Even a casual reading gives the impression of a man who is on his feet fighting a battle with his feelings and personal biases clearly involved. It reads almost like a man who expresses freely his feelings about himself and his ministry in a journal. Thus analysis of this letter is almost impossible. Try outlining it for

yourself. Read with pencil in hand. ... CHRONOLOGY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS: 1. Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey and established a church there about A.D. 50 Acts 18:1-17). 2. While in Ephesus (A.D. 55), Paul heard of moral problems within the Corinthian church from Chloe's people and wrote a letter of instruction to them. He referred to this "previous letter" in 1 Cor. 5:9. This letter no longer exists; it was lost without trace. We will call it Paul's "Corinthians A" letter after F. F. Bruce's designation. 3. Paul received a letter from some of the members in the church concerning serious problems within the fellowship (I Cor. 7:1). They sought Paul's counsel in dealing with the issues. The family of Chloe came with news of the church (I Cor. 1:11), and the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (I Cor. 16:17). On the basis of the letter and other information that reached him in Ephesus about problems in the church, Paul wrote what is now called 1 Corinthians in about A.D. 55 and sent it to Corinth via Timothy (I Cor. 4:17). We will call 1 Corinthians letter "Corinthians B". 4. The pastoral letter, 1 Corinthians, was not successful and the situation grows worse. In fact, it seems to have stimulated further rebellion against Paul's authority. In response Paul probably made a brief visit across the Aegean Sea to Corinth in a personal attempt to resolve the crisis (2 Cor. 2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). This is often referred to as the "painful visit" which breaks his heart. Paul was rebuffed by members of the church. The opposition comes to a head with one member in particular defying his authority. The leadership in the church took no effective action in Paul's defense. Paul, deeply humiliated, left Corinth. 5. The "painful visit" didn't accomplish its goal, therefore Paul returned to Ephesus and wrote a third letter to the Corinthians "out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." It is referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4, 9, and 7:8, 12. This "exceedingly severe letter," delivered by Titus (2 Cor. 2:3f, 13; 7:13), is often called the stern or rebuking letter. This letter left Paul almost sorry that he had written it. We will call it letter "Corinthians C". 6. Titus visited Corinth with the "severe letter" in an attempt to reconcile the situation. Paul, in the mean time, was so anxious to hear from Titus that he left Ephesus traveling north to Troas seeking him (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:5, 13). Somewhere in Macedonia, probably Philippi, Paul received the good news from Titus of a change in attitude in the Corinthian church. The leader of rebellion had been rejected and disciplined. The church was once again open to Paul's counsel and desirous of his friendship. 7. Paul responded by writing 2 Corinthians from Philippi around A.D. 56 or early A.D. 57. We will call this letter "Corinthians D." 8. Paul made a final visit to Corinth (Acts 20:1-3) during which he solidified his relationship with the church and received the mission offering for the Jerusalem church. On this stay in Corinth Paul probably wrote his letter to the Romans. He sends Titus back to them with two other friends. F. F. Bruce is of the opinion that "this second visit of Titus to Corinth was not so happy as the former one. . . Paul was really putting them on the spot. . . . A new feeling of resentment showed itself among some members of the church, and it was fostered by certain visitors to Corinth who did their best to undermine Paul's prestige in his converts' eyes." He bases his theory on 2 Cor. 10-13. PURPOSE OF SECOND CORINTHIANS: False teachers who claimed to be apostles had infiltrated the Corinthian church with the goal of discrediting Paul's ministry and apostleship. This letter was written with the purpose of refuting these intruders. Paul is defending his integrity. 1. Paul wrote to prepare the Corinthians for his visit and insure the restored relationship with them (chapter 1-7). 2. He wrote to remind the church of their commitment to the offering for the poor saints at Jerusalem (chapters 8-9). 3. Paul defended his apostolic authority (chapters 10-13). 4. "He wrote to reprimand the obstinate remnants of the 'Cephas' (Peter) and 'Christ' factions for their persistent opposition" (Shepard, p. 273). THEME OF 2 CORINTHIANS: The joys and sorrows in Paul's ministry at Corinth at a time when his authority is undermined and severely questioned. ... GENUINENESS OF THE EPISTLE: Many scholars are of the same opinion as J. W. Shepard regarding the genuineness of 2 Corinthians. He writes: There is abundant proof of the circulation and genuineness of this epistle previous to 120 A. D. Polycarp and Irenaeus are among those who testify to this fact; through citation and otherwise. The evidence is yet more copious for early circulation dating from 175 A. D.; the Muratorian Fragment, Marcions Canon, and the citations from Clement of Alexandria and others. . . The internal evidence of Pauline authorship is so clear in the matter of style, vocabulary, and character of its general teachings as to render its authenticity unmistakable. So strong is both the external and internal evidence that only a small group of 'eccentric critics' any longer call in question its genuineness. [link]

2 CORINTHIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS WHAT IN THE BIBLE IS 2ND CORINTHIANS THOUGH POSSIBLY IT IS HIS 4TH LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH - PAUL WAS A SIMPLE STRAIGHTFORWARD MAN FROM A MEDIUM SIZED CITY (TARSUS) - IN CORINTH ONE OF THE TRUE METROPOLISES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD THE SEEMINGLY UNSOPHISTICATED WAYS OF PAUL WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY REJECTED BY THE HIGHLY CULTURED AND COMPLEX PEOPLE OF CORINTH -- '2 CORINTHIANS 1:-2 PAUL, AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST

BY THE WILL OF GOD, AND TIMOTHY OUR BROTHER, UNTO THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH IS AT CORINTH, WITH ALL THE SAINTS WHICH ARE IN ALL ACHAIA [GRATER GREECE]'

2 Corinthians 1:9-24 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, *but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us; Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. For our rejoicing is this, the Testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly [physical, worldly] wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness [Paul didn't neglect the Church at Corinth]? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? But *as God is True, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay [devious], but in Him was yea [God is straightforward, steadfast]. For all the promises of God in Him are yea [yes], and in Him Amen [lit. Truth], unto the glory of God by us. Now *He [Holy Spirit] which establishes us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not [postponed] as yet unto Corinth. Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith [redemption (cross) and salvation (resurrection) equal faith] ye stand. - Paul continues to attempt to remove the focus and adoration of the highly cultured Church at Corinth off of individuals and off of society in general and instead seeks for them to focus on the eternal Kingdom of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 1 (PART B) - INTERMIXED IN PAUL'S LETTER IS HIS OWN PERSONAL MEMOIRS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AS A WHOLE -- '2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-5 BLESSED BE GOD, EVEN THE FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF MERCIES, AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT; WHO COMFORTETH US IN ALL OUR TRIBULATION, THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO COMFORT THEM WHICH ARE IN ANY TROUBLE, BY THE COMFORT WHEREWITH WE OURSELVES ARE COMFORTED OF GOD. FOR AS THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST ABOUND IN US, SO OUR CONSOLATION ALSO ABOUNDETH BY CHRIST.' 2 Corinthians 1:6-10 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation [wellbeing], which is effectual [an example] in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted [it is also an example], it is for your consolation and salvation. *And our hope [of your success in Christ] of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: *But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but *in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us; - Paul is revealing that the struggles he is facing day to day in life on the road as a Missionary is very much a constant struggle of life and death.

2 CORINTHIANS 2 - PAUL SETS OUT THAT HE IS IN MINISTRY TO REVEAL JESUS CHRIST TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD AND NOT FOR FAME, FORTUNE OR EVEN WEALTH -- '2 CORINTHIANS 2:14-17 NOW THANKS BE UNTO GOD, WHICH ALWAYS CAUSETH US TO TRIUMPH IN CHRIST, AND MAKETH MANIFEST THE SAVOUR [SWEET AROMA] OF HIS KNOWLEDGE BY US IN EVERY PLACE. FOR WE ARE UNTO GOD A SWEET SAVOUR [AROMA] OF CHRIST, IN THEM THAT ARE SAVED, AND IN THEM THAT PERISH: TO THE ONE [UNSAVED] WE ARE THE SAVOUR [REMINDER] OF DEATH UNTO [THEIR ETERNAL SPIRITUAL] DEATH; AND TO THE OTHER [FELLOW CHRISTIANS] THE SAVOUR [REMINDER] OF LIFE UNTO [ETERNAL SPIRITUAL] LIFE. AND WHO IS SUFFICIENT [WORTHY] FOR THESE [ETERNAL - KINGDOM OF GOD] THINGS? FOR WE ARE NOT AS MANY [HIRED PASTORS - IMPOSTERS], WHICH CORRUPT THE WORD OF GOD: BUT AS OF SINCERITY [OF AN APOSTLE - EVANGELIST], BUT AS OF GOD, IN THE SIGHT OF GOD SPEAK WE IN CHRIST.'

2 Corinthians 2:6-11 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage [turning our worship into socializing] of us: for we are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices [tricks]. - Paul now mentions again the person referred to in 1st Corinthians who was removed from fellowship for immoral behavior. The Church in Corinth is instructed to allow the repentant worshiper back into the congregation because Christianity is not a social group and it is not a social gathering it is a place of fellowship, worship and obedience unto the almighty God.

2 CORINTHIANS 2 (PART B) - PAUL IS EXPLAINING THAT THIS RIFT BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND HIMSELF IS TAKING A HEAVY PERSONAL TOLL ON HIM -- '2 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5 BUT I DETERMINED THIS WITH MYSELF, THAT I WOULD NOT COME AGAIN TO YOU IN HEAVINESS. FOR IF I MAKE YOU SORRY, WHO IS HE THEN THAT MAKES ME GLAD, BUT THE SAME [PEOPLE] WHICH IS MADE SORRY BY ME? AND I WROTE THIS SAME UNTO YOU, LEST, WHEN I CAME, I SHOULD HAVE SORROW FROM THEM OF WHOM I OUGHT TO REJOICE; HAVING CONFIDENCE IN YOU ALL, THAT MY JOY IS THE JOY OF YOU ALL. *FOR OUT OF MUCH AFFLICTION AND ANGUISH OF HEART I WROTE UNTO YOU [POSSIBLY A LETTER AFTER 1ST CORINTHIANS AND BEFORE THIS 2ND CORINTHIANS] WITH MANY TEARS; NOT THAT YE SHOULD BE GRIEVED, BUT THAT YE MIGHT KNOW THE LOVE WHICH I HAVE MORE ABUNDANTLY UNTO YOU. BUT IF ANY HAVE CAUSED GRIEF, HE HATH NOT GRIEVED ME, BUT IN PART: THAT I MAY NOT OVERCHARGE [BREAKOFF RELATIONS WITH] YOU ALL.' 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia [Greece]. - Apparently Paul wrote a very stern letter the "exceedingly severe letter" delivered by Titus from Ephesus to the Church in Corinth then Paul journeyed from Ephesus to Troas hoping to meet up with Titus and hear of how his stern letter was received back in Corinth. Paul was unable to find Titus so he went further towards Corinth into Macedonia. Titus (2 Corinthians 7:6) finally located Paul and his companions in Macedonia and gave him the good news that the [now missing] stern letter was well received by the Church in Corinth. After the news from Titus then Paul wrote this 2nd Corinthians letter. - Note: The often referred to "stern letter" could have actually been 1st Corinthians that is being mentioned and not a missing letter though Paul's first (memo) letter to Corinth is known to be missing.

2 CORINTHIANS 3 - GLORY BRINGS ABOUT GLORY WHILE DISHONOR BRINGS ABOUT DISHONOR - IN ORDER TO BE CONFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF JESUS WE NEED TO BE STEADILY TRANSFORMED FROM SPIRITUAL VICTORY (GLORY) TO SPIRITUAL VICTORY (GLORY) IN THE HOLY SPIRIT -- '2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 BUT WE ALL [CHRISTIANS], WITH OPEN [UNVEILED] FACE BEHOLDING AS IN A GLASS [THE PHYSICAL REALM] THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE CHANGED INTO THE SAME IMAGE [AS JESUS IS ALREADY IN] FROM GLORY [ACCOMPLISHMENT] TO GLORY [ACCOMPLISHMENT], EVEN AS BY THE [HOLY] SPIRIT OF THE LORD.' 2 Corinthians 3:11-17 For if that which is done away [the laws of Moses] was glorious, much more that which remaineth [the resurrection of Jesus and the giving of the Holy Spirit] is glorious. Seeing then that we have such [resurrection] hope, we use great plainness [outspoken boldness] of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face (Exodus 34:35), that the Children of Israel [Jews] could no stedfastly look [as the face of Moses dimmed] to the end of that [laws of Moses] which is abolished: But their [Jewish] minds were blinded [covered by the vail of Moses]: for until this day remaineth the same vail [vail of Moses] untaken away [when a Jew/Hebrew reads the Bible they see Moses not Jesus] in the reading of the Old Testament [by the Jews]; which vail is done away [removed from Christians] in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail [of Moses] is upon their [Jewish] heart. Nevertheless when it [Jewish heart] shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. - Paul is explaining that the Bible is not vailed to the Christian. When a Christian reads the Bible the meaning should be self-evident. We as Christians have the vail removed and we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit therefore we don't need to be instructed in the Bible as the Jews are instructed in the laws of Moses. Christians are to engage in their own readings, devotions and studies of the Bible and are not to rely on man or on classes taught by men in order to teach the Bible to us.

2 CORINTHIANS 3 (PART B) - DON'T RELY ON MEN TO TEACH YOU THE BIBLE AND IN THE SAME CONTEXT DON'T RELY ON MEN TO RECOMMEND OTHER MEN TO YOU AS MEN OF GOOD CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, CONDUCT OR ABILITY - ASSESS EACH CHRISTIAN MAN (LEADER, WORKER) YOURSELF IN PRAYER, IN GUIDANCE AND IN DISCERNMENT WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND DON'T LOOK FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO COMMEND YOUR MINISTRY INSTEAD JUST LOOK FOR 'LIVING' SPIRITUAL FRUIT FROM GOD AS CONFORMATION FOR YOUR WORK IN JESUS -- '2 CORINTHIANS 3:1-3 DO WE BEGIN AGAIN TO COMMEND OURSELVES? OR NEED WE, AS SOME OTHERS, EPISTLES (LETTERS) OF COMMENDATION TO YOU, OR LETTERS OF COMMENDATION FROM YOU? YE ARE OUR [LIVING] EPISTLE WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS, KNOWN AND READ OF ALL MEN: FORASMUCH AS YE ARE MANIFESTLY DECLARED TO BE THE EPISTLE OF CHRIST MINISTERED BY US, *WRITTEN NOT WITH INK [IN THE WORDS OF MAN], BUT WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD; NOT IN TABLES OF STONE, BUT IN FLESHY TABLES OF THE HEART.' 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; **but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter [the law of Moses or the recommendations of man], but of the [Holy] Spirit: for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. - Trust in God and look to God both in personal devotions and in personal ministry service. The laws of Moses are constricting, blinding and irrelevant to New Testament service based in the Holy Spirit to God and the advice, council and approval of men is just as entangling, constricting, blinding and worthless in New Testament Christian service and devotions to God.

2 CORINTHIANS 4 - PAUL REITERATES THE EQUALITY WE ALL HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST - ONE CHRISTIAN PERSON [REGARDLESS OF SERVICE OR HUMAN STATUS] WILL BE RAISED UP JUST AS THE NEXT CHRISTIAN PERSON -- '2 CORINTHIANS 4:14 KNOWING THAT HE [FATHER] WHICH RAISED UP THE LORD JESUS SHALL RAISE UP *US ALSO BY JESUS, AND SHALL PRESENT [IN HEAVEN] US [EQUALLY] WITH YOU.' 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward [physical] man perish, yet the inward [spirit-soul] man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction [difficulties of life], which is but for a moment [considering eternity], worketh *for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of [eternal] glory; While we look not at the [current] things which are seen, but at the [eternal] things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal [temporary]; but the [spiritual] things which are not seen are eternal. - Being reminded again of the eternal and complex nature of the spirit realm vs. the briefness and simplicity of the physical realm.

2 CORINTHIANS 4 (PART B) - CHRISTIAN WORK IS DIFFICULT IN FACT IT IS DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE THEREFORE RELAX, ENJOY AND ALLOW GOD TO WORK NATURALLY THROUGH YOUR LIFE IN AN EXTRAORDINARY, SUPERNATURAL WAY, A WAY UNKNOWN AND NOT EXPERIENCED BY UNSAVED MANKIND -- '2 CORINTHIANS 4:8-11 WE [CHRISTIAN WORKERS] ARE TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE, YET NOT DISTRESSED; WE ARE PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN; CAST DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED; ALWAYS BEARING ABOUT IN THE BODY THE DYING OF THE LORD JESUS, *THAT THE [UNSELFISH] LIFE ALSO OF JESUS MIGHT BE MADE MANIFEST IN OUR BODY. FOR WE WHICH LIVE ARE ALWAY DELIVERED UNTO DEATH FOR JESUS' SAKE, THAT THE [EXTRAORDINARY] LIFE ALSO OF JESUS MIGHT BE MADE MANIFEST IN OUR MORTAL [BODY] FLESH.' 2 Corinthians 4:1-7 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint [resign] not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, **nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; *but by manifestation of the Truth commending ourselves *to every man's conscience [discernment] *in the sight of God. But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god [Satan] of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, **[Jesus] who is the image of God, should shine unto them. *For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. *For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness (Genesis 1:3), hath shined in our hearts (Isaiah 60:1, 1 John 2:8), to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this [spiritual] treasure in [fragile] earthen vessels [bodies], that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. - When we allow God into our lives He will live in us and through us naturally in a natural, supernatural way not in a manmade way or in a man-mandated way but only in a spiritual, supernatural way.

2 CORINTHIANS 5 - THE

PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY IS TEMPORARY AND FOR THE [SAVED]

CHRISTIAN WILL BE EXCHANGED FOR A AN ETERNAL SPIRITUAL BODY AS GIVEN BY GOD TO EACH OF US INDIVIDUALLY -- '2 CORINTHIANS 5:4-5 FOR WE THAT ARE IN THIS TABERNACLE [TEMPORARY PHYSICAL BODY] DO GROAN, BEING BURDENED: NOT FOR THAT WE WOULD BE UNCLOTHED [UNEMBODIED], BUT CLOTHED UPON [WITH AN ETERNAL SPIRIT BODY], THAT MORTALITY MIGHT BE SWALLOWED UP OF [ETERNAL] LIFE. NOW HE THAT HATH WROUGHT [CREATED] US FOR THE SELFSAME THING IS GOD, WHO ALSO HATH GIVEN UNTO US THE EARNEST [DOWN PAYMENT FIRSTFRUITS] OF THE SPIRIT.' 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the [physical] body, we are absent from the Lord: For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather *to be absent from the [physical] body, and to be present with the Lord. *Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him [Jesus]. For we must all appear before the *judgment seat [lit. foot of the Throne - Bema, G968] of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his [physical] body, according to that he hath done, *whether it be good or bad. - Note: Humans because of sin are originally conceived [in the womb] separated from God but then can become spiritually 'born again' into the family of God as a "Child of God" and remain a child of God while in the physical body. After physical death and appearing in Heaven at the Bema (judgment of Jesus Christ) a holy (clean) person [Christian] is rewarded and adopted into the family of God going from a Child of God to a Son of God and as a Son receiving a new eternal spiritual body, a body in the (image - able to interact and associate with God) resemblance of the risen Jesus Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 5 (PART B) - PAUL CONTINUES TO INSTRUCT THE CHURCH IN THE ABILITY TO DISCERN BETWEEN THE STAGED AND PLANNED EXHIBITS OF MANKIND AND THE ACTUAL ETERNAL SPIRITUAL LIFE REALM OF GOD -- '2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-12 KNOWING THEREFORE THE TERROR [LIT. REVERENCE] OF THE LORD, WE PERSUADE MEN; BUT WE ARE MADE MANIFEST UNTO GOD; AND I TRUST ALSO ARE MADE MANIFEST IN YOUR CONSCIENCES [DISCERNMENT]. FOR WE COMMEND NOT OURSELVES AGAIN UNTO YOU, BUT GIVE YOU OCCASION TO GLORY [ACCOMPLISH] ON OUR BEHALF, THAT YE MAY HAVE SOMEWHAT TO ANSWER THEM [IMPOSTERS] WHICH GLORY IN [HUMAN] APPEARANCE [STANDING], AND NOT IN [A GODLY SOUL, SPIRIT] HEART.' 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 For the love of Christ constraineth [restraints] us; because we thus judge, that if (lit. since) one [Jesus Christ] died for all [mankind], then were all [mankind were] dead [separated from God]: And that He [Jesus] died for all, **that they which live should not [anymore] henceforth live unto themselves, *but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore [for that reason - the unselfish sacrifice of Jesus on the cross - and now the eternal life resurrection] henceforth know we no man after the [physical] flesh: yea, though we have known Christ [came at one time physically] after the flesh, *yet now henceforth know we Him no more [physically]. ***Therefore if any man be in Christ, he [born again person] is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. *And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by [Himself] Jesus Christ, **and hath given to us the Ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that ***God was in [Jesus] Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing [holding] their trespasses [sins] unto them; and hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation [forgiveness of sins in the blood of Jesus]. Now then we are Ambassadors for [Jesus] Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray [ask] you in Christ's stead [stand-in], *be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; *that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. - Note: Jesus became sin for us, He took on our sin upon himself as he removed our sin from us. It is important to note that our sins [trespasses] did not affect Jesus permanently but only temporarily while He was on the cross for us. Jesus overcame our sins and as a result the sinless body of Jesus was able to rise from the grave. The Disciple John (Revelation 5:6) observes Jesus standing in Heaven in the midst of the Throne in His slain physical body. Jesus having no sin of His own and perfectly able to overcome our sins (all the sins of the world)was able to bodily resurrect. We humans are unable to overcome even our own sins by ourselves and therefore we do not bodily resurrect as Jesus did but we separate from our body our temporary physical body returns to dust and in the adoption we receive a new resurrection body a body vaguely similar [able to be in the presence of the Holy God and to worship and interact with God] to what Jesus has now.

2 CORINTHIANS 6 - PAUL NOW FOCUSES ON THE OPPORTUNITY THAT LIFE IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO AN ETERNAL LIFE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD -- '2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-2 WE THEN, AS WORKERS TOGETHER WITH HIM [GOD - FATHER, SON JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT], BESEECH YOU ALSO THAT YE RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE [PERSONAL INDIVIDUALITY ALLOWED BY GOD] OF GOD IN VAIN. FOR HE SAITH, I [GOD] HAVE HEARD THEE [PRAYERS] IN A TIME ACCEPTED, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION HAVE I SUCCOURED [ASSISTED, AIDED] THEE: **BEHOLD, NOW [TODAY] IS THE ACCEPTED TIME [TO BECOME A BORN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD - CHILD OF GOD]; BEHOLD, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION [ETERNAL LIFE].' 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 Giving no offence in anything [offending not the Jews, Gentiles or the Church of god], that the [Christian] Ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving [representing] ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes [whippings], in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, *in watchings [looking for the 2nd Coming of Jesus], in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy [Spirit] Ghost, by love unfeigned, By *the Word of Truth [Holy Bible], by the power [lit. life creating, resurrection eternal life power - Dunamis, G1411] of God, by the armor of [Jesus'] righteousness on the *right hand [in Christian fellowship] and on the *left [outside of Christian fellowship], By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. - Note: Paul gives a list of precautions to take and he includes in his list of precautions to be equally cautious and alert inside of the Church [right hand of fellowship] as with those who are outside the Church [the left hand path]. Inside of a Church particularly a metropolis (city) [mega-Church] like Corinth was is no place to remove our Christian armor and no place to set aside our individual discernment. There can be and are just as many perils within Church fellowships as there are outside of Church fellowships and inside the Church there is always the ever-present wolves seeking take advantage of people in the fellowship with their Christian guard down and sometimes the wolves are behind the pulpits and in the Universities and in the classrooms and write books and broadcast on the radio and other very public and prominent positions so always be careful inside of Church as well as outside of Church. Also Note: Because we do have the discernment of God we can interact more with people both inside and outside of Church. This is not an invitation to close up and disassociate with others, just the opposite it is a calling to interact more in a fallen imperfect world but with the admonishment to maintain at all times a prayerful, purposeful Christian demeanor and attitude at all times and in all places.

2 CORINTHIANS 6 (PART B) - DO TO THE BEHIND THE SCENES AND ALWAYS HINDERING NATURE OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND BECAUSE OF THE CHRISTIAN MATURITY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL THE APOSTLE IS ACTIVELY SEEKING TO KEEP THE DOOR OF COMMUNICATION OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE WITH HIS CHURCH IN CORINTH KNOWING THAT SATAN PREFERS TO DECEIVE IN DARKNESS WITH RUMORS AND THROUGH INNUENDOS -- '2 CORINTHIANS 6:11-13 O YE CORINTHIANS, OUR MOUTH [COMMUNICATION] IS OPEN UNTO YOU, OUR HEART IS ENLARGED [ACCEPTING YOU]. YE ARE NOT STRAITENED [CONFINED] IN US, BUT YE ARE STRAITENED IN YOUR OWN BOWELS. NOW FOR A RECOMPENSE IN THE SAME, I SPEAK AS UNTO MY CHILDREN [IN THE FAITH], BE YE ALSO ENLARGED [ACCEPTING].' 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what Communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial [Satan]? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the Temple of God with idols? **for ye are the Temple of the living God; as God hath said, *I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; *and I will receive you [clean - holy], And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. - Note: The relationship restored by Jesus Christ between God and mankind is now a family relationship it is closer than the mutual friendship between God and mankind that existed before as in the days of trouble and separation experienced by Job and others in that time.

2 CORINTHIANS 7 - PAUL CONTINUES TO REPRESENT THAT CHRISTIANITY REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL SELF-EFFORT - CHRISTIANITY, A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, DOES NOT JUST HAPPEN BY COINCIDENCE OR BY RANDOM CIRCUMSTANCES IT IS THE RESULT OF CONTINUED

GOD -- '2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 HAVING THEREFORE *THESE PROMISES [ETERNITY IN THE FAMILY OF GOD], DEARLY BELOVED, **LET US CLEANSE OURSELVES [ENTER INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS THROUGH HIS BLOOD] FROM ALL FILTHINESS OF THE FLESH AND [HUMAN] SPIRIT, PERFECTING [COMPLETING IN JESUS THE] HOLINESS IN THE FEAR OF GOD.' INDIVIDUAL INTENTIONS AND ACTIONS IN DELIBERATELY SEEKING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH

2 Corinthians 7:2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: *I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation [troubled efforts]. - Paul makes mention that even with all the difficulties, the misunderstandings and the confusion of the present situation between Paul and the Church at Corinth that really the effort is worth it "exceeding joyful" because the Church at Corinth still has much to glory in as people are being saved there and are growing in the grace of God there as the original work of the Apostle Paul was continuing on despite the enormous controversy over Church authority that had erupted there.

2 CORINTHIANS 7 (PART B) - PAUL MENTIONS A PREVIOUS LETTER HE HAD WRITTEN TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH AND HOW THE LETTER WAS DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO READ BUT VERY NECESSARY IN ORDER FOR THEM TO REGAIN SOME ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE IN JESUS CHRIST -- '2 CORINTHIANS 7:8-10 FOR THOUGH I MADE YOU SORRY WITH A [PREVIOUS] LETTER [1ST CORINTHIANS OR POSSIBLY ANOTHER LETTER NO LONGER AVAILABLE], I DO NOT REPENT, THOUGH I DID REPENT: FOR I PERCEIVE THAT THE SAME EPISTLE [LETTER] HATH MADE YOU SORRY, THOUGH IT WERE BUT FOR A SEASON. NOW I REJOICE, *NOT THAT YE WERE MADE SORRY, *BUT THAT YE SORROWED TO REPENTANCE [MIND CHANGE - LIFE CHANGE]: FOR YE WERE MADE SORRY AFTER A GODLY MANNER, THAT YE MIGHT RECEIVE DAMAGE BY US IN NOTHING. **FOR *GODLY *SORROW WORKETH REPENTANCE TO SALVATION NOT TO BE REPENTED [REGRETTED] OF: BUT THE [SELF] SORROW OF THE WORLD WORKETH DEATH.' 2 Corinthians 7:14-16 For if I have boasted anything to him [Titus] of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how *with fear and trembling ye received him. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. - Paul is noting how the Church at Corinth, at least some of the people, understood the eternal ramifications of Christianity and "with fear and trembling" realized that Christianity is not something to be taken lightly but something to be taken very seriously as only True Christianity in Jesus Christ is the way to salvation and everlasting life a reality that the imposters in Corinth were neglecting to keep in mind themselves or to present to others.

2 CORINTHIANS 8 - A HEALTHY EMPOWERED CHURCH-FELLOWSHIP IS A BODY THAT IS ABLE TO GIVE TO OTHERS WHILE THE WEEK CHURCH [REGARDLESS OF SIZE AND LOCATION] IS A CHURCH THAT RECEIVES MORE THAN IT GIVES -- '2 CORINTHIANS 8:3-5 FOR TO THEIR [OTHER CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN GREECE] POWER [OF GIVING], I BEAR RECORD, YEA, AND BEYOND THEIR POWER THEY WERE WILLING OF THEMSELVES; PRAYING US WITH MUCH INTREATY THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE THE [OFFERING] GIFT [FOR JERUSALEM], AND TAKE UPON US THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MINISTERING TO THE SAINTS [IN JERUSALEM]. AND THIS THEY DID, NOT AS WE HOPED [BUT EXCEEDED THE EXPECTATIONS], *BUT FIRST GAVE THEIR OWN SELVES TO THE LORD [JESUS], AND [THEN DONATED] UNTO US BY THE WILL OF GOD.' 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this [ability to give] grace also. *I speak not by commandment [the Christian Church does not tithe it only gives], but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, **though He [Jesus] was rich [in Heaven], yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His [human appearance] poverty might be [resurrection] rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before {Corinth had previous year started to collect donations for Jerusalem but the collection lapsed}, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. *For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not

that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written (Exodus 16:18), He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. - The Christian Church does not have the Old Testament law and therefore the tithe (tenth portion) of the Old Testament is not a part of the New Testament Christian Church. The Christian Church is composed of grace [individuality] not law [conformity] and therefore it is the freewill grace offerings of individuals that comprise the donations to the Christian Church.

2 CORINTHIANS 9 - THE APOSTLE PAUL WANTS THE CHURCH IN CORINTH TO EXPERIENCE THE EMPOWERMENT AND THE BLESSINGS OF GIVING BUT HE WANTS TO BE CERTAIN THAT THEY MAINTAIN AN UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS GOD THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST GAVE TO US IN HIS FREE GIFT TO US OF ETERNAL LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST -- '2 CORINTHIANS 9:5 THEREFORE I THOUGHT IT NECESSARY TO EXHORT THE BRETHREN, THAT THEY WOULD GO BEFORE UNTO YOU, AND MAKE UP BEFOREHAND YOUR BOUNTY, WHEREOF YE HAD NOTICE BEFORE, THAT THE SAME MIGHT BE READY, AS A MATTER OF BOUNTY [GENEROSITY], AND NOT AS OF COVETOUSNESS [PROVOKED].' 2 Corinthians 9:8-14 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: As it is written (Psalm 112:9), He [the righteous man] hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the Saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection into the Gospel of Christ, and for your liberal [gift giving] distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding Grace of God in you. **Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift [salvation - eternal life]. - We are to give to one another knowing that it is God who gave to us first and foremost in a reconciled relationship of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 10 - THE CHRISTIAN BATTLE BEING A BATTLE OF ETERNITY AND FOR SOULS IS A BATTLE PRIMARILY BEING FOUGHT AND WAGED IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM - LATER SOME PHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS AND OUTCOMES CAN BE PERCEIVABLE AFTER THE EVENTS OR OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN MANIFESTED FROM THE SPIRITUAL REALM INTO THE PHYSICAL REALM -- '2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-6 FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH [PHYSICAL], WE DO NOT WAR AFTER THE FLESH: *FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL [PHYSICAL], **BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONG HOLDS; **CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS [IMAGINATION, FANTASY], AND EVERY HIGH THING [LIKE PRIDE] THAT EXALTETH ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF [JESUS] CHRIST; AND HAVING IN A READINESS TO REVENGE ALL DISOBEDIENCE, *WHEN YOUR OBEDIENCE IS FULFILLED [HAVING KEPT EVERYTHING IN A GODLY ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE].' 2 Corinthians 10:7-18 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? **If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, *let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification [building up], and not for your destruction [tearing down], I should not be ashamed: That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. *For his [Paul's] letters [epistles], say they [some in Corinth], are weighty and powerful; *but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. **Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such **will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that *commend themselves: **but they measuring themselves by themselves, and **comparing themselves among themselves, ***are not wise [we are to compare ourselves to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)]. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the Gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labors; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you [on into Europe], and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. **But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. ***For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. - Note: The biggest problem with modern day Mega-Church (Corinth) Christianity is that the Pastors or the leaders of the Mega-Church movement all got that way because they

each pretend to be commended of God and they each pretend to have something more than the ordinary or average Christian has and therefore followers are encouraged to seek after them and their services, their crusades and their teachings (methods), etc. The problem with this false teaching is that it is opening the door wide open for the future Antichrist to be easily accepted by remnants of the Church. Modern Mega-Church leaders like Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie, Rick Warren and others are deceiving the people into thinking that they are in a unique and special relationship with God so therefore they seem to be preaching that people should seek them and what they have to offer when in actuality the Christian Gospel is clearly to seek Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ only. The real potential for disaster is that in having conditioned people to follow themselves, a few select Mega-Church men and even a couple of women then in the future when a stronger and even more deceiving personality arises on the scene people who are not grounded in Jesus Christ will more easily revert from following one person to the next eventually even embracing the Antichrist who being gifted with extraordinary abilities is going to make all of the modern lukewarm pastors look like the true incompetents and posers that they truly are in regard to spiritual matters. The audiences of deceived people having already been prepped and conditioned by the Mega-Church, the man centered gospel of modern Christianity, could easily be eternally deceived before the final coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom here on earth.

2 CORINTHIANS 11 - PAUL MAKES CLEAR THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT THAT "SUBTLETY" IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SATANIC ELEMENT TO THE CHRISTIAN AND THAT MANY PREACHERS PREACH WITH A SUBTLETY AND A WORLDLINESS THAT CAN LEAD PEOPLE AWAY FROM JESUS AND INTO THE SUBTLE WORLDLY 'GOOD WORKS' AND AGENDAS THAT ARE ACTUALLY OF SATAN -- '2 CORINTHIANS 11:3-4 BUT I FEAR, LEST BY ANY MEANS, AS THE SERPENT [SATAN] BEGUILED EVE [IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN] *THROUGH HIS [SATANIC] **SUBTLETY, SO YOUR MINDS SHOULD BE CORRUPTED FROM THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST. FOR IF HE [SELF-AGGRANDIZING, WORLDLY PERSONALITY PREACHER] 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 [ACCEPT] HIM [AND HIS , WORLDLY, VAGUELY ENTERTAINING BUT POSSIBLY HIGHLY SATANIC PREACHING].' - NOTE: IT ISN'T PREACHING THE STYLE THAT IS BEING ADDRESSED BUT MORE THE PREACHING CONTENT. THE SUBTLY 'WORLDLY' PREACHING LIKE RICK WARREN AT GREG LAURIE'S 2009 ANAHEIM HARVEST CRUSADE (PARTS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE) AFTER BEING INTRODUCED BY CHUCK SMITH HE IS THEN SUPPOSEDLY LEADING PEOPLE IN PRAYER TO JESUS BUT THEN NOT REALLY MENTIONING REPENTANCE, SIN, THE CROSS OR EVEN ADDRESSING JESUS IN HIS PRAYER IT IS THAT 'SUBTLE' PREACHING AND TEACHING OF WORLDLINESS AND THE ACCEPTANCE AND PASSING ON OF WORLDLY CULTURAL TRENDS INTO THE CHURCH THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE SO 'SUBTLE' AND SO WORLDLY THAT IT BECOMES SATANIC. 2 Corinthians 11:5-10 For I suppose I was not a whit [bit] behind the very chiefest Apostles. But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things. Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, **because I have preached to you **the Gospel of God freely? **I robbed other churches, taking wages of them,** to do you service. And when I was present with you, and wanted [needed money], I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. - Note: The Church at Corinth was a large Church and could easily have been capable of donating to other ministries however they were almost completely self-focused on their own functions and agendas and the thought of donating money to the foreign Church in Jerusalem was itself a foreign concept in the self-aggrandizing Church at Corinth. Today Mega-Churches continue the exact same scenario as the selfish Corinth Church did. Mega-Churches receive millions in donations however only a miniscule amount of money actually leaves the Mega-Church that is not in some way responsible for promoting the Mega-Church or the Mega-Pastor. A good analogy of the large corporation Mega-Churches of today is the Dead Sea in Israel where everything flows into the Dead Sea but there is no outlet from the Dead Sea so the water just gets shifted around in the Dead Sea and eventually dies but the Sea of Galilee [also in Israel] has an outlet river and it passes along as much water as it receives and the Sea of Galilee [where Jesus spent much of His time] is teaming with abundant life.

2 CORINTHIANS 11 (PART B) - THE APOSTLE PAUL IS NOW GOING TO CONTRAST WHAT TRUE KINGDOM OF GOD CHRISTIANITY IS LIKE COMPARED TO THE WORLDLY SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY THAT IS BEGINNING TO BE PRACTICED IN CORINTH -- '2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-2

WOULD TO GOD YE COULD BEAR WITH ME A LITTLE IN MY FOLLY: AND INDEED BEAR WITH ME. FOR I AM JEALOUS OVER YOU WITH GODLY JEALOUSY: FOR I HAVE ESPOUSED YOU TO ONE HUSBAND [JESUS], THAT I MAY PRESENT YOU AS A CHASTE VIRGIN TO [JESUS] CHRIST.' 2 Corinthians 11:18-33 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, [as a comparison] I [Paul] will glory also. For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer [cultish hardship], if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face {some people accept and tolerate the oppression and abuse by the cults but do not want to accept the freedom and liberty of Jesus}. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, I speak foolishly [worldly], I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool [in contrast to them] I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft [often]. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned [to death], thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils *by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings [looking for the 2nd Coming of Jesus] often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily [mentally], the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? **If I must needs glory, *I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities [weaknesses]. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed forevermore, knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus [shortly after his conversion to Christianity] the Governor under Aretas the King kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me [because Paul so boldly spoke the Gospel]: And through a window [hidden] in a basket was I let down by [over] the [city] wall, and escaped his hands [of persecution]. The Apostle Paul provides the Church at Corinth with some perspective of what true Christianity involves in contrast to the worldly social Christianity that was being adopted in Corinth.

2 CORINTHIANS 12 - THE APOSTLE PAUL

EXPLAINS THAT HE IS PAYING A SEVERE PRICE, OFTEN BEING HARASSED DEMONICALLY,

HOLY REVELATIONS THAT PAUL HAS BEEN ABLE TO DELIVER TO MANKIND DANIEL AND JEREMIAH] -- '2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10 AND LEST I [PAUL] SHOULD BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE THROUGH THE ABUNDANCE OF THE [HOLY] REVELATIONS, THERE WAS GIVEN TO ME A [DEMONIC INTERFERENCE] THORN IN THE FLESH, *THE MESSENGER OF SATAN TO BUFFET [INFLICT] ME, LEST I SHOULD BE [PERSONALLY] EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE. FOR [REMOVAL OF] THIS THING I BESOUGHT THE LORD THRICE [THREE TIMES], THAT IT [BEING DEMONIC] MIGHT DEPART FROM ME. AND HE [JESUS] SAID UNTO ME, **MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE: FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT [COMPLETE] IN WEAKNESS [AS JESUS COMPLETES HIS STRENGTH]. MOST GLADLY THEREFORE WILL I RATHER GLORY IN MY INFIRMITIES [WEAKNESSES], *THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST MAY REST UPON ME. THEREFORE I TAKE PLEASURE IN INFIRMITIES, IN REPROACHES, IN NECESSITIES, IN PERSECUTIONS, IN DISTRESSES FOR CHRIST'S SAKE: **FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG [COMPLETED IN JESUS CHRIST].' BECAUSE OF THE ABUNDANCE AND MAGNITUDE OF THE

[MUCH LIKE

THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE PROPHETS ISAIAH,

2 Corinthians 12:12-15 Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not [financially] burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will [still] not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours [belongings], but you [fellowship]: for the children ought not to lay up [finances] for the parents, but the [mature] parents [give an allowance] for the children. And I [as a mature parent] will very gladly spend [financially] and be spent [physically, emotionally] for you; **though the more abundantly I love you, **the less I be loved. - The Apostle Paul is touching on the truly Satanic depths that the Church in Corinth had begun to engage in. Previously the Church in Corinth had attacked Paul's speaking ability (2 Corinthians 10:9) and as an ApostleEvangelist it was a direct Satanic attack from the Church directed at the Apostle Paul on his calling and on his abilities to fulfill his Christian Calling. Had the Church at Corinth encouraged Paul and his message it would have accomplished a lot to help Paul further the Gospel message he was given but instead the Church in Corinth took it upon themselves to cast doubt upon Paul, his abilities and his message. Secondly in another highly Satanic practice the Church at Corinth used the compassion of the Apostle Paul "though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" as a tool in order to further attack the Apostle. When Paul was in their midst he was weak, compassionate and understanding and the

Church in a worldly Satanic way took advantage of Paul using Paul's goodness and compassion against him [suspecting that with the goodness of Paul he would not retaliate]the Church perceived Paul to be a gentle and easy target *someone that they could form their social groups around as they ridiculed and asserted themselves superior to the Apostle Paul and in a worldly social way they probably were superior to Paul so it was no accomplishment to present themselves above Paul but in the spiritual Heavenly matters of Jesus Christ the Apostle Paul had much to offer them thought some simply because Paul was an outsider sought to reject out of hand his message of the Gospel.

2 CORINTHIANS 12 (PART B) - PAUL TELLS THE CHURCH IN CORINTH THAT HIS ONLY OBJECTIVE IS TO BUILD THEM UP SPIRITUALLY IN JESUS CHRIST -- '2 CORINTHIANS 12:19 AGAIN, THINK YE THAT WE EXCUSE [MAKE EXCUSES FOR] OURSELVES UNTO YOU? WE SPEAK BEFORE GOD IN CHRIST: BUT **WE DO ALL THINGS, DEARLY BELOVED, FOR YOUR EDIFYING [BUILDING UP].' 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to** visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man [the Apostle Paul] in Christ [a Christian] above [more than] fourteen years ago {thought to be on the first Missionary Journey with Barnabas in Lycaonia (Acts 14:19)}, whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth; such an one [the Apostle Paul] {died and} caught up to the third heaven [Throne of God]. And I knew such a man [Paul speaking in 3rd person to avoid promoting himself], whether in the body, or out of the body, *I cannot tell [explain] {the experience was instantaneous}: [only] God knoweth; How that he [Paul] was caught up into paradise [Heaven], and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a [physical] man to utter. Of such an one [3rd person] will I glory: yet of myself [1st person] I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. *For though I would desire to glory [in religious, spiritual experiences], I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: *but now I forbear [forgo], lest any man should think of me [exalted] above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. Regardless of what someone might want to call Heaven (paradise, 3rd heaven) and the Throne presence of God the Apostle Paul had personally been there and he had personally as a Christian experienced Heaven in the very Throne presence of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 13 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES HIS MUCH LABORED LETTER TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN CORINTH, GREECE -'2 CORINTHIANS 13:7-9 NOW I PRAY TO GOD THAT YE DO NO EVIL; NOT THAT WE SHOULD APPEAR APPROVED, BUT THAT YE SHOULD DO THAT WHICH IS HONEST, THOUGH WE BE AS REPROBATES. FOR WE CAN DO NOTHING AGAINST THE TRUTH, BUT FOR THE TRUTH. FOR WE ARE GLAD, WHEN WE ARE WEAK, AND YE ARE STRONG: AND THIS ALSO WE WISH, EVEN YOUR PERFECTION.' The Apostle Paul concludes the book of 2nd Corinthians: 2 Corinthians 13:1-6 This is the third time I [Apostle Paul] am coming to you. [Publically] In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now *I write to *them which heretofore have **sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to [your perception] you-ward is not weak [weakness in Christ], but is mighty in you. 4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the [almighty] power of God. For we also are weak in Him [Jesus Christ], *but {if need be} we shall live with Him **by the power of God toward you. ***Examine yourselves, ***whether ye be in the [Christian] faith; ***prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that *Jesus Christ is in you, except [if Jesus is not in you] ye be reprobates [unsaved]? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. ... 2 Corinthians 13:10-14 Therefore I [Paul] write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification [building up], and not to destruction. **Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect [complete in Jesus Christ], be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and [Jesus Christ] the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy [embrace] kiss. All the Saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the Communion [fellowship] of the Holy [Spirit] Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

GALATIANS INTRODUCTION: PART 2 OF THE APOSTLE PAUL'S TRILOGY [ROMANS, GALATIANS, HEBREWS] OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY - THE BOOK OF GALATIANS The book of Romans was written to Rome a Gentile Nation that was used to being in charge and used to having their own rights, power, authority and privileges to the extent that the Roman people as Pagans had viewed their privileges as god given entitlements. In this letter to the Gentile Region of Galatia the Apostle Paul is addressing a group of Gentiles that are foreigners from power and are accustomed to being the outsiders, separated from authority and alienated from the privileges of class and status that the Superpower Nation of Rome had enjoyed and had even taken for granted. The Galatians accustomed to their second class status could not quite grasp the concept of the free gift of Salvation and with it the free gift of receiving the Holy Spirit. The Galatians kept reverting back to their second class mentality of having to labor and earn every single accomplishment that came their way however being a second class citizen is itself a concept that is completely foreign and outside of Christianity. Christianity has only one class of citizens and they are all Saints, Sons of God and Children of the Promise. There is no second class status in Heaven there are no throwaways or hidden undesirables in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ only Jesus Christ and His class and that is the first class of eternity for all eternity.

SHORT INTRODUCTION/SYNOPSIS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT BOOK OF GALATIANS AND AN OUTLINE TO THE BOOK - THE BOOK OF GALATIANS WAS WRITTEN BY [THE APOSTLE] PAUL IN THE YEAR 49 A.D. OR 55 A.D. - THE SUBJECT OF GALATIANS SEEMS TO BE PARALLEL TO THAT OF [THE BOOK OF] ROMANS IN THE ASPECT OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE The book of Galatians was written by Paul in the year 49 or 55. The churches in Galatia were fashioned to a certain extent of converted Jews and Gentiles. The Apostle Paul emphasizes his apostolic personality as well as the doctrines that he was teaching. He did this in hopes that he would sanction the Galatian churches in the faith of Jesus Christ. It is believed this letter was written during the third missionary trip and that the church was founded during the second missionary trip. - The subject of Galatians seems to be parallel to that of Romans in the aspect of justification by faith alone. Paul directs special attention to the fact that men are justified by faith not by the Law of Moses. This of course was something quite different for the Jews to hear. The Jewish people had after all been brought out of the wilderness by Moses; now Christ is becoming the authority for people to stand on. - The concept of Galatians is one that deals with how people can come to God being of a sinful nature while God is of a holy nature. How does a sinful person stand in the presence of a Holy God? Paul gives the answer to this problem by saying there is one way only, through the salvation of God's grace which comes from the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In other words, Paul says that one must receive Jesus Christ as savior to come before God. Paul says no longer do we need to pay attention to the "good point or good works" salvation of Moses law, but instead we simply need to follow the salvation plan of God through His Son Christ Jesus. The main theme of Galatians is justification by faith. This concept is explained, defended and applied. Paul also talks of his three years in Arabia, the fruits of the Spirit and his correction of Peter. [link]

GALATIANS - SALVATION IS BY GOD'S GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST BY MEANS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - THE BOOK OF GALATIANS PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE REFORMATION AND THE CONVERSION AND SPIRITUAL LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER Background: Paul wrote to the Galatians after he had received word that there had been a change of attitude toward him and his Gospel among the Galatians. Not long after Paul left them during his first visit, false teachers and leaders began to attack Paul personally and turn the Church against him. They were preaching another Gospel. They were looking to the law for their salvation. They were being urged to accept circumcision and to observe Jewish days and seasons. (Galatians 6:12) This caused dissension and conflicts in the Church. - These agitators were likely Jewish Christians trying to sway the Gentile Christians to Judaism. It appears that they either had come from Jerusalem or had

the support of the Jerusalem Church and leadership. They held that Gentile converts must enter the Kingdom of God by means of Judaism. As this was contrary to the teachings the Galatians had received from Paul, the Judaizers found it necessary to attack Paul's authority and apostleship. ... Salvation is by God's grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ by means of the Holy Spirit. -- The book of Galatians played a critical role in the formation and development of the Reformation and the conversion and spiritual life of Martin Luther. Galatians has been called 'Luther's Book'. [link]

MARTIN LUTHER (1483 - 1546) ON GALATIANS BY ARLAND J. HULTGREN LUTHER SEMINARY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA (PDF) DURING HIS LIFETIME NO FEWER THAN SIX EDITIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER'S lectures on Galatians were published. Of these six, five were in Latin, and one was in German. Two of these have been translated for inclusion in the American edition of Luther's Works. The one is translated from the 1519 Latin edition (based on lectures in 1516-1517), published during the early years of Luther's career, and the other is translated from the 1535 Latin edition (based on lectures in 1531), published at a later point in Luther's life. The two editions, from lectures given a decade and a half apart, are quite different in many respects, reflecting two very different times in Luther's life and career. Luther's teaching career was marked on many occasions with study and lecturin on Paul's Letter to the Galatians, often called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty, but called "my Katie von Bora" by Luther himself. In what follows the focus will be limited to the two sets of lectures published in the American edition. ... Luther made use of both the Greek New Testament and the Latin Vulgate in his work on Galatians. The Greek text used for the 1519 edition was that of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, which had been published in 1516. Luther's subsequent exegetical work continued to make use of the Greek New Testament of Erasmus, which was revised and republished several times during the lifetime of these two contemporaries. ... It comes as no surprise that in both editions of Luther's lectures on Galatians the theme of justification by faith should take center stage. The theme is, of course,a major one in Galatians itself (2:16-21; 3:6-11, 24; 5:4-5). For Luther, however, it is not simply a major theme; it is the heart of the matter. When he writes concerning the "argument" of the letter as a whole, Luther says that the letter sets forth "the doctrine of faith, grace, the forgiveness of sins or Christian righteousness." Distinctions are drawn again and again between "political" (or civic) righteousness and righteousness received by faith and distinctions between law and gospel. The "real theologian," he says, is one who "knows well how to distinguish the Gospel from the Law." The actual phrase "simul justus et peccator" is to be found in the 1535 edition. ... The two editions of Luther's works on Galatians, coming from very different times in his career, exhibit striking differences. It is clear that when Luther lectured on Galatians in 1531, he did not simply pull out his notes from 1516-1517 to repeat what he had said earlier. Nor did he simply "touch them up." The printed edition of 1535 differs markedly from that of 1519; it is a new work altogether. The most obvious differences between the two editions are that the 1535 edition is longer, more polemical, and less philological than the edition of 1519. It applies the text of Galatians more directly to events in Luther's own time. In the 1519 edition Luther still identifies himself as an Augustinian. That is lacking in the 1535 edition. What also becomes obvious in reading the two editions is that the 1535 edition has much to say about the "fanatics" and "sectarians" that assail Luther, the evangelical movement, and the church at large. Luther refers, in fact, to his own work as a "movement,"34 but also says that in Wittenberg a "form of a Christian church" has been acquired over against the fanatics who would destroy it. ... That evaluation notwithstanding, problems with Luther's interpretations and perspectives have become evident in modern times, particularly in his understanding and treatment of Judaism in Paul's day. Moreover, connections between his understanding of firstcentury Judaism, his portrayal of Paul's opponents in Galatia, and his descriptions of his own opponents are drawn too easily. Luther himself admitted that his commentary of 1535 was inadequate and, above all, too "wordy." But every interpreter is bound by his or her social and temporal location to one degree or another. It remains clear that in Luther one finds a sympathetic hearing of the apostle Paul and a masterful performance in representing the teachings of the Letter to the Galatians in new circumstances. -- ARLAND J. HULTGREN is professor of New Testament. He is the author of a forthcoming commentary on the parables of Jesus to be published by Eerdmans. [link]

GALATIANS 1 - CONTINUING THE APOSTLE PAUL'S TRILOGY OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY WITH PART 2 THE BOOK OF GALATIANS PERHAPS NO OTHER BOOK EITHER CHRISTIAN OR SECULAR HAS MADE MORE OF AN IMPACT IN THE CHANGING, DESIGNING AND SHAPING OF WESTERN CULTURE THAN THE BIBLE'S BOOK OF GALATIANS -- 'GALATIANS 1:1-5 PAUL, AN APOSTLE, NOT OF MEN, NEITHER BY MAN, BUT BY JESUS CHRIST, AND GOD THE FATHER, WHO RAISED HIM (JESUS) FROM THE DEAD; AND ALL THE BRETHREN WHICH ARE

WITH ME, UNTO THE CHURCHES OF

GALATIA: GRACE BE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER, AND FROM OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR OUR SINS, THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER US FROM THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD AND OUR FATHER: TO WHOM BE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.' 'Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.' - 'Matthew 28:1-6 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward [Sunday] the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre [tomb]. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is Risen, *as He (Jesus) said. Come, see the [empty] place where the Lord lay.' - Paul mentions that whether a man or an angel preaches a different Gospel than the Gospel that Jesus Himself spoke about then it is not from God and not being from God it is an accursed message. The Angelic spiritual realm along with the Holy Spirit and with the human realm is also very active in preaching the Gospel of the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Later in the Book of Revelation immediately after the Mark of the Beast (666) is offered to all of mankind remaining on the earth it will be Angels that will also preach the everlasting Gospel to mankind along with the sealed (selected) 144,000 Jewish Witnesses. The Angels will be preaching the Gospel instructing mankind to Worship the True and Living God the creator and giver of physical life as well as the creator and provider of eternal, everlasting, Spiritual life. - 'Revelation 14:6-7 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, *having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every Nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and *Worship Him that made [created] heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'

GALATIANS 2 - THE APOSTLE PAUL IS ENCOURAGING THE GALATIANS TO WORK ON AREAS THAT THEY KNOW NEED IMPROVING - BY DEMONSTRATING IN HIS OWN LIFE THAT THEY DON'T NEED PERMISSION FROM A CHURCH HIERARCHY IN ORDER TO DO WHAT IS BIBLICALLY RIGHT EVEN TO THE POINT OF REBUKING AUTHORITY FIGURES WHEN THEY FAIL TO PRACTICE THEMSELVES WHAT THEY PREACH -- 'GALATIANS 2:20 I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY THE FAITH [RESURRECTION] OF THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME. I DO NOT FRUSTRATE THE GRACE OF GOD: FOR IF RIGHTEOUSNESS COME BY THE LAW, THEN CHRIST IS DEAD IN VAIN.' 'Galatians 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I (Apostle Paul) withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.' - Note: It's very important to know that when rebuking someone particularly an elder that 1. If you feel compelled to rebuke them don't even if you have prayed about it because it's probably not from God. 2. If you feel really, really compelled to rebuke someone then absolutely really, really Do Not rebuke them. 3. If you do not feel led to rebuke someone but you have a clear picture of the situation and you understand the beginning of the situation and know where the problem is in its current middle form and most importantly can see the resolution to the problem and in fact feel that the problem has already been resolved [maybe in Heaven] and that there just needs to be a tiny notification, a tweak, an adjustment here on earth to match God's will in Heaven [Matthew 6:10] then go ahead and talk to that person or persons about the topic. 4. When you do talk to someone try to ascertain if you have an open door for the conversation but if you have to seek someone out to have a conversation then forget it, don't even bother they probably won't listen to most of what you have to say and will probably twist what they did hear and then the whole situation will be worse after the conversation. If however there is a 'chance meeting' or a defined opportunity and both people are calm and there is a moment to build each other up in the faith then take that moment and build your brother in the faith up. For instance if you think a preacher is excessively telling too many personal stories from the pulpit then don't mention the personal stories much or at all but instead mention what part of the preaching blessed you for example a background on Biblical doctrine or an explanation of the original Greek word that helped explain the Bible better to you. In time the particular Preacher might lend more preaching to Biblical interpretation or in time we might be the one who needs to move on. A final comment about rebuking and you can tell that the Apostle Paul did this and that is that when the Apostle Paul rebuked someone else like in this case the Apostle Peter that Paul was also rebuking himself at the same time and was listening to what he was saying and making his rebuke a part of his own personal Christian Walk and life. Later when the Apostle Paul welcomes Mark back into his presence it is after Paul had rebuked

the Church at Corinth for not accepting back into their midst a repentant believer. Always remember that for us the Word of God is a two edged sword [Revelation 1:16] it cuts [affects] both the speaker of the Word and the hearer of the Word.

GALATIANS 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS THAT WORKS HAVE NEVER BEEN A PART OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD - THERE HAS ALWAYS ONLY BEEN ONE PROGRAM WITH GOD AND IT IS A PROGRAM BASED ON FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD AND NOT IN THE WORKS OF MAN - EVEN ABRAHAM'S GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WAS BASED ON FAITH AND TRUST AS ABRAHAM HAD FAITH IN GOD BEFORE HE EXHIBITED HIS WORKS TO GOD -- 'GALATIANS 3:2-3 THIS ONLY WOULD I LEARN OF YOU, RECEIVED YE THE [HOLY] SPIRIT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW {NO}, OR BY THE HEARING [FREE GIFT] OF FAITH {YES}? ARE YE SO FOOLISH? HAVING BEGUN IN THE [HOLY] SPIRIT, ARE YE NOW MADE PERFECT [COMPLETE] BY THE [HUMAN] FLESH? {NO}' 'Galatians 3:6-7 Even as Abraham believed God, and it [his circumcision] was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of [Christian] faith, the *same are the children of Abraham.' - Note: Traditionally after Abraham the children (descendants of Abraham) are circumcised as an infant on the eight day after their birth. The infant circumcision is not a seal of the faith of the child but it is a seal of the faith of the parent [it is a generational faith]. Abraham was not circumcised as an infant Abraham was circumcised as an adult, he made his own decision and therefore Abraham's circumcision is the faith of an adult and his adult decision for faith is why our Christian faith is compared to Abraham but not necessarily to circumcision. Circumcision after Abraham is more like a child dedication for us as it is more of an exhibit of the faith of the parent than of the child. Abraham circumcised himself as an adult but then he also circumcised his infant son Isaac with his adult faith then later Isaac circumcised his infant son Jacob with his adult faith and on and on until the present time. -- 'Galatians 3:12-14 And the law [self-ability] is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them [self-ability]. Christ hath redeemed us from the [self-ability] curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written [Deuteronomy 21:23], Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the [Spiritual] blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the [Holy] Spirit through faith.' - The Apostle Paul is again declaring the finality of the death of Jesus on the cross and then with the finality of death on the cross then the giving of the Holy Spirit and a new life. Yes, Jesus in the eyes of man was made a curse [for our benefit] but keep in mind that Jesus died on the cross and with Jesus all sin and every curse also died [though Jesus resurrected the sins and curses of mankind remained dead and nailed to the cross]. The cross of Jesus Christ removed both the curse of our own human restrictions and constraints and also any curse or restraints from the Satanic, Demonic realm that might be placed on us in attempting to hinder and restrict us. 'Colossians 2:14-15 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary [against] to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His (Jesus) cross; And having spoiled principalities [fallen satanic angels] and powers [demonic powers], He (Jesus) made a shew [show] of them openly, triumphing [Victory] over them in it.'

GALATIANS 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES TO DISPEL ANY NOTION THAT THERE MIGHT BE BENEFITS TO FOLLOWING THE LAW THAT FAITH ALONE AND THE RECEIVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT PROVIDE -- 'GALATIANS 4:4-7 BUT WHEN THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME [HUMAN HISTORY] WAS COME, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON (JESUS), MADE OF A WOMAN [VIRGIN BIRTH], MADE UNDER THE LAW [TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM WAS IN OPERATION], TO REDEEM [BRING INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD] THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW, THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS. AND BECAUSE YE ARE SONS, GOD HATH SENT FORTH THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO YOUR HEARTS, CRYING, ABBA, FATHER. *WHEREFORE THOU ART NO MORE A SERVANT, BUT A SON; AND IF A SON, THEN AN HEIR [INHERITOR] OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST.' {NOTE: BEING REDEEMED FROM THE LAW IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING REDEEMED FROM SIN. IT IS SIMILAR TO A CHRISTIAN PRACTICING ALCOHOL, DRUGS, PORNOGRAPHY ETC. AND THEN BEING REDEEMED FROM THOSE THINGS THAT ARE RESTRICTING A CHRISTIAN FROM THEIR CLOSER MORE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN THEIR LIFE. THE LAW WAS ACTUALLY A BOUNDARY KEEPING SINFUL PEOPLE APART FROM THE HOLY GOD BUT AFTER BEING CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST AND WITH THE FINALITY OF HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS THE HOLY SPIRIT THEN REMOVED THE BOUNDARY OF THE LAW FROM US AND REDEEMED US INTO THE ACTUAL PERCEIVABLE PRESENCE OF GOD.} 'Galatians 4:21-5:1 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid [Hagar], the other by a freewoman [Sarah]. But he who was of the bondwoman

was born after the flesh [man's plan]; but he of the freewoman [Sarah] was by promise [God's plan]. Which things are an allegory [parable]: for these are the two covenants [Old Testament, New Testament]; the one from the mount Sinai [Mt. Sinai], which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar [Hagar]. For this Agar is mount Sinai in [Saudi] Arabia {the Biblical Mt. Sinai is located in Saudi Arabia with the now traditional Mt. Sinai located in Egypt}, and answereth to Jerusalem [Mt. Zion] which now is [in effect, New Testament], and [Hagar] is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem [Mt. Zion] which is above is free, which is [Sarah] the mother of us all [in faith]. ... *Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: *for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.' - This analogy of two Mountains or two locations Mt. Sinai [the Law] and Mt. Zion, Jerusalem [the cross and the resurrection] is one of the most important Biblical concepts because it goes straight to how and where we are to approach God. God was on Mt. Sinai when Moses met God in the burning bush and then as a sign God brought the Children of God out of Egypt and to Mt. Sinai to worship Him there. But they could only worship from a distance as they could not approach Mt. Sinai 'whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death' then as Moses and the Children of God journeyed to Israel their Promise Land God went with them. God in allegory left Mt. Sinai [Law] and relocated with the Children of God to Jerusalem [Mt. Zion]. If you want to keep the Law that mountain [Mt. Sinai] is vacant and if it's not vacant it's certain death if you even try to approach it. Mt. Zion in Jerusalem the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the other hand is both open and available to all mankind and along with the availability of Mt. Zion there is an invitation to all to come to God freely but only to Mt. Zion not to Mt. Sinai. It is only to Mt. Zion that the invitation for mankind to meet with God has been given.

MOUNTAIN OF FIRE - THE SEARCH FOR MOUNT SINAI PT 2 OF 5 - THE BOUNDARY MARKERS AROUND MT. SINAI (VIDEO) - EXODUS 19:12 AND THOU SHALT SET BOUNDS UNTO THE PEOPLE ROUND ABOUT, SAYING, TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES, THAT YE GO NOT UP INTO THE MOUNT [MT. SINAI], OR TOUCH THE BORDER OF IT: WHOSOEVER TOUCHETH THE MOUNT SHALL BE SURELY PUT TO DEATH:' (YOUTUBE) Bob Cornuke from BASE Institute has been called a modern day Indiana Jones. This video is a clip from Bob's video about the The Search For Mount Sinai. -- {Note: The Apostle Paul is writing about Mt. Sinai from both common knowledge of the day and his experiential knowledge having been to Mt. Sinai himself. After his Damascus road experience and departing Damascus the Apostle Paul went to Saudi Arabia and stayed in Saudi Arabia for about three years. Earlier the Prophet Elijah [1 Kings 19:8] had also gone to Arabia [Mt. Sinai also called Mt. Horeb] and stayed for a short time in the cave on Mt. Sinai (video part 4 of 5).} 'Galatians 1:17 Neither went I [Apostle Paul] up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; *but I went into Arabia [for about three years], and returned again unto Damascus.' - 'Galatians 4:25 mount Sinai in Arabia ...' [link]

GALATIANS 5 - THE APOSTLE PAUL EXHORTS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO LIVE IN THEIR NEWFOUND LIFE OF FREEDOM AND LIBERTY IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'GALATIANS 5:1 STAND FAST THEREFORE IN THE LIBERTY WHEREWITH [JESUS] CHRIST HATH MADE US FREE, AND BE NOT ENTANGLED AGAIN WITH THE YOKE OF BONDAGE.' 'Galatians 5:5 For we [Christians] through the [Holy] Spirit wait for the hope of [Jesus'] righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.' - The Apostle Paul makes another comment to Christians about the practice of circumcision reiterating that the physical practice alone symbolizes a bygone era and brings with it the bondage of that previous era. Circumcision the actual physical, ritual, process does not save people. People are not saved because they have been circumcised. The Apostle Peter will also make the same comment [1 Peter 3:21] to the Christian Church in regards to our water baptism. Likewise the physical, ritual event and process of baptism does not save us. People are not saved because they have been water baptized. Note: There are other significant reasons and blessings for each individual person to be water baptized [and it is a commandment from God] however salvation apart from a relationship with God is not a possibility even with a water baptism. - '1 Peter 3:21-22 The like figure [Noah's Ark] whereunto even baptism doth also now save us *not the

[baptism in water] putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.'

GALATIANS 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES HIS REMARKS AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE CHRISTIANS IN GALATIA -- 'GALATIANS 6:10 AS WE HAVE THEREFORE OPPORTUNITY, LET US DO GOOD UNTO ALL MEN, ESPECIALLY UNTO THEM WHO ARE OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF (CHRISTIAN) FAITH.' 'Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair shew [show] in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest [in hopes] they should [avoid] suffer [suffering] persecution [from fellow Jews] for the cross of Christ.' - A final note about the practice of circumcision in the early Christian Church. The Christian Jews and Christian 'Judaizers' knew and understood full well that the promises of God belong to the Jews and that circumcision was give as a sign to those who had received the promises of God. Therefore in the early Christian Church there was the understanding that if you weren't circumcised you weren't a part of the promises of God. The early Jewish Christian believers were just trying to keep things on a Biblical foundation according to the best of their Biblical understanding. It was the Apostle Paul that was called by God to go to the Gentiles and to bring the Gentiles into the primarily Jewish Christian Church and as a part of his ministry to the Gentiles the Apostle Paul was given an understanding in the doctrines of Gentile Salvation in the Christian Church. It was a part of the Ministry of the Apostle Paul to present and to clarify the doctrines pertaining to the predominantly Gentile Christian Church. - The main point that the Apostle Paul makes in regards to circumcision is that circumcision was an old physical sign but that now with the finality of the death of Jesus on the cross and the giving of the Holy Spirit the new Spiritual sign for the Christian Church for also having received of the promises of God is the Spiritual sign of the resurrection of Jesus Christ living inside of the 'born again' believer. Where circumcision was an outward appearance available to only a few the 'born again' Spiritual sign is an inward appearance and is available to everyone; male, female, Jewish, Gentile, rich, poor, young, old, sick, healthy, in prison, released from prison, in any circumstance, at any given location and during any time all are within the category of receiving the Holy Spirit and eternal life from God. Even those in the category of unbelief because unbelief itself in any given moment can be overcome by belief it's that simple, that easy and that fast that a person can receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus Christ and with it eternal Salvation life. - The Apostle Paul closes the Book of Galatians by imparting his personal blessing to them. 'Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.'

EPHESIANS THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE EPHESIANS - COLOSSIANS 4:16 MENTIONS AN EPISTLE TO THE LAODICEANS - IT HAS BEEN CONJECTURED THAT THE LETTER KNOWN TO US AS EPHESIANS IS REALLY THE LAODICEAN LETTER [RETITLED] - PROBABLY IT WAS SENT TO EPHESUS AND LAODICEA WITHOUT BEING ADDRESSED TO ANY CHURCH - THE LETTER WOULD THEN BE "TO THE SAINTS AND THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS" ANYWHERE - ESSENTIALLY, THREE LINES OF TRUTH MAKE UP THIS EPISTLE: THE BELIEVER'S EXALTED POSITION THROUGH GRACE; THE TRUTH CONCERNING THE BODY OF CHRIST; AND A WALK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THAT POSITION The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians -- DATE: Ephesians was written from Rome in A.D. 64. It is the first in order of the Prison Epistles. Acts 20:1-27:44. See Scofield Note: "Acts 28:30" and was sent by Tychicus, concurrently with Colossians and Philemon. It is probable that the two greater letters had their occasion in the return of Onesimus to Philemon. Ephesians is the most impersonal of Paul's letters. Indeed the words, "to the Ephesians," are not in the best manuscripts. Col 4:16 mentions an epistle to the Laodiceans. It has been conjectured that the letter known to us as Ephesians is really the Laodicean letter. Probably it was sent to Ephesus and Laodicea without being addressed to any church. The letter would then be "to the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus" anywhere. -- THEME: The doctrine of the Epistle confirms this view. It contains the highest church truth, but has nothing about church order. The church here is

the true church, "His body," not the local church, as in Philippians, Corinthians, etc. Essentially, three lines of truth make up this Epistle: the believer's exalted position through grace; the truth concerning the body of Christ; and a walk in accordance with that position. [link]

THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - A SHORT INTRODUCTORY SYNOPSIS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT BOOK OF EPHESIANS WITH AN OUTLINE TO THE BOOK - EPHESIANS IS A CYLINDRICAL LETTER {CIRCUIT LETTER, A MEMO - ATTN: TO EVERYONE} - IT IS A TREATISE OF A DOCTRINAL NATURE TO THE CHURCHES IN ASIA MINOR - SOME OF THE BETTER {OTHER} GREEK DOCUMENTS DO NOT INCLUDE THE WORDS, "AT EPHESUS" FOUND IN 1:1 - PAUL THOUGH WORKED AT EPHESUS FOR NEARLY THREE YEARS AND THE FACT THAT NO PERSONAL NAMES WERE MENTIONED HELP TO SUPPORT THE IDEAL OF A CYLINDRICAL LETTER TO THE CHURCHES. THIS LETTER IS PERHAPS THE SAME LETTER SENT TO EPHESUS BY TYCHICUS, EPHESIANS 6:21-22 {NOTE: NO LETTER, ONLY A MESSENGER (TYCHICUS) IS MENTIONED IN EPHESIANS 6:21-22} - IT IS SUSPECTED THAT CHRISTIANITY FIRST CAME TO EPHESUS WITH AQUILA AND PRISCILLA WHEN PAUL STOPPED THERE ON HIS SECOND MISSIONARY TRIP - PAUL REMAINED IN EPHESUS FOR THREE YEARS ON HIS THIRD JOURNEY - EPHESUS BEING A MAJOR CENTER FOR TRADE RANKED IT UP WITH THE CITIES OF ANTIOCH AND ALEXANDRIA - TIMOTHY WAS GIVEN CHARGE OF THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS AFTER PAUL LEFT - YEARS LATER [JUST AFTER HIS IMPRISONMENT ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS ABOUT IN 92 AD] THE APOSTLE JOHN [ACCOMPANIED BY MARY] SET UP HIS HEADQUARTERS IN EPHESUS The letter to the Ephesians is one of the prison epistles. The prison epistles consist of the Books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. These books were all written while Paul was imprisoned. As to how many times Paul was imprisoned in Rome we do not know for sure, it was at least once perhaps twice, however we do know these books were written during his imprisonment. The book of Ephesians is the first Roman imprisonment letter to the people written by Paul in 61. Paul's imprisonment for the first two years was at his own expense and he was held near the quarters of the Praetorian Guard. Ephesians is a cylindrical letter. It is a treatise of a doctrinal nature to the churches in Asia Minor. Some of the better Greek documents do not include the words, "at Ephesus" found in 1:1. Paul though worked at Ephesus for nearly three years and the fact that no personal names were mentioned help to support the ideal of a cylindrical letter to the churches. This letter is perhaps the same letter sent to Ephesus by Tychicus, Ephesians 6:2122, "But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts." It is also possible that this is the same letter referred to as "my letter...from Laodicea found in Colossians 4:16, "And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." -- The city of Ephesus was a commercial, religious and political center. The Great Temple of Artemis (Diana) was found there as well. It is suspected that Christianity first came to Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla when Paul stopped there on his second missionary trip. Paul remained in Ephesus for three years on his third journey. Ephesus being a major center for trade ranked it up with the cities of Antioch and Alexandria. Timothy was given charge of the church in Ephesus after Paul left. Years later the Apostle John set up his headquarters in Ephesus. -- The topic of this book is to show God's eternal purpose and completion in Christ for the church. Paul brings into discussion in this letter the idea of predestination, Christ as the head of the body of believers, the church as the building and the body as the temple of God. The Spiritual gifts, mystery of Christ and the bride of Christ-the Church is also discussed in this letter. It can be seen also from this letter that even in prison Paul did not concern himself with his own problems instead he looked after the concerns of the people. Paul's testimony of Christ was most important to him. Paul's closing words: Ephesians 6:21-24, "But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." [link]

ALL ABOUT TURKEY: THE REGION OF EPHESUS - EPHESUS [IN MODERN TURKEY] MAINTAINED ITS IMPORTANCE DURING THE [EARLY] PERIOD OF CHRISTIANITY; THE APOSTLE ST. PAUL ARRIVED THERE DURING THE YEARS OF 50 A.D., AND [THE DISCIPLE] ST. JOHN WAS BURIED ON THE HILL OF AYASULUK (SELCUK, NEAR IZMIR) AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2ND CENTURY [100 A.D.] - ON BULBUL DAG (NIGHTINGALE MOUNTAIN) THERE IS THE HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN [MARY] WHERE IT'S BELIEVED THAT SHE PASSED LAST YEARS OF HER

LIFE AND PASSED AWAY - SHE [MARY] CAME TO EPHESUS TOGETHER WITH ST. JOHN AND TAKEN UP TO PANAGHIA KAPULU MOUNTAIN TO SURVIVE THE ROMAN PERSECUTIONS

Ephesus: The findings obtained in this region where the native people, namely the Lelegs and the Carians have lived since the beginning, indicate that the city is dated back to 2000 years B.C. As far as the years of 1000 are concerned, it is assumed that the Ions came to this region, led by Androckles. Ephesus was captured by the Kimmers (Cimmerians) in the 7th century B.C., by the Lydians in 560, and later in 546 B.C. by the Persians; and was rescued from the Persian domination when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in 334 B.C. -- Lysimachos, a commander of Alexander's, had the settlement removed from the whereabouts of the Temple of Artemis to the location between the Mount of Panayir and the Mount of Bülbül, and had a wall built around the city. The city was taken by the Kingdom of Pergamon after 190 B.C., by Rome in 133 B.C., and later by Byzantium. Ephesus maintained its importance during the period of Christianity; the apostle St. Paul arrived there during the years of 50 A.D., and St. John was buried on the hill of Ayasuluk (Selcuk, near Izmir) at the beginning of the 2nd century. Ephesus lived through its third glorious period during the reign of Justinian in the middle of the 6th century A.D. At this time, the Church of St. John was built by the Byzantine emperor. -The ruins of Ephesus, situated near Selçuk town at 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Izmir, is a main center of archaeological interest owing to the ancient remains that still exist. When you enter through the Magnesia Gate (south gate or upper gate), you can see the State Agora (or Upper Agora). The Temple of Isis is situated at the center of the Agora, and Stoa is placed on the North side of it. The Odeion (Bouletarion or Parliament) with a capacity of 1,400 persons is placed behind it and the Prytaneion (Town Hall) where the sacred fire used to burn, is on its flank. The Baths of Varius are placed on the east side of Odeion. On the west of the Agora, the Monument of Memmius built in the 1st century BC., the fountain of Sextilius Pollio built in the year 93 A.D., and the Temple of Domitian (81-93 A.D) are placed. On the south of the Agora, the fountain of Laecanius Bassus is situated. The Curetes street starts downwards from the Temple of Memmius. The Gate of Heracles (Hercules) is placed on this avenue. After passing through this part, the fountain of Trajan built in the years 102-114 is seen on the right hand side and after this, the Temple of Hadrian appears in front of us, in all its splendid beauty (117-138 A.D). The Scholastica Baths, built in the 4th century A.D., are situated behind the Temple of Hadrian. The houses of the rich people of Ephesus which were in front of it, have been restored and opened for visits at present with special permits. -- At the corner formed by the Curetes street and the Marble Road, the House of Love (Pornaion or Brothel) is placed and the Library of Celsus, restored and reestablished in recent years, stands right in front of this. The library which had been built in the name of proconsul Gaius Celsus completed in the year 135 A.D. by his son Tiberius Giulius Aquila, is entered by way of a stairway, 21 meters (69 feet) in width and having 9 steps. The southeastern gate of the Trade Agora opens to the Library of Celsus. Emperor Augustus' slaves, Mazaeus and Mithridates, liberated by him had this gate built in the year 1st century A.D.; it comprises three sections and has been restored today. The Corinthian columns of the Stoa encircling the Trade Agora with the dimensions 110 x 110 meters (361 x 361 feet), are standing erect today. The Temple of Serapes built in the period of Antony (138-192 A.D.) is placed behind the Trade Agora. -- One of the magnificent buildings of Ephesus is the Great Theater, largest in Asia Minor, which had a capacity of more than 24.000 people and is in a rather well preserved condition. The construction had started during the Hellenistic period but it could only be completed during the time of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). St. Paul was dragged into this theater to face the crowed because of his famous letter to Ephesians, but rescued by the security corps of the city. Festivals are celebrated in this theater today. -- All the streets of Ephesus were illuminated at night with oil lamps, this shows us the richness of the city. The Port Avenue extends in front of the theater. The avenue is 11 meters (36 feet) wide and 600 meters (1970 feet) long, and it has been called Arcadian Street because it was renewed during the time of Arcadius. On the whole north side of the avenue, there are the Harbor Gymnasium, baths and the Theater Gymnasium. The avenue that passes along the front of the theater, extends towards the Stadium built during the Nero period (54-68 A.D.) and towards the Vedius Gymnasium. The Church of the Virgin Mary built at the beginning of the 4th century A.D. is situated behind the Port Gymnasium just before the exit from the lower gate (north gate). **This was also the meeting place of the 3rd Ecumenical Council [The Council of Ephesus may refer to: The First Council of Ephesus of 431 AD. The Second Council of Ephesus of 449 AD. The Third Council of Ephesus of 475 AD. - Wiki.com]. ... The House of Virgin Mary: On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale mountain) there is the House of the Virgin where it's believed that she passed last years of her life and passed away. She came to Ephesus together with St. John and taken up to Panaghia Kapulu mountain to survive the Roman persecutions. The House was destroyed by many earthquakes and not discovered until 1951 thanks to a German nun, Catherine Emmerich, who saw its location in her visions. The site is recognized as a shrine by Vatican and visited by the Popes. Today, the House of Virgin Mary is renovated by George Quatman Foundation from Ohio and serves as a small church which attracts many Christians as well as Muslims coming

to pray for Her. The Mass is held here every Sunday. On the 15th August 2000 there was a great ceremony for the Assumption of the Virgin, the year which marked the two thousand years of the birth of Jesus. [link]

EPHESIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS HIS GENERIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH LETTER - A LETTER SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO BROADLY ADDRESS CHURCH CHRISTIANITY IN A BROAD-BASED AND UNIFORM MANNER WITHOUT GIVING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO SPECIFIC LOCALIZED CHURCH ISSUES AS HE HAD PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN IN HIS LETTERS (EPISTLES) TO THE CHURCH IN CORINTH -- 'EPHESIANS 1:24 GRACE BE TO YOU, AND PEACE, FROM GOD OUR FATHER, AND FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. BLESSED BE THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO HATH BLESSED US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS *IN HEAVENLY PLACES *IN CHRIST [JESUS]: ACCORDING AS HE HATH [ETERNALLY] CHOSEN US IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HIM IN LOVE ...' Ephesians 1:17-23 That the God [Father] of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the [Holy] Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him [Jesus]: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His [eternal] calling, and what the riches of the Glory of His [eternal] inheritance in the Saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward *who believe [faith], according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set [enthroned] Him at his own right hand in the Heavenly places, ***Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, *not only in this world, but also in that [new heaven, new earth (Revelation 21:1)] which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head [authority] over all things to the [Christian] Church, *Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. - Establishing first of all the many doctrines of Christianity including "Ephesians 1:6-7 To the praise of the Glory of His Grace, wherein He [Father] hath made us accepted in the beloved [Jesus]. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ..." and the establishment of Jesus Christ as the seated, enthroned King of the Universe the leader supreme of the eternal Christian Church.

EPHESIANS 2 - CHRISTIANITY THOUGH COMPOSED OF INDIVIDUALS IS ULTIMATELY A GROUP, A CLOSE PERSONAL FAMILY GROUP FAMILY WITH ONE ANOTHER HERE ON EARTH AND ETERNALLY FAMILY WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH GOD IN HEAVEN -- 'EPHESIANS 2:19-22 NOW THEREFORE YE ARE NO MORE STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, AND [FAMILY] OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD [FATHER, SON JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT]; AND ARE BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE [N.T.] APOSTLES AND [O.T.] PROPHETS, **JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE [THE CONTENT OF THE BIBLE O.T. AND N.T.]; IN WHOM ALL THE [ETERNAL TEMPLE] BUILDING FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER GROWETH UNTO AN HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD: IN WHOM YE ALSO ARE BUILDED TOGETHER FOR AN [HOLY SPIRIT] HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE [HOLY] SPIRIT.' Ephesians 2:1-10 And you [Christian] hath He [Jesus] quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses [intentional sins] and sins [unintentional sins]; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to [Satan] the prince of the power of the air, the [evil] spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: *Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. **But God, who is rich in mercy, for **His great love wherewith **He [first] loved us, **Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved; *And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He [God] might shew the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace [individuality] are ye saved through faith [redemption (cross of Jesus) + salvation (resurrection life of Jesus) = our faith]; and that [grace, cross and resurrection] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus *unto good works, which God hath before ordained *that we should walk in them. - In Jesus Christ our sins are a thing of the past, dealt with and removed by God on the cross. With our sin now removed in Jesus we have eternal life and eternal freedom. Note: An important concept of Christianity is that the Second Coming of Jesus is going to be nothing like the 1st Coming of Jesus. In His first physical manifest in mankind Jesus came as a Lamb to be sacrificed for our sins both our sins against God and also our sins against our fellow mankind have all been sacrificed for and completely atoned [made right] for us by Jesus on the cross. The 2nd Coming,

bodily [now a Spiritual body] manifest of Jesus will be almost the opposite of the 1st Coming of Jesus. Now Jesus will return not as a Lamb to be slaughtered again but as the Victorious Lion (Genesis 49:8-12) the Eternal King (Revelation 11:15) the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:4).

EPHESIANS 3 - THE CONTINUED FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANITY BOTH ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN -- 'EPHESIANS 3:9-11 AND TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE WHAT IS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY [THE TRIUNE 3 IN 1, TRINITY MYSTERY OF GOD], WHICH FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD HATH BEEN HID IN GOD, WHO CREATED ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST: **TO THE INTENT THAT NOW UNTO THE PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS IN HEAVENLY PLACES MIGHT BE KNOWN [EXPERIENCED] BY THE CHURCH THE MANIFOLD WISDOM OF GOD, ACCORDING TO THE ETERNAL PURPOSE WHICH HE PURPOSED IN [HIMSELF] CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD ...' Ephesians 3:12-21 In [Jesus] whom we have boldness and access [into Heaven] *with confidence by the faith of Him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint [resign] not at my [being imprisoned] tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom ***the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, That He [Jesus] would grant you, according to the riches of His Glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner [human, soul - spirit] man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts [soul - spirit] *by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height [the eternal dimensions]; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him [Jesus] that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, **Unto Him [Jesus] be Glory in the Church by Christ Jesus **throughout all ages, [eternal] **world without end. Amen. - Note: Only through Jesus Christ do we have access to Heaven and eternal life and with Jesus we do now have access to Heaven and live in eternity. Our eternity in Heaven was completed and established once, for all time and for all mankind [all who choose to receive] in Jesus Christ at His resurrection and by His sacrifice on the cross. Heaven and eternity are not future events for mankind they are continuous and contemporary events established by Jesus and 'experienced' by all Christians.

EPHESIANS 4 - TAKE SPECIAL NOTE THAT

WHAT WE DO NOW AND HOW WE BEHAVE AS INDIVIDUALS HAS SERIOUS RAMIFICATIONS

ASSEMBLY INCLUDING BOTH THE CHURCH GROUP ON EARTH AND THE GROUP IN HEAVEN -- 'EPHESIANS 4:23-25 AND BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND [SOUL]; AND THAT YE PUT ON THE NEW [BORN AGAIN - SPIRITUAL] MAN, WHICH [COMES] AFTER GOD [HAS GIVEN IT AND] IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS. WHEREFORE PUTTING AWAY LYING, *SPEAK [TO] EVERY MAN TRUTH [IN LOVE] WITH HIS NEIGHBOR: **FOR WE ARE [AN ASSEMBLY - GROUP] MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER [BOTH ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN].' BEYOND JUST THE INITIAL PEOPLE INVOLVED BUT EXTENDS ON INTO THE

Ephesians 4:1-16 I [Apostle Paul] therefore, the prisoner [not of Rome but] of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation [Christian duty] wherewith ye are called [invited by God to preform], With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; *Endeavouring to keep the unity of the [Holy] Spirit in the bond of peace. ***There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace [individuality] according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He saith, When He [Jesus united Heaven and earth the past, present and the future] ascended up on high [Heaven], he led [the O.T. saved Saints from captivity (hades) into Heaven] captivity captive, and gave gifts [to the newly formed Christian Church] unto men. Now that He [Jesus] ascended [went down into 'hades' - for three days and three nights after the cross], what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended [and reconciled the past O.T. Saints] is the same also that ascended [and reconciled Heaven - God to man] up far above all [visible] heavens, that He might fill [reconcile] all things [Heaven, earth, past, present and future]. And He [Jesus] gave [gifts] some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting [completing] of the Saints, **for the work of the Ministry, for the edifying [building up] of the body of Christ: *Till we all come **in the unity [Heaven and earth] of the faith, and **of the knowledge of the Son of God [Jesus], unto a perfect [completed in Jesus Christ] man, unto the measure [eternal] of the stature [dimensions - realms] of the fullness of [Jesus] Christ: That we henceforth be no more children [immature], tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, *by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait [planning] to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him

[Jesus] in all things, which is the head [overseer of the Church], even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase [maturity] of the [Church] body unto the edifying of itself in love. - The Ministry of Jesus Christ is to reconcile all the Saints [those desiring to be in a relationship with God]; past, present and future and Heaven and earth unto Himself for all eternity.

EPHESIANS 5 - ABOVE EVERYTHING BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST - ONLY JESUS CHRIST HAS DEMONSTRATED TO MANKIND THE EXAMPLE THAT ALL MANKIND IS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW IN ACHIEVING A GODLY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANKIND [WITH ONE ANOTHER] AND WITH GOD IN HEAVEN -- 'EPHESIANS 5:1-2 BE YE THEREFORE FOLLOWERS OF GOD [JESUS CHRIST], AS DEAR CHILDREN [FAMILY MEMBERS]; AND WALK IN LOVE, AS [JESUS] CHRIST ALSO HATH LOVED US, AND HATH GIVEN HIMSELF FOR US AN OFFERING AND A SACRIFICE [ON BEHALF OF SINFUL MAN] TO [THE HOLY] GOD FOR A SWEETSMELLING SAVOUR [ATONEMENT].' Ephesians 5:8-21 For ye were [in times past] sometimes darkness, *but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ***For the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth [unchangeable]; Proving [discerning] what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore He [Holy Spirit] saith, **Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and [Jesus] Christ shall give thee [eternal] light. See then that ye walk circumspectly [deliberatly], not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming [using it for God] the time, because the days are [still] evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the [Holy] will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit; *Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; **Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father [only] *in the [one] Name (Ephesians 4:5) of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. - Fellowship with God is truth, righteousness and holiness as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, fellowship with God is not the personal desires, counsels, and agendas of man the two are almost mutually exclusive.

EPHESIANS 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES HIS GENERIC CHURCH LETTER (MEMO) WITH THE IMPORTANT CONCEPT OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE -- 'EPHESIANS 6:10-13 FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, BE STRONG IN THE LORD [JESUS], AND IN THE POWER **OF HIS MIGHT. PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR *OF GOD, THAT YE MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES [DECEITFUL TACTICS] OF THE DEVIL [SATAN]. FOR WE WRESTLE [STRUGGLE] NOT AGAINST [PHYSICAL] FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST [SPIRITUAL] PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD, AGAINST *SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES. WHEREFORE TAKE UNTO YOU THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, THAT YE MAY BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND IN THE EVIL DAY, AND **HAVING DONE ALL, *TO STAND [IN JESUS].' The Apostle Paul concludes the Bible's book of Ephesians: Ephesians 6:14-24 Stand therefore [in Jesus], having your loins girt about with truth [God's Word, Holy Bible], and having on the breastplate of righteousness [Jesus' Righteousness]; And your feet shod with the preparation of *the Gospel of Peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith [cross of Jesus (redemption) + resurrection life of Jesus (salvation) = our faith], **wherewith ye shall be able to quench [put out] all the fiery darts [projectiles] of the wicked. And take the helmet of Salvation [have knowledge of eternal life], and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word [Holy Bible] of God: **Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the [Holy] Spirit, and ***watching [looking for the 2nd Coming of Jesus - The Lion and the King of the Tribe Judah] thereunto with all perseverance **and supplication [prayer requests] for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the Mystery [Triune, 3 in 1, nature of God as revealed to mankind] of the Gospel, For which I am an Ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. **Grace be with all them **that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

PHILIPPIANS PHILIPPIANS: [APOSTLE] PAUL'S JOY IN CHRIST - PHILIPPI WAS PAUL'S PRIDE AND JOY - ARMS OF FRIENDSHIP EXTENDED BETWEEN PAUL AND THE BELIEVERS AT PHILIPPI THAT DIDN'T EXIST IN THE OTHER CHURCHES - NONE OF HIS OTHER LETTERS HAS SUCH ABUNDANT EXPRESSIONS OF TENDER PERSONAL DEDICATION AND BENEVOLENCE AS THIS LETTER - LUKE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THEIR FIRST PASTOR FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS AFTER ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN ACTS 16 STYLE OF WRITING: This is the most personal, informal and cordial letter Paul wrote to a church. It is a thank you letter in response to a gift they have sent to Paul while he was in Rome. The reader senses the conflicts, hope, faith, determination, high purpose, deep driving passion of a man who seeks to glorify Christ in every dimension of his life. His greatest fear is to run and be disqualified. Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians reach spiritual peaks found nowhere else in Scripture. This letter expresses joy and peace during a time of affliction and uncertain future. He hasn't received financial help from the other churches. The letter is filled with expressions of gratitude and thankfulness for their expression of love and faithfulness which he has received on several occasions. He writes his letter from the position of one who is secure in the place he occupies in the hearts of his readers. Therefore, he can share from his heart his personal convictions and his internal conflicts about the future. It is filled with joy, peace and thanksgiving. The words "joy," "rejoicing," "rejoice" are repeated many times in these short 104 verses. This is indeed written in the style of a spontaneous, loving sincere letter with general everyday moral exhortations. It is as a friend simply opens up his heart to those whom he loves. -- AUTHOR: Paul (Phil. 1:1). There is nothing in the letter, linguistic or historical, which can cause any doubt as to its authenticity. External evidence includes: Clemens Romanus, Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, Marcion's Apostolicons, and Muratorian Canon. -- PLACE OF WRITING: It was written from prison in the city of Rome (1:7, 13; 4:22). Paul refers to his imprisonment in 1:7, 13, 14; 2:17. According to Acts he was a prisoner at Philippi (16:23, Jerusalem (21:33), Caesarea (23:25) and Rome (28:16, 30, 31). Paul was in prison two years while at Caesarea, however no final decision in his case was ever expected there. He was in prison at Rome for two years, pending his appeal to Caesar. The whole tradition of the early Church pleads for Rome. Moreover, Phil. 1:13, the "praetorian guard" and Phil. 4:22, "Caesar's household," would indicate the imprisonment at Rome. The Praetorian Guard was a force of 9,000 men at the disposal of Caesar. The final decisions regarding his appeal and, indeed, his life would certainly decide for Rome. -- RECIPIENTS: was the Church at Philippi (Acts 16:11-40; 17:14; 19:22; 20:3-4; Phil. 2:19). Paul, Timothy, Silas and Dr. Luke were all a vital part of the founding of the Church at Philippi. *Luke seems to have been their first pastor for about five years after its establishment in Acts 16. Paul directs his letter to the "saints" at Philippi (1:1; cf. Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:2; II Cor. 1:1). [link]

PHILIPPI - ANCIENT MACEDONIA, NORTHERN GREECE - (PHOTOS) Gangitis River: Philippi apparently had only a small number of Jewish inhabitants and no synagogue. Consequently Shabbat worship was held outside the city on the Gangitis River. Here Paul met a group of women to whom he preached the gospel. Lydia, a merchant trading purple cloth, believed Paul's message and was baptized with members of her household. Subsequently Paul went and lived at her home. -- Excavations: Archaeological work has revealed a large and well-preserved forum, a theater, the alleged jail of Paul and several Byzantine churches, including one of the earliest churches known in Greece. The number of churches in the city in the Byzantine period indicate Philippi's importance to Christians at this time. A series of earthquakes apparently destroyed many of the buildings and probably contributed to the city's decline. -- Philippian Jail: This traditional place of Paul and Silas's imprisonment is of dubious authenticity, but it remembers the attack on these men and their subsequent flogging and imprisonment. In the course of the night, a violent earthquake shook the prison and the jailer feared that all might have escaped. After learning that none had fled, the Philippian jailer put his faith in Christ and was baptized with his family. [link]

GODS, GOLD AND THE GLORY OF PHILIPPI - THE APOSTLE PAUL'S VISIT TO MACEDONIA MARKED THE FIRST TIME HE SET FOOT ON EUROPEAN SOIL (ACTS 16:11) - HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE GOSPEL WAS PROCLAIMED IN EUROPE (ACTS 2:10) - IN FACT, THE "MACEDONIAN CALL" (ACTS 16:9) SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT THERE WERE ALREADY BELIEVERS IN MACEDONIA THAT NEEDED HELP IN EVANGELIZING THEIR PROVINCE - ONE WRITER COMMENTED, "OUT OF MACEDONIA, ALEXANDER THE GREAT ONCE WENT TO CONQUER THE EASTERN WORLD BUT LATER FROM MACEDONIA THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL WENT TO CONQUER THE WESTERN WORLD OF PAUL'S DAY" (SWIFT 1984:250) - PHILIPPI PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL - HE ALSO HAD AN EFFECTIVE AND LASTING MINISTRY IN THE LIVES OF THE BELIEVERS IN THE LORD JESUS IN PHILIPPI Was Philippi Dr. Luke's Hometown? Some scholars have suggested that Dr. Luke's hometown was Philippi. This is a possibility. When one examines the pronouns in the book of Acts this observation is borne out. Up until chapter 16, Luke [Book of Acts] is writing about the work of Peter and Paul. When Paul, Silas and Timothy get to Alexandria Troas the pronouns change from "they/them" (Acts 16:7,8) to "us/we" (Acts 16:9,10). Dr. Luke escorts the group to Philippi (Acts 16:11,12). He is with them when they go to the place of prayer (Acts 16:13,16,17). When Paul and Silas leave Philippi, Dr. Luke stayed behind (Acts 17:1). Paul picks him up on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:5,6). Luke appears to have stayed in Philippi for at least six years. More than likely it was because it was his home. After Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl, he and Silas were tried before the magistrates and accused of being Jewish, but Luke was not (Acts 16:19,20). Dr. Luke was a respected member of the community so they did not bring him before the magistrate. But also, Luke was a Gentile (cf. Col. 4:11,14), so the accusation of being Jewish would not have applied. This possibility will never know for certain unless an archaeologist uncovers an inscription in Philippi with Dr. Luke's name on it, although this is not outside the realm of possibility. A number of years ago an inscription was found in Corinth with the name of Erastus on it (Rom. 16:23; Acts 19:22; II Tim. 4:20). [link]

EARLYCHRISTIANWRITINGS.COM: THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP [BISHOP OF THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA] TO THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI - POLYCARP BORN ABOUT 69 A.D. - DIED AS A MARTYR IN 155 A.D. AT SMYRNA - {NOTE: CHURCH FATHERS [FATHERS IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH] ALSO KNOWN AS APOSTOLIC FATHERS ARE THE 2ND GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS. THE APOSTLES WERE THOSE WHO HAD EXCLUSIVELY AND PERSONALLY WITNESSED (1 CORINTHIANS 15:6) THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST. THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS (THE 2ND GENERATION) ARE THOSE [LIKE POLYCARP THE BISHOP OF THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA ] WHO DID NOT SEE THE RESURRECTED JESUS BUT WHO LEARNED FROM THE APOSTLES THEMSELVES. POLYCARP WAS A STUDENT OF THE APOSTLE JOHN WHO HAD BEEN A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST. THE TERM "CHURCH FATHERS" IS APPLIED TO THE 2ND GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE TERM "FATHER OF THE FAITH" IS APPLIED TO ABRAHAM (ROMANS 4:11). ABRAHAM IS NOT THE FIRST GENERATION OF FAITH IN GOD BUT HE IS THE FIRST GENERATION TO HAVE FAITH AS WE HAVE IT. PRIOR TO ABRAHAM, DURING THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM'S FATHER TERAH (GENESIS 11:26), THE SONS OF NOAH [1ST GLOBAL JUDGMENT OF GOD] WERE STILL LIVING AND PREVIOUS TO THE DAYS OF NOAH THE ADAM OF CREATION WAS STILL LIVING. IF A PERSON WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FLOOD OR THE ORIGINAL CREATION BEFORE THE FLOOD OF NOAH THEY COULD GET AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT FROM ONE OF THE SONS OF NOAH, LIKEWISE THE APOSTLES GAVE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST AND HAVING HAD AN EYEWITNESS EXPERIENCE WITH GOD IN HIS RESURRECTION, HIS GLOBAL JUDGMENT FLOOD OR WITH GOD'S ORIGINAL CREATION THE APOSTLES AND THE ANCIENTS [THOSE WHO HAD LIVED PREVIOUS TO THE DAYS OF THE FLOOD OF NOAH (JOB 12:12)] HAD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FAITH (JOHN 20:29) THAN WE HAVE. WE HAVE A FAITH MORE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE CHURCH FATHERS THAN TO THE FAITH OF THE ORIGINAL APOSTLES.} Polycarp and the presbyters that are with him unto the Church of God which sojourneth at Philippi; mercy unto you and peace from God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Savior be multiplied. I rejoiced with you greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ, for that ye received the followers of the true Love and escorted them on their way, as befitted you--those men encircled in saintly bonds which are the diadems of them that be truly chosen of God and our Lord; and that the steadfast root of your faith which was famed from primitive times abideth until now and beareth fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured to face even death for our sins, whom God raised, having loosed the pangs of *Hades; on whom, **though ye saw Him not [not of the origional Apostles], ye believe with joy unutterable and full of glory; unto which joy many desire to enter in; forasmuch as ye know that it is by grace ye are saved, not of works, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ. ... I exhort you all therefore to be obedient unto the word of righteousness and to practice all endurance, which

also ye saw with your own eyes in the blessed Ignatius and Zosimus and Rufus, yea and in others also who came from among yourselves, as well as in *Paul himself and the rest of the Apostles; being persuaded that all these ran not in vain but in faith and righteousness, and that they are in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not the present world, but Him that died for our sakes and was raised by God for us. Stand fast therefore in these things and follow the example of the Lord, being firm in the faith and immovable, in love of the brotherhood kindly affectioned one to another, partners with the truth, forestalling one another in the gentleness of the Lord, despising no man. ... Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings and powers and princes and for them that persecute and hate you and for the enemies of the cross, that your fruit may be manifest among all men, that ye may be perfect in Him. Ye wrote to me, both ye yourselves and Ignatius, asking that if anyone should go to Syria he might carry thither the letters from you. And this I will do, if I get a fit opportunity, either I myself, or he whom I shall send to be ambassador on your behalf also. The letters of Ignatius which were sent to us by him, and others as many as we had by us, we send unto you, according as ye gave charge; the which are subjoined to this letter; from which ye will be able to gain great advantage. For they comprise faith and endurance and every kind of edification, which pertaineth unto our Lord. Moreover concerning Ignatius himself and those that were with him, if ye have any sure tidings, certify us. I write these things to you by Crescens, whom I commended to you recently and now commend unto you: for he hath walked blamelessly with us; and I believe also with you in like manner. But ye shall have his sister commended, when she shall come to you. Fare ye well in the Lord Jesus Christ in grace, ye and all yours. Amen. [link]

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH FATHERS - PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS OF THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS The following are early church fathers and apologists [defenders of the faith] of the first and second centuries [about 55 A.D. - 199 A.D.]. The first eight or nine documents are also known as the Apostolic Fathers. The writers known as the church fathers represent the ancient orthodox church as opposed to other elements of ancient Christianity such as Gnosticism. These are the church fathers and apologists that can be read on the Early Christian Writings web site. [link]

THE ENCYCLICAL EPISTLE OF THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY [BISHOP] POLYCARP [155 A.D] WE HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU, BRETHREN, AS TO WHAT RELATES TO THE MARTYRS, AND ESPECIALLY TO THE BLESSED POLYCARP We have written to you, brethren, as to what relates to the martyrs, and especially to the blessed Polycarp, who put an end to the persecution, having, as it were, set a seal upon it by his martyrdom. For almost all the events that happened previously [to this one], took place that the Lord might show us from above a martyrdom becoming the Gospel. For he waited to be delivered up, even as the Lord had done, that we also might become his followers, while we look not merely at what concerns ourselves but have regard also to our neighbors. For it is the part of a true and well-founded love, not only to wish one's self to be saved, but also all the brethren. ... But the most admirable Polycarp, when he first heard [that he was sought for], was in no measure disturbed, but resolved to continue in the city. However, in deference to the wish of many, he was persuaded to leave it. He departed, therefore, to a country house not far distant from the city. There he stayed with a few [friends], engaged in nothing else night and day than praying for all men, and for the Churches throughout the world, according to his usual custom. And while he was praying, a vision presented itself to him three days before he was taken; and, behold, the pillow under his head seemed to him on fire. Upon this, turning to those that were with him, he said to them prophetically, "I must be burnt alive." And when those who sought for him were at hand, he departed to another dwelling, whither his pursuers immediately came after him. And when they found him not, they seized upon two youths [that were there], one of whom, being subjected to torture, confessed. It was thus impossible that he should continue hid, since those that betrayed him were of his own household. The Irenarch then (whose office is the same as that of the Cleronomus), by name Herod, hastened to bring him into the stadium. [This all happened] that he might fulfil his special lot, being made a partaker of Christ, and that they who betrayed him might undergo the punishment of Judas himself. ... His pursuers then, along with horsemen, and taking the youth with them, went forth at supper-time on the day of the preparation with their usual weapons, as if going out against a robber. And being come about evening [to the place where he was], they found him lying down in the upper room of a certain little house, from which he might have escaped into another place; but he refused, saying, "The will of God be done." So when he heard that they were come, he went down and spake with them. And as those that were present marvelled at

his age and constancy, some of them said. "Was so much effort made to capture such a venerable man?" Immediately then, in that very hour, he ordered that something to eat and drink should be set before them, as much indeed as they cared for, while he besought them to allow him an hour to pray without disturbance. And on their giving him leave, he stood and prayed, being full of the grace of God, so that he could not cease for two full hours, to the astonishment of them that heard him, insomuch that many began to repent that they had come forth against so godly and venerable an old man. ... Now, as Polycarp was entering into the stadium, there came to him a voice from heaven, saying, "Be strong, and show thyself a man, O Polycarp!" No one saw who it was that spoke to him; but those of our brethren who were present heard the voice. And as he was brought forward, the tumult became great when they heard that Polycarp was taken. And when he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, "Have respect to thy old age," and other similar things, according to their custom, [such as], "Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists." But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, "Away with the Atheists." Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, "Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;" Polycarp declared, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?" And when the proconsul yet again pressed him, and said, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar," he answered, "Since thou art vainly urgent that, as thou sayest, I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and pretendest not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and thou shalt hear them." The proconsul replied, "Persuade the people." But Polycarp said, "To thee I have thought it right to offer an account [of my faith]; for we are taught to give all due honour (which entails no injury upon ourselves) to the powers and authorities which are ordained of God. But as for these, I do not deem them worthy of receiving any account from me." The proconsul then said to him, "I have wild beasts at hand; to these will I cast thee, except thou repent." But he answered, "Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous." But again the proconsul said to him, "I will cause thee to be consumed by fire, seeing thou despisest the wild beasts, if thou wilt not repent." But Polycarp said, "Thou threatenest me with fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but art ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why tarriest thou? Bring forth what thou wilt." While he spoke these and many other like things, he was filled with confidence and joy, and his countenance was full of grace, so that not merely did it not fall as if troubled by the things said to him, but, on the contrary, the proconsul was astonished, and sent his herald to proclaim in the midst of the stadium thrice, "Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian." This proclamation having been made by the herald, the whole multitude both of the heathen and Jews, who dwelt at Smyrna, cried out with uncontrollable fury, and in a loud voice, "This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, and the overthrower of our gods, he who has been teaching many not to sacrifice, or to worship the gods." Speaking thus, they cried out, and besought Philip the Asiarch to let loose a lion upon Polycarp. But Philip answered that it was not lawful for him to do so, seeing the shows of wild beasts were already finished. Then it seemed good to them to cry out with one consent, that Polycarp should be burnt alive. For thus it behooved the vision which was revealed to him in regard to his pillow to be fulfilled, when, seeing it on fire as he was praying, he turned about and said prophetically to the faithful that were with him, "I must be burnt alive." When he had pronounced this amen, and so finished his prayer, those who were appointed for the purpose kindled the fire. And as the flame blazed forth in great fury, we, to whom it was given to witness it, beheld a great miracle, and have been preserved that we might report to others what then took place. For the fire, shaping itself into the form of an arch, like the sail of a ship when filled with the wind, encompassed as by a circle the body of the martyr. And he appeared within not like flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace. Moreover, we perceived such a sweet odour [coming from the pile], as if frankincense or some such precious spices had been smoking there. ... At length, when those wicked men perceived that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they commanded an executioner to go near and pierce him through with a dagger. And on his doing this, there came forth a dove, and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished; and all the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna. Forevery word that went out of his mouth either has been or shall yet be accomplished. ... [link]

POLYCARP [LETTER] TO THE PHILIPPIANS - ESTIMATED RANGE OF DATING: 110-140 A.D. - POLYCARP RESIDED IN ASIA MINOR AS BISHOP OF SMYRNA AND SENT AN EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS C. 120-140 AD - POLYCARP WAS MARTYRED C. 155 AD Irenaeus mentions Polycarp in Adv. Haer., III.3.4: But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles [John and possibly Paul], and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time, a man who was of much greater weight, and a more stedfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles, that, namely, which is handed down by the Church. There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within." And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "Dost thou know me? "I do know thee, the first-born of Satan." Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." There is also a very powerful Epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, from which those who choose to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth. Then, again, the Church in Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among them permanently until the times of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles. ... Jerome provides the following summary in Illustrious Men 17: Polycarp disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna was chief of all Asia, where he saw and had as teachers some of the apostles and of those who had seen the Lord. He, on account of certain questions concerning the day of the Passover, went to Rome in the time of the emperor Antoninus Pius while Anicetus ruled the church in that city. There he led back to the faith many of the believers who had been deceived through the persuasion of Marcion {i.e. water baptism saves so they were baptized later in life, after marriage, after child birth etc. - Constantine (277-337 AD.) the first Christian Emperor of Rome and his father both believed this doctrine and both were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins at the end of their life only when on their deathbeds} and Valentinus {Gnostic Heretic - i.e. a greater god [Zoe] than God exists, Jesus-God (the Jewish, Christian God) was created by an even higher god [a god with lots of names (Lucifer, Gaia, Zoe, the Source, the Light, the Almighty, Divine Creator, Serpant, Father Satan, etc.) but usually secretly referred to as Satan or Lucifer]}, and when Marcion met him by chance and said "Do you know us" he replied, "I know the firstborn of the devil." Afterwards during the reign of Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus in the fourth persecution after Nero, in the presence of the proconsul holding court at Smyrna and all the people crying out against him in the Amphitheater, he was burned. He wrote a very valuable Epistle to the Philippians which is read to the present day in the meetings in Asia. [link]

BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG: DID JESUS HAVE A WIFE AND CHILD? OF COURSE NOT! - DA VINCI CODE GNOSTIC (JESUS IS ONLY HUMAN) CULTS EXPOSED! Network TV, the movie "The Da Vinci Code" 'SEEK THE TRUTH' {Sony Pictures - Directed by: Ron Howard, Starring: Tom Hanks, May 2006} and now The Da Vinci Code part two "Angels & Demons" (2009) are programs that will insinuate that Jesus had a secret wife, Mary Magdalene and that the two had a child while He was here on the earth. Following is some material to consider regarding this very wrong and false topic. This is a startling topic yet it is a good opportunity for us as Christians to define Christianity to others and to point out the errors of the non-Biblical approach to defining Jesus. "Any marriage prior to the Cross would mean that Jesus was marring a sinner and really teachings of an earthly marriage of Jesus are yet another false set of teachings that are attempting to do away with the need of mankind for the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and of His Glorious Resurrection and it is an attempt to deny the special relationship that Jesus has with His Bride - The Church." [link]

GNOSTICISM - HOLLYWOOD'S WAR ON GOD: LEARN HOW THESE MOVIES ARE INITIATING THE MASSES INTO A GNOSTIC WORLDVIEW THAT WILL CULMINATE IN A "STRONG DELUSION" AS THE WORLD JOINS SATAN & THE FINAL ANTICHRIST IN THEIR WAR AGAINST GOD (DVD - $19.95) Hollywood's War on God is a mind-blowing, eye-popping documentary that reveals how satanic forces are using Hollywood's most memorable movies and most popular actors to propagate an ancient lie in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Learn how these movies are initiating the masses into a Gnostic worldview that will culminate in a "strong delusion" as the world joins Satan & the final Antichrist in their war on God. Such titles include Ron Howard & Tom Hanks "The Da Vinci Code"; Keanu Reeves "The Matrix" and "Constantine"; Brad Pitt's "Fight Club"; Jim Carrey's "Truman Show"; Toby McQuire's "Pleasantville"; Arnold Swarzenegger's "Total Recall"; Johnny Depp's "From Hell"; Shawn Connery's "League of Extraordinary Gentleman"; J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter"; Harrison Ford's "Bladerunner"; Tom Cruise's "Vanilla Sky," "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Minority Report" and many others. [link]

PHILIPPIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS HIS LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI A CHURCH FELLOWSHIP THAT HAD BECOME ONE OF HIS MAIN DELIGHTS AND JOYS IN THE LORD -- 'PHILIPPIANS 1:1-6 PAUL AND TIMOTHEUS, THE SERVANTS OF JESUS CHRIST, TO ALL THE SAINTS IN CHRIST JESUS WHICH ARE AT PHILIPPI, WITH THE BISHOPS [BIBLE TEACHING CHURCH LEADERS, PASTORS, SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, ETC.] AND DEACONS [NON-TEACHING SERVANTS, USHERS, PREPARING COMMUNION, ETC.]: GRACE BE UNTO YOU, AND PEACE, FROM GOD OUR FATHER, AND FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. I THANK MY GOD UPON EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU, ALWAYS IN EVERY PRAYER OF MINE FOR YOU ALL MAKING REQUEST WITH JOY, *FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL *FROM THE FIRST DAY UNTIL NOW; **BEING CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING, *THAT HE [GOD] WHICH HATH BEGUN A GOOD WORK *IN YOU *WILL PERFORM [COMPLETE] IT UNTIL THE DAY [2ND COMING] OF JESUS CHRIST' Philippians 1:19-30 For I know that this [Paul's humiliation at being arrested and jailed] shall turn to my salvation [wellbeing, Christian growth] through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so **now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. **For to me to live is Christ, *and to die is gain [to gain Heaven and eternity with Jesus]. But if I live [on] in the flesh, this [Christian work] is the fruit of my labour [meaning of Paul's existence]: yet what I shall choose [death and eternal life in Heaven or continued Christian work and growth] I wot not [know not - still undecided]. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart [into Heaven], and to be with [Jesus] Christ; which [being in Heaven] is far better {Paul had already experienced being in Heaven}: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel; *And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token [evidence] of perdition [lost salvation], *but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, *but also to suffer for His sake [as Jesus was rejected by the world]; Having the same [rejected by the world] conflict *which ye saw in me, and now hear to [continue to] be in me. - Paul talks about the continued conflict that remains in the Christian. The Christian desire to begin life with Jesus in Heaven and also the desire to remain here on earth to do good and to continue to grow and mature in the Christian faith. Paul also talks about the conflicting notion of suffering persecution as a Christian. If becoming a Christian means suffering and rejection then why become a Christian and why would God allow it to happen and it's because while on earth we are conformed into fellowship with Jesus and in the 1st Coming of Jesus He was rejected, persecuted and suffered.

PHILIPPIANS 2 - PAUL EXPLAINS THAT THOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES ARE DIFFICULT FOR HIM AT THE MOMENT A KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR CONTINUED CHRISTIAN GROWTH AND MATURITY WOULD BRING A JOY TO PAUL THAT WOULD HELP TO MAKE HIS PRESENT DIFFICULTIES LESS DIFFICULT -- 'PHILIPPIANS 2:1-5 IF THERE BE THEREFORE ANY CONSOLATION IN CHRIST, IF ANY COMFORT OF LOVE, IF ANY FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT, IF ANY BOWELS AND MERCIES, FULFIL YE MY JOY, THAT YE BE LIKEMINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING

OF ONE ACCORD, OF ONE MIND. LET NOTHING BE DONE THROUGH STRIFE OR VAINGLORY; BUT IN LOWLINESS OF MIND LET EACH ESTEEM OTHER BETTER THAN THEMSELVES. *LOOK NOT EVERY MAN ON HIS OWN THINGS, *BUT EVERY MAN ALSO ON THE THINGS OF OTHERS.

*LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS' Philippians 2:6-18 ***[Jesus] Who, being [originally] in the form of God, thought it not robbery [taking away from God] to be equal with God [Jesus as God is equal to God]: **But made Himself of no reputation [temporarily removed His status as Gog], and took upon Him the form of a servant [became a human], and was made in the [human] likeness of men: And being found in [physical] fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God [Father] also hath highly exalted Him, *and given Him a Name which is above every name: ***That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth [in Hades]; **And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation [wellbeing in Jesus, Christian growth, maturity] with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings [complaining] and disputings [arguing]: That ye may be blameless and harmless, *the Sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, **among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the [Gospel] Word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain [empty], neither laboured in vain. Yea, **and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of [give his life in service for] your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me. - The main theme of the letter to the Philippians is Christian growth and maturity and above all Paul wants them to continue to grow and mature in their Christian faith to the point that their lives are no longer selfish and that they no longer live life for themselves temporarily here on earth but now live their life eternally for Jesus in Heaven.

PHILIPPIANS 3 - PAUL IS SERIOUS THAT THIS PHYSICAL LIFE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND IN HIS PERSECUTIONS AND THAT TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE SUFFERING OF JESUS IS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS -- 'PHILIPPIANS 3:811 YEA DOUBTLESS, AND I COUNT ALL [ACCOMPLISHMENTS] THINGS [IN THIS LIFE] BUT LOSS *FOR THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST JESUS MY LORD: FOR WHOM I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS, AND DO COUNT THEM BUT DUNG, THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST, AND BE FOUND IN HIM, *NOT HAVING MINE OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH IS OF THE LAW, BUT THAT WHICH IS THROUGH THE FAITH OF CHRIST, *THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF GOD BY FAITH: ***THAT I MAY KNOW HIM [JESUS], *AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, *AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, BEING MADE CONFORMABLE UNTO HIS DEATH; [SO THAT] IF [SINCE] BY ANY MEANS I MIGHT ATTAIN UNTO THE [HOLY, ETERNAL] RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.' Philippians 3:12-21 Not as though I had already attained [eternal life], either were already perfect [completed in Jesus Christ]: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend [obtain] that [eternal life salvation] for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. *Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended [eternal life]: **but this one thing I do, forgetting those [uncertain] things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those [certain Salvation] things which are before [yet future], **I press [continue] toward the mark for the prize of the [Heavenly] High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. *Let us therefore, as many as be perfect [complete in Jesus Christ], be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto [with what Christian knowledge] we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, **who mind earthly things. **For our conversation is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: [Jesus] *Who shall change our vile [physical] body, that [being predestined to the image of the resurrected Jesus (Romans 8:29)] it [our physical body] may be fashioned like unto His glorious [eternal, spiritual] body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. - Keep in mind that eternal life is something that is completed at the Throne, Bema Seat Judgment of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) after our own individual death and resurrection and is not obtained specifically here on earth. - Note: The Apostle Paul was briefly in Heaven and possibly having doubts about his own ministry (Galatians 2:2) and his own standing with God [apart from the laws of Moses] the Apostle Paul appears to have witnessed in Heaven a Bema Seat Judgment take place. "2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he [Apostle Paul] was caught up into paradise [Heaven, Throne of God], *and heard

unspeakable [Bema Seat Judgment] words, which it is **not **lawful [illegal] for a man to utter [repeat]." It's possible that Paul was able to witness a Bema Seat Judgment [or Judgments] and apparently all went well for the Christians and Paul realized that the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ being the finalization 'acceptance' of individual Christianity is a reward for the Christian [those in Jesus Christ] and not a condemnation.

PHILIPPIANS 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS THAT ETERNAL LIFE OUR NAMES WRITTEN IN THE "BOOK OF LIFE" IS WHAT IS AT STAKE IN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP -- 'PHILIPPIANS 4:1-3 THEREFORE, MY BRETHREN DEARLY BELOVED AND LONGED FOR, **MY JOY AND CROWN, SO STAND FAST IN THE LORD [JESUS CHRIST], MY DEARLY BELOVED. I BESEECH [REQUEST] [THE TWO CHRISTIAN WOMEN] EUODIAS, AND BESEECH SYNTYCHE, THAT THEY [TRY TO GET ALONG AND STOP CAUSING SO MUCH STRIFE AND DRAMA WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP] BE OF THE SAME MIND IN THE LORD. AND I ENTREAT THEE ALSO, TRUE YOKEFELLOW, HELP THOSE WOMEN [EUODIAS, AND SYNTYCHE] WHICH LABORED WITH ME IN THE GOSPEL, WITH CLEMENT ALSO, AND WITH OTHER MY FELLOW LABORERS, **WHOSE NAMES ARE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE [AND IF NOT REMOVED (REVELATION 3:5) WILL PASS THE BEMA SEAT JUDGMENT OF JESUS CHRIST].' The Apostle Paul concludes the Bibles' Book of Philippians: Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. *Be careful for nothing; but in everything *by prayer and supplication [request to God] with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And ***the peace of God, which passeth all [physical] understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ***Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, **think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. ... Philippians 4:20-23 Now **unto God [Jesus Christ] **and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household [this letter is thought to be written while Paul is under house arrest in Rome while he is guarded by Roman guards]. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

COLOSSIANS BACKGROUND ON COLOSSIANS: AS FAR AS WE KNOW PAUL NEVER VISITED COLOSSAE, AT LEAST NOT AT THE TIME HE WROTE THIS EPISTLE; HE HAD ONLY "HEARD" ABOUT THE CHURCH AT COLOSSAE (1:4, 9; 2:1) - {NOTE: THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK OF THE BIBLE OFTEN THE FAVORITE BOOK OF THE BIBLE FOR MANY CHRISTIANS. THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS IS UNIQUE IN THAT THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS WRITING TO A CITY THAT HE HAD NOT YET BEEN TO, A CITY THAT HAD NOT HAD ANY APOSTLE VISIT IT [UNLIKE ROME WHERE MANY CHRISTIANS FROM JERUSALEM AND EVEN PETER MIGHT HAVE VISITED THERE BEFORE PAUL]. THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS IS CONSIDERED PAUL'S OPENING EVANGELICAL STATEMENT OF WHAT THE APOSTLE MIGHT HAVE SAID TO PEOPLE IN ANY GIVEN CITY WHO GATHERED TO HEAR HIS FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AND PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL IN PLACES THAT PREVIOUSLY HAD LITTLE OR NO EXPOSURE TO THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.} As far as we know Paul never visited Colossae, at least not at the time he wrote this epistle; he had only "heard" about the church at Colossae (1:4, 9; 2:1). Nevertheless, it was a product of his ministry and beautifully illustrates his commitment to impart his vision of reaching others with the powerful message of the gospel. That this is so is illustrated in the following ways. First, Paul spent three years ministering the word in Ephesus from the lecture room of the School of Tyrannus. It was during this time all of Asia heard the Word (cf. Acts. 19:8-10, 26; & 20:31). Ephesus had three great attractions that brought people into the city from all parts of Asia. It was a seaport town, a center of commerce, and, with the temple of Diana, it was also a center for idol worship. Second, while on a visit to Ephesus, a young man from Colossae named Epaphras evidently heard the gospel from Paul and was converted. It appears that he was not only saved, but that he was trained and prepared by Paul to go back and plant a church in his hometown of Colossae (1:7; 4:12). The story of the establishment of the church at Colossae illustrates an important truth. "God does not always

need an apostle, or a 'full-time Christian worker' to get a ministry established. Nor does He need elaborate buildings and extensive organizations." Through Paul's vision for training others for ministry, God took two men and sent them out to reach and build others in Christ in at least three cities of the Lycus Valley. ... The Scope of Colossians: Colossians presents the all-supremacy, the all-sufficiency, the uniqueness, and the fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ as the Godman Savior, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the total solution for man's needs both for time and eternity. It is a cosmic book, presenting the cosmic Christ: the Creator/Sustainer who is also the one and only Redeemer/Reconciler of the universe. One of my former and beloved Greek professors at Dallas Seminary, Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, had the following excellent summary of the importance of this epistle. In the first of a series of articles entitled "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians" he wrote: "Without doubt Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul is addressed." So wrote Bishop Lightfoot some years ago in one of the finest commentaries on New Testament literature. Colosse had been "a great city of Phrygia," but it was in the afternoon of its influence and importance when Paul wrote the house-church there. And yet the message to Colosse, so bright with the light of the apostle's highest Christology, has become amazingly relevant in the middle of the twentieth century. With the sudden and startling intrusion of the space age and its astrophysics, nuclear power, missiles and rockets, the church of Jesus Christ has been forced to relate its Lord and Master to the ultimate frontiers. Colossians, which presents Him as the architect and sustainer of the universe, as well as the reconciler of all things, both earthly and heavenly, provides the church with the material it may and must use. Suddenly the epistle to the little flock in the declining city has become perhaps the most contemporary book in the New Testament library. -- The usefulness of Colossians, however, is not a recent phenomenon. The epistle is no late-blooming flower, although its grandeur and brilliance may strike one's eyes with increasing force in the present time. The Christology and the ethics of the letter are important for all time. It has always furnished a proper antidote to humanly devised schemes of salvation. As A. M. Hunter puts it; "To all who would 'improve' Christianity by admixing it with spiritualism or Sabbatarianism or occultism or any such extra, it utters its warning: 'What Christ is and has done for us is enough for salvation. We need no extra mediators, or taboos, or ascetics. To piece out the gospel with the rags and tatters of alien cults is not to enrich but to corrupt it.'" [link]

BACKGROUND ON COLOSSIANS (PART 2): BECAUSE OF THE RISING TIDE OF HUMAN PHILOSOPHIES CONFRONTING US TODAY, NO NEW TESTAMENT BOOK SPEAKS WITH MORE RELEVANCY THAN DOES THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS - INCREASINGLY OUR GENERATION WANTS TO TAKE RELIGION OUT OF THE REALM OF RATIONAL DISCOURSE AND RELEGATE IT TO THE AREA OF PERSONAL PREFERENCES AND OPINIONS. IF THERE ARE THIRTY-ONE FLAVORS OF ICE CREAM, WHY CAN WE NOT HAVE SIMILAR VARIETY IN RELIGIONS?

- THUS,

COLOSSIANS IS A BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR COSMIC AGE AND TO THIS NEW AGE MOVEMENT Introductory Remarks: Because of the rising tide of human philosophies confronting us today, no New Testament book speaks with more relevancy than does the epistle to the Colossians. Not only do we live in an atomic and space age, but in the most technologically advanced age of all time. As in the past, this is a day where, duped by the age-old lie of Satan, man still continues to believe in himself and his ability to solve his problems apart from God as He is revealed in Scripture. Through one avenue or another, man continues to offer his own manmade solutions for the ills of society whether in the form of secular humanism or religious syncretism. But it appears many are becoming discontented over the futility of materialism and somewhat dissatisfied with the idea that life is but a cosmic accident. As a result, many are turning to the New Age movement that has been growing by leaps and bounds. This new movement claims we stand at the brink of an entirely new age of human achievement and potential, one that will unify the world and bring an end to war and an end to hunger through a redistribution of the world's resources and population control. It will lead to the conservation of the earth's environment, result in genuine equality among all races and religions and between men and women, and provide a global ethic that will unite the human family. But at the center of this movement is a religious syncretism that rejects the biblical revelation of God as revealed in Christ. According to this movement, Christ is only one of many religious leaders or influences that man may turn to because there are other ways that are equally valid. -Increasingly our generation wants to take religion out of the realm of rational discourse and relegate it to the area of personal preferences and opinions. If there are thirty-one flavors of ice cream, why can we not have similar variety in religions? The gods of the New Age Movement are always tolerant of sexual preferences, feminism, and hedonistic pleasures at almost any cost. Why shouldn't we each choose a religion that is compatible with our private values? In order to have a meaningful faith, it must agree with our deeply held beliefs. What works for you might not work for me. Thus, Colossians is a book that speaks to our cosmic age and to this New Age movement. But let us not miss the fact that

this movement has its source in the occult (though hidden under new names) and in Eastern religions that go all the way back to the beginnings of history with the fall of man. The New Age movement is not new; it is the most recent repeat of the second oldest religion, the spirituality of the serpent. Its impulse is foreign to none of us. The appeal is ancient indeed; its rudiments were seductively sold to our first parents in the garden. Human pride was tickled, and it jumped. The New Age movement promotes a belief in monism. Monism is the belief that all is one, that everything is interrelated, interdependent, and interpenetrating. It promotes the hideous idea that humanity, nature, and God are not separate from each other, but are one. As an illustration, Groothius also points out that John Randolph Price is a New Age writer who teaches that everyone should affirm, "I and the Father are one, and all the Father has is mine. In truth I am the Christ of God," and that he "tars as 'anti-Christ' those under-evolved, ignorant ones who deny 'the divinity of all men' (pantheism)." As evident from this statement by Price, pantheism is at the heart of the New Age movement. It teaches that "all is God." But their God is not a personal being; he is an impersonal energy, a force or consciousness. Out of this naturally comes another idea. Since all is one and all is God, we too are gods. The goal of the New Age movement is to awaken us to the god who sleeps within us, to teach us to live like the gods we are. The bait on this pagan hook is Satan's great delusion from the Garden of Eden, the promise of godhood. -- Secular humanism taught that "man is the measure of all things." Now, because of this promise of godhood for men, the New Age movement says with man all things are possible. The New Age worldview is what could be called "a cosmic humanism." But as mentioned, the ideas of the New Age movement are not new. It merely repeats Satan's age-old lie in a new age using euphemisms or new names to hide and remove old associations and stigmas. As will be shown, the heresy confronting the Colossians had certain similarities to the New Age movement of our day. Colossians is God's polemic and rebuttal to many kinds of delusions and heresies, but it is especially relevant to what we see happening in the world today. [link]

COLOSSIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS HIS LETTER TO A CHURCH STATING WHAT HE WOULD SAY TO THEM IF HE COULD VISIT THEM -- 'COLOSSIANS 1:3-6 WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD AND THE FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, *PRAYING ALWAYS FOR YOU, SINCE WE HEARD OF YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, AND OF THE LOVE WHICH YE HAVE TO ALL THE SAINTS, **FOR THE HOPE WHICH IS LAID UP **FOR YOU IN HEAVEN, WHEREOF YE HEARD BEFORE IN THE WORD OF THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL; WHICH IS COME UNTO YOU, AS IT IS IN ALL THE WORLD; AND ***BRINGETH FORTH FRUIT [EVIDENCE], AS IT DOTH ALSO IN YOU, SINCE THE DAY YE HEARD OF IT, AND KNEW THE GRACE OF GOD IN TRUTH' Colossians 1:7-23 As ye also learned of Epaphras [a native of Colossae who on a visit to Ephesus was saved and taught Christianity by Paul, he then returned to Colossae and began the Church there] our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the [Holy] Spirit. *For this cause [their Christian love] we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire *that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and Spiritual understanding; *That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, *which hath made us meet to be partakers of **the **inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son [Jesus]: In [Jesus] whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image [same Spiritual substance] of the invisible God, the firstborn [receives the double inheritance, Jews (Exodus 4:22-23) and Christians (Hebrews 12:23)] of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, *visible [physical] and invisible [spiritual], whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him [Jesus], and for Him: And He is [pre-existent] before all things, and by Him all things consist [exist, remain]. *And He is the head [authority] of the [Christian] body, the church: who is the beginning, *the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him [Jesus] should all fullness dwell; ***And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him ***to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled In the body of His flesh through death, *to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight [at the Bema Seat Judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10)]: *If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the Hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; - Paul begins his message with the basics a need for

faithfulness Jesus Christ, redemption and reconciliation to God only through the blood of Jesus and of the headship and authority of Jesus Christ over His Christian Church.

COLOSSIANS 2 - PAUL THEN TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT BEING DECEIVED BY THE 'ENTICING WORDS' [FALSE RELIGIONS, FALSE SCIENCE, EMPTY PHILOSOPHIES] OF MAN -- 'COLOSSIANS 2:1-5 FOR I WOULD THAT YE KNEW WHAT GREAT CONFLICT I HAVE FOR YOU, AND FOR THEM AT LAODICEA, AND FOR AS MANY AS HAVE NOT SEEN MY FACE IN THE FLESH; THAT THEIR HEARTS MIGHT BE COMFORTED, BEING KNIT TOGETHER IN LOVE, AND UNTO ALL RICHES OF THE FULL ASSURANCE OF UNDERSTANDING, TO THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF *THE [3 IN 1] MYSTERY OF GOD [HOLY SPIRIT], AND OF *THE FATHER, AND OF *[JESUS] CHRIST; ***IN WHOM [HOLY SPIRIT, FATHER, JESUS CHRIST] ARE HID **ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. AND THIS I SAY, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BEGUILE [DECEIVE] YOU WITH ENTICING [I.E. GNOSTIC] WORDS. FOR THOUGH I BE ABSENT IN THE FLESH, YET AM I WITH YOU IN THE SPIRIT, JOYING AND BEHOLDING YOUR ORDER, AND THE STEDFASTNESS OF YOUR FAITH IN [JESUS] CHRIST.' Colossians 2:6-19 As ye have therefore received *Christ Jesus the Lord [authority], so walk ye in Him [Jesus]: Rooted [anchored] and built up in Him, and stablished [established] in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with Thanksgiving. **Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ***And ye are complete in Him [Jesus], which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are [spiritually] circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: **Buried with Him in [spiritual] baptism, **wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened [made alive] together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses [sins]; 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 [in the resurrection], triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you [religiously, physically] in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: **Which are a shadow [O.T. example] of [New Testament] things to come; but the body [content of the Holy Bible] is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head [Jesus Christ], from which all the Christian Church] body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. - Paul gives more cautions and warnings that individual Christians are to be careful and not to get trapped into religious practices or into the preferences and spectacles of men as they do not foster a true Spiritual relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

COLOSSIANS 3 - THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING A NEW SPIRITUAL; HEAVENLY, GODLY LIFE, A MATURING CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTERED IN THE HOLY BIBLE AND FOCUSED ON JESUS CHRIST -- 'COLOSSIANS 3:1-10 IF YE THEN BE RISEN [RESURRECTION] WITH [JESUS] CHRIST, SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST SITTETH [ENTHRONED] ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. **SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, **NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH. FOR YE ARE DEAD [TO THIS WORLD], AND YOUR [NEW] LIFE IS [HEAVEN] HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD. WHEN CHRIST, WHO IS OUR LIFE, SHALL APPEAR [2ND COMING], THEN SHALL YE ALSO APPEAR WITH HIM IN GLORY. MORTIFY [PUT TO DEATH] THEREFORE *YOUR MEMBERS [WORLDLY, DESIRES, URGES] WHICH ARE UPON THE EARTH; FORNICATION, UNCLEANNESS, INORDINATE AFFECTION, EVIL CONCUPISCENCE, AND COVETOUSNESS, WHICH IS IDOLATRY: FOR WHICH THINGS' SAKE THE WRATH OF GOD COMETH ON THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE: IN THE WHICH YE ALSO WALKED SOME TIME, WHEN YE LIVED IN THEM. BUT NOW YE ALSO PUT OFF ALL THESE; ANGER, WRATH, MALICE, BLASPHEMY, FILTHY COMMUNICATION OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. LIE NOT ONE TO ANOTHER, SEEING THAT YE HAVE PUT OFF THE OLD [SIN] MAN WITH HIS DEEDS; AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW [SPIRITUAL] MAN, WHICH IS **RENEWED IN [BIBLICAL] KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE [SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE] OF HIM [GOD] THAT CREATED HIM [A NEW SPIRITUAL PERSON]:' Colossians 3:12-17 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye

thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. ... Colossians 3:23-25 *And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily [with eternal significance], as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. - Everyone is to keep a holy perspective and an eternal purpose even while in this current physical life.

COLOSSIANS 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES HIS LETTER, A LETTER WRITTEN TO GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HE WILL MOST LIKELY NOT MEET UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN GATHERED TOGETHER AND ARE A PART OF THE GREAT CONGREGATION IN HEAVEN -- 'COLOSSIANS 4:2 CONTINUE IN PRAYER, AND WATCH [LOOK FOR THE 2ND COMING OF JESUS] IN THE SAME [PRAYERFUL MANNER] WITH THANKSGIVING' ... 'COLOSSIANS 4:5-6 WALK IN WISDOM TOWARD THEM [NON-CHRISTIAN] THAT ARE WITHOUT, REDEEMING THE TIME. LET YOUR SPEECH BE ALWAYS WITH GRACE [HOSPITABLE], SEASONED WITH SALT [GIVING PEOPLE A TASTE OF CHRISTIANITY, ETERNITY], THAT YE MAY KNOW HOW YE OUGHT TO ANSWER [HAVING OURSELVES A GRACEFUL ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD AND GIVING EVERY PERSON A DESIRE FOR CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL THINGS] EVERY MAN.' Paul concludes the Bible's book of Colossians: Colossians 4:15-18 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the Church which is in his house. **And when this epistle (letter) is read among you, ***cause [make it happen] that it [this letter] be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans; **and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea [probably know known as the Book of Ephesians]. **And say to Archippus, **Take heed to the Ministry **which thou hast received in the Lord, **that thou [continue] fulfill it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds [imprisonment]. Grace be with you. Amen. -Note: The letters of the New Testament [and all of the Bible but specifically the N.T. epistles] are meant to be read out loud in the gathered Churches. This ancient practice of reading Paul's letters [and all the letters of the N.T.] to the Church fellowship seems to have been neglected by the modern Church and it is a practice that we are commanded to do. Having one person or several people slowly read an epistle to the congregation should a standard Church practice even today.

1 THESSALONIANS 1 THESSALONIANS: AN EXEGETICAL AND DEVOTIONAL COMMENTARY - THE THESSALONIAN EPISTLES WERE WRITTEN TO THE CHURCH AT THESSALONICA - IT WAS A CHURCH UNDER PERSECUTION, BUT ALSO A CHURCH THAT HAD A DYNAMIC TESTIMONY AND THAT HAD GROWN THROUGH THE PERSECUTION - SIGNIFICANTLY, IN EVERY CHAPTER OF 1 THESSALONIANS, THE APOSTLE SOUGHT TO COMFORT AND MOTIVATE WITH THE TRUTH OF THE LORD'S SURE RETURN The Thessalonian epistles were written to the church at Thessalonica. It was a church under persecution, but also a church that had a dynamic testimony and that had grown through the persecution. Significantly, in every chapter of 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle sought to comfort and motivate with the truth of the Lord's sure return. As we study these books, therefore, we need to grapple with how the return of the Lord for the body of Christ should impact us and how it should not affect us, for as we will see, some had made a wrong application of the Lord's imminent return. ... Thessalonica was originally named Therma because of the many hot springs in the surrounding area, but in 315 B.C. it was renamed Thessalonica after the half-sister of Alexander the Great. It later became known as Salonika and today it is called Thessaloniki. It is one of the few cities that still exists today from New Testament times and has a booming population of 300,000. The city was conquered by Rome in 168 B.C., and was made the capitol of the entire providence of Macedonia. When Paul made his journey to the city, it boasted a population of 200,000 consisting mostly of Greeks though there was a large Roman population with a strong Jewish minority. ... To preach and teach the Word to a dying and lost world is never really an issue in the will of God, but exactly when and where (time and place) is an issue in keeping with God's preparation of the soil of human hearts. As Christians, we are all called to be a part of promoting the

spread of the glorious truths of the Word, but where, when, and how are important matters that need to be discerned in the will of God for each individual believer. Thus, the birth of the church at Thessalonica was the result of both God's leading and the attentive ears of Paul and his missionary team. -- Having arrived at Somothrace in Macedonia, the missionary team moved on through Neopolis to Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia and a Roman colony. There Lydia, whose heart God had opened for the gospel, and her household were led to the Christ with a church being established in her home. After some days of ministry there, Paul and Silas were arrested on false charges, beaten, and thrown into jail. Following a miraculous deliverance by the Lord, the Philippian jailer and his household were also led to the Savior (Acts 16:19-40). These circumstances forced the missionaries to leave Philippi. So after encouraging the new believers, the missionary team left the city (though Luke may have stayed behind temporarily) and journeyed on through Amphipolis and Appollonia to the important city of Thessalonica. [link]

BACKGROUND OF 1ST THESSALONIANS - THESSALONICA WAS A MAJOR CITY IN NORTHERN GREECE. SITUATED ON THE MAIN EAST-WEST HIGHWAY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, IT WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE ROMAN PROVINCE OF MACEDONIA AND VERY LOYAL TO ROME. IT SURVIVES TO THIS DAY, NOW KNOWN AS SALONIKA - PAUL PLANTED THIS CHURCH ON HIS SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY ABOUT 50 AD - UPON HEARING TIMOTHY'S REPORT, HE [PAUL] WRITES THIS LETTER FROM CORINTH TO ENCOURAGE, INSTRUCT AND EQUIP THEM IN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHRIST - THIS MEANS THAT 1 THESSALONIANS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST DOCUMENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT-PRECEDED ONLY BY GALATIANS AND JAMES [AND PROBABLY THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW AND THE EXTRA-BIBLICAL BOOK 'THE DIDACHE'] - IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST PERSONAL Paul planted this church on his second missionary journey about 50 AD. After Paul and Silas had, during the Apostle's second missionary journey, left Philippi, they proceeded to Thessalonica. Luke, one of Paul's mission band, concisely records what happened in Acts 17:1-15. The signal success of Paul's apostolate among Jews, proselytes, and Hellenes together with the conversion of "not a few noble ladies," aroused the Jews to a fury of envy; they gathered together a mob of idlers from the agora and set the whole city in tumult; they beset the home of Jason, found the Apostle away, dragged his host to the tribunal of the politarchs and charged him with harboring traitors, men who set Jesus up as king in place of Caesar. That night the brethren made good the escape of their teacher to Berea. There the Gospel of Paul met with a much more enthusiastic reception than that accorded to it by the synagogue of Thessalonica. The Jews of that city drove Paul to Berea and there, too, stirred up the mob against him. Concerned for their spiritual welfare, he sent Timothy back to check on them. Upon hearing Timothy's report, he writes this letter from Corinth to encourage, instruct and equip them in their relationships with Christ. This means that 1 Thessalonians is one of the earliest documents of the New Testament-preceded only by Galatians and James. It is also one of the most personal. [link]

1 THESSALONIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS HIS FIRST OF TWO LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO A HIGHLY PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN CHURCH A CHURCH THAT WAS NEARLY WIPED OUT DO TO THE SEVERE NATURE OF THE DEADLY PERSECUTIONS IT ENDURED -'1 THESSALONIANS 1:2-4 WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD *ALWAYS FOR YOU ALL, MAKING MENTION OF YOU IN OUR PRAYERS; REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING YOUR WORK OF FAITH, AND LABOR OF LOVE, AND PATIENCE OF HOPE IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND OUR FATHER; KNOWING, BRETHREN BELOVED, YOUR ELECTION OF GOD.' 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 For they [Thessalonian converts] themselves shew [by their endurance in the faith] of [unto] us what manner of entering in [influence] we had unto you, and ***how ye turned to God from idols ***to serve the ***living and true God; And to wait for [2nd Coming of] His Son [Jesus] from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus [Christ], which delivered us from the wrath to come. - The Christians, many of them new converts, in Thessalonica are commended for their faith and endurance in very difficult circumstances.

1 THESSALONIANS 2 - THE CHRISTIANS IN THESSALONICA WERE ABLE TO GRASP AND DISCERN THAT THE WORDS OF COMFORT ARE FROM GOD AND THAT THE VIOLENT PERSECUTIONS WERE FROM SATAN -- '1 THESSALONIANS 2:11-13 AS YE KNOW HOW WE EXHORTED AND COMFORTED AND CHARGED EVERY ONE OF YOU, AS A FATHER DOTH HIS CHILDREN, THAT YE WOULD WALK WORTHY OF GOD, WHO HATH CALLED YOU UNTO HIS [ETERNAL] KINGDOM AND GLORY. FOR THIS CAUSE ALSO THANK WE GOD WITHOUT CEASING,

BECAUSE, WHEN YE RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD *WHICH YE HEARD [FROM] OF US,*** YE RECEIVED IT NOT AS THE WORD OF MEN, BUT AS IT IS IN TRUTH,

**THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH EFFECTUALLY WORKETH ALSO IN YOU THAT BELIEVE [LIT. FAITH - BELIEF IS THE VERB FORM OF THE NOUN FAITH].' 1 Thessalonians 2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the Churches of God which in Judaea [Israel - Jerusalem] are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own [violent persecutors] countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and **they [violent persecutors] please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be Saved, to fill up their sins always: **for the wrath is come upon them [violent persecutors] to the uttermost. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; **but Satan hindered us {Satan is actively at work in all regions of the world opposing all aspects of true Christianity}. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing [personal fellowship among believers until the return of Jesus]? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his [2nd] coming [lit. presence - parousia G3952]? For ye are our glory and joy. - The violent opposition waged against the Christians is of the realm and influences of Satan and not at all of God.

1 THESSALONIANS 3 - THE MISERY AND EVEN DEATH OF PERSECUTION DOES NOT MAKE VOID THE FACT THAT WE ARE EVEN NOW ALIVE IN JESUS CHRIST -- '1 THESSALONIANS 3:8-10 FOR **NOW WE LIVE [EVEN IN PERSECUTION], IF YE STAND FAST IN THE LORD. FOR WHAT THANKS CAN WE RENDER TO GOD AGAIN FOR YOU, FOR ALL THE JOY WHEREWITH WE JOY FOR YOUR SAKES BEFORE OUR GOD; NIGHT AND DAY PRAYING EXCEEDINGLY THAT WE MIGHT SEE YOUR FACE, AND MIGHT PERFECT [COMPLETE] THAT WHICH IS LACKING IN YOUR FAITH [KNOWLEDGE OF THE MINISTRY, THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST]?' 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Now God Himself [Holy Spirit] and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way [path back] unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. - We Christians regardless of circumstances or the amount of persecution are to remain "unblameable in holiness before God" because we are accountable to God more than we are accountable to our fellow man.

1 THESSALONIANS 4 - LIVING IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND PERSECUTION IS NOT A TIME TO RELINQUISH IMMORALITY AND HOLINESS TOWARDS GOD -- '1 THESSALONIANS 4:1-4 FURTHERMORE THEN WE BESEECH YOU, BRETHREN, AND EXHORT YOU BY THE LORD JESUS, THAT AS YE HAVE RECEIVED (ACTS 15:20) OF US HOW YE OUGHT TO WALK AND TO PLEASE GOD, SO YE WOULD ABOUND [IN HOLINESS] MORE AND MORE. FOR YE KNOW WHAT COMMANDMENTS WE GAVE YOU BY THE LORD JESUS. FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD, EVEN YOUR SANCTIFICATION [HOLINESS], THAT YE SHOULD ABSTAIN FROM FORNICATION: **THAT EVERY ONE OF YOU [INDIVIDUALLY] SHOULD KNOW HOW TO POSSESS HIS [OWN BODY] VESSEL IN SANCTIFICATION AND HONOR [TO GOD]' 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [deceased Christians], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For **if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the [2nd] coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep {from already being in the presence of God}. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the Trump [call] of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first {already in the presence of God}: **Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (Acts 3:21): and so shall we [living and deceased] ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. - Note: This verse is particularly in reference to Christians who have died in martyrdom and by other causes and indicates that those who die before the 2nd Coming of Jesus will instantly be in the presence of Jesus and will not need to wait for us to enter into Heaven but already being there will reunite with those who are alive at the actual 2nd Coming of Jesus.

1 THESSALONIANS 5 - A CONTINUED SEPARATION AND DISTINCTION IS MADE BETWEEN THE HOLINESS AND CONDUCT OF CHRISTIANS AND THE REBELLION AND DISOBEDIENCE OF NON-CHRISTIANS -- '1 THESSALONIANS 5:5-8 YE [YOU] ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DAY: WE ARE NOT OF THE NIGHT, NOR OF DARKNESS. THEREFORE LET US NOT SLEEP, AS DO OTHERS; BUT LET US WATCH [FOR THE 2ND COMING OF JESUS] AND BE SOBER. FOR THEY THAT SLEEP SLEEP IN THE NIGHT; AND THEY THAT BE DRUNKEN ARE DRUNKEN IN THE NIGHT. **BUT LET US, WHO ARE OF THE DAY, BE SOBER, PUTTING ON THE BREASTPLATE OF FAITH AND LOVE; AND FOR AN HELMET, THE HOPE OF [OUR INDIVIDUAL] SALVATION.' The Apostle Paul closes the Bible's first of two letters to the Church in Thessalonica: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-28 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. **Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And ***the very God of Peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole *spirit and *soul and *body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He [God] that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy [embrace] kiss. **I charge you by the Lord **that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

2 THESSALONIANS 2 THESSALONIANS - THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE ALREADY IN 'THE DAY OF THE LORD' JUST PRECEDING CHRIST'S [2ND COMING] RETURN - THIS DOCTRINAL PROBLEM CAUSED A PRACTICAL ISSUE - SOME OF THE MEMBERS, *CONVINCED THAT THE END WAS NEAR, HAD GIVEN UP THEIR JOBS, AND WERE LIVING IN IDLENESS WAITING FOR THE LORD - THEY WERE SPENDING THEIR TIME SPREADING THEIR VIEWS AND LIVING OFF OF OTHERS - SO PAUL HAD TO WRITE TO THEM AND STRAIGHTEN THEM OUT The main reason for Paul writing a second letter to the Thessalonians was to bring encouragement to discouraged Christians. Between the time of the writing of the two letters a new problem had arisen. Apparently some believers had caused concern with regard to their relation to 'the day of the Lord.' They thought that they were already in 'the day of the Lord' just preceding Christ's return. They said that this seemed to be confirmed by their persecutions. So they looked for the immediate return of Christ. Paul wrote them 'not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by work, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.' (2 Thessalonians 2:2) The Thessalonians were concerned that they would fall victim to the day of Judgment. This doctrinal problem caused a practical issue. Some of the members convinced that the end was near, had given up their jobs, and were living in idleness waiting for the Lord. They were spending their time spreading their views and living off of others. So Paul had to write to them and straighten them out. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). This is the shortest of Paul's letters to the churches. Only the letter to Titus and the little note to Philemon are shorter. It is really a letter of prayer containing four prayers and one request. He seals the letter with his own hand to prevent the Churches from being misled by letters claiming to be his. [link]

PERSECUTION IN THE EARLY CHURCH - IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION, MANY CHRISTIANS CHOSE TO DIE BEFORE THEY WOULD DENY THEIR LORD [JESUS CHRIST] - THOSE WHO DID SO CAME TO BE CALLED MARTYRS, WHICH MEANS "WITNESSES" The Roman Empire was generally quite tolerant in its treatment of other religions. The imperial policy was generally one of incorporation - the local gods of a newly conquered area were simply added to the Roman pantheon and often given Roman names. Even the Jews, with their one god, were generally tolerated. So why the persecution of Christians? In order to understand the Roman distrust of Christianity, one must understand the Roman view of religion. For the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state - a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety. Cicero wrote that if piety in the Roman sense were to disappear, social unity and

justice would perish along with it. The early Roman writers viewed Christianity not as another kind of pietas, piety, but as a superstitio, "superstition." Pliny, a Roman governor writing circa 110 AD, called Christianity a "superstition taken to extravagant lengths." Similarly, the Roman historian Tacitus called it "a deadly superstition," and the historian Suetonius called Christians "a class of persons given to a new and mischievous superstition." In this context, the word "superstition" has a slightly different connotation than it has today: for the Romans, it designated something foreign and different - in a negative sense. Religious beliefs were valid only in so far as it could be shown to be old and in line with ancient customs; new and innovative teachings were regarded with distrust. The Roman distaste for Christianity, then, arose in large part from its sense that it was bad for society. ... Two Christian Responses: The Glory of Martyrdom and Apologetics - "Though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but, the more such things happen, the more do others in larger numbers become faithful." -- Justin Martyr In the face of persecution, many Christians chose to die before they would deny their Lord. Those who did so came to be called martyrs, which means "witnesses." The second-century theologian Tertullian had converted to Christianity based in part on his wonder at Christians' faithfulness in the face of martyrdom and it clearly had a similar effect on others as well. It was Tertullian who famously declared, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Indeed, persecution seemed to have a dramatic effect on Christianity's numbers, but not in the direction intended by the persecutors. -- A second response of the church to Roman persecution was to write apologies, or defenses, of the Christian faith. The bishops and leaders who wrote these defenses are known as the Apologists. Writing especially in the 2nd century AD, the Apologists' primary goal was to defend Christianity against pagan accusations and misconceptions in an effort to stop the persecution. Thus they often addressed their works to Roman emperors. The Apologists explained, for example, that the Christian "love feast" did not involve cannibalism or orgies as many thought, but was a sacred meal of bread and wine in honor of Christ's death. -- The Apologists also sought to show that Christianity was equal or even superior to pagan religion and philosophy, and good for the Roman state. They pointed out that Christianity was just as old as Greek thought, having originated in the ancient religion of the Hebrews. They asked their readers to compare the ethical behavior of Christians and pagans. They explained that although they were not willing to sacrifice to him as a god, Christians prayed for the emperor's welfare regularly. [link]

2 THESSALONIANS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BEGINS HIS SECOND AND FINAL LETTER TO THE HEAVILY PERSECUTED AND HEAVILY MARTYRED CHURCH IN THESSALONICA -- '2 THESSALONIANS 1:3-4 WE ARE BOUND TO THANK GOD ALWAYS FOR YOU, BRETHREN, AS IT IS MEET, BECAUSE THAT YOUR FAITH GROWETH EXCEEDINGLY, AND THE CHARITY OF EVERY ONE OF YOU ALL TOWARD EACH OTHER ABOUNDETH; SO THAT WE OURSELVES GLORY IN YOU IN THE CHURCHES OF GOD FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND FAITH IN ALL YOUR PERSECUTIONS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT YE ENDURE' 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12 And to you who are troubled rest with us [in Jesus Christ], when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty Angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel [of Peace] of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence [being separated from the presence of God - eternal damnation] of the Lord, and from the Glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in His Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day. **Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and **the work of faith with power: That the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be Glorified in you, and ye in Him [Jesus], according to the Grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - Paul gives the very important admonishment that vengeance does not belong to mankind bit it belongs to Jesus Christ to be administered in the prescribed time, place and manner at the choice of Jesus Christ. But that glory for mankind in Jesus Christ does belong to mankind. The opportunity of mankind for peace and eternal glory in Jesus Christ, yes. The responsibility of man for vengeance, judgment and destruction on his fellow man, no.

2 THESSALONIANS 2 - TO SEE PEOPLE DOING GOOD AND FOLLOWING GOD IN PEACE DURING TIMES OF STRIFE AND EVIL IS A SIGHT AND AN EVENT TO BE THANKFUL FOR AND TO GIVE THANKS BOTH TO THE PEOPLE OF PEACE AND TO GOD THE AUTHOR OF PEACE AND LOVE -'2 THESSALONIANS 2:13-15 BUT WE ARE BOUND TO GIVE THANKS ALWAYS TO GOD FOR YOU, BRETHREN BELOVED OF THE LORD, BECAUSE GOD HATH FROM THE BEGINNING CHOSEN YOU TO SALVATION [WELLBEING] THROUGH SANCTIFICATION [BEING SET APART TO GOD] OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT AND BELIEF OF THE TRUTH: WHEREUNTO HE [GOD] CALLED [INVITED] YOU BY OUR GOSPEL, TO THE

OBTAINING OF THE GLORY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. **THEREFORE, BRETHREN, STAND FAST, AND HOLD THE TRADITIONS [PRAYER, FELLOWSHIP, BIBLE STUDY, COMMUNION, BAPTISM, ETC.] WHICH YE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, WHETHER BY WORD [HOLY BIBLE], OR OUR EPISTLE [LETTER].'

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 For the mystery of iniquity [sin] doth already work: only He [God - Holy Spirit] who now letteth [restrains evil] will let [evil reign (Revelation 6:1)], until He [Holy Spirit allows evil to reign unhindered] be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming [presence]: Even him [Antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; *because they received not the love [and peace] of the truth, that they might be saved [eternal salvation]. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie [that violence is of God]: That they all [violent] might be damned who believed not the truth [of peace, rest and trust in God], but had pleasure in unrighteousness [and violence]. - God is currently restraining sin and evil from having complete reign upon the earth however during the Tribulation times of Revelation sin will have fewer restrictions and mankind will be allowed to commit more of the evil desires of an evil heart and mind. The Seven Seals of Revelation are seven restraints on evil that are each individually broken and removed as evil is given free reign for a time upon the earth.

2 THESSALONIANS 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES HIS LETTER CONFIRMING THAT JESUS CHRIST IS PEACE AND LOVE AND THAT JESUS WILL KEEP US FROM COMMITTING EVIL IF WE WILL TRUST OUR LIVES AND OUR CIRCUMSTANCES UNTO JESUS - BUT THAT SATAN IS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION AND TO FOLLOW SATAN IS TO RECEIVE ETERNAL DEATH AND PERMANENT DESTRUCTION -- '2 THESSALONIANS 3:1-3 FINALLY, BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US, THAT THE WORD [PEACE AND LOVE] OF THE LORD MAY HAVE FREE COURSE, AND BE GLORIFIED, EVEN AS IT IS WITH YOU: AND THAT WE MAY BE DELIVERED FROM UNREASONABLE [VIOLENT] AND WICKED MEN [WHO FOLLOW SATAN]: FOR ALL MEN HAVE NOT FAITH. BUT THE LORD [JESUS] IS FAITHFUL [PEACE AND LOVE], WHO SHALL STABLISH [ESTABLISH] YOU, AND KEEP YOU FROM {DOING} EVIL.' The Apostle Paul concludes the Bible's book of 2nd Thessalonians with a reminder that Jesus Christ is "the Lord of Peace." - 2 Thessalonians 3:13-17 But ye, brethren, **be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that [violent] man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. **Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ***Now the Lord of Peace Himself [Jesus Christ] give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

1 TIMOTHY HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO PAUL'S PASTORAL EPISTLES [1ST TIMOTHY, 2ND TIMOTHY AND TITUS] - PAUL'S FIRST AND SECOND LETTERS TO TIMOTHY AND HIS LETTER TO TITUS HAVE BEEN CALLED "PASTORAL LETTERS" SINCE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (1700'S) [THOUGH] THOMAS AQUINAS [BORN (IN SICILY ITALY) 1225 AD; DIED 7 MARCH 1274 AD - WIKI.COM] HAD GIVEN THIS NAME TO PAUL'S FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY ALREADY IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY (1200'S) - THESE LETTERS ARE CALLED "PASTORAL LETTERS" BECAUSE IN THEM PAUL REVEALS HIS CONCERN FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH AND ITS MINISTRY - IN THEM HE ADDRESSES A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH - HE INSTRUCTS HIS CO-WORKERS TIMOTHY AND TITUS TO PROVIDE THE CHURCHES WITH QUALIFIED PASTORS AND LAY LEADERS - PAUL INFORMS THEM WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THOSE SERVANTS IN THE CHURCH - HE INSTRUCTS THEM IN THE WORSHIP LIFE OF THE CHURCH - HE TEACHES THEM HOW TO CARE FOR THE SOULS IN THEIR CONGREGATION MEN AND WOMEN, YOUNG AND OLD, RICH AND POOR - PAUL URGES THEM REPEATEDLY TO BE ON THEIR GUARD AGAINST FALSE DOCTRINE AND TO TEACH THE WORD OF GOD FAITHFULLY AS WELL AS TO EXHIBIT A GODLY LIFE - HE [APOSTLE PAUL] ANTICIPATED THAT HIS MARTYRDOM WAS NEAR, AS HE STATED IN 2 TIMOTHY 4:6 - ACCORDING TO CHRISTIAN

67 TO 68 A.D. - IT IS THEREFORE THOUGHT THAT PAUL WROTE HIS SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH IN A.D. 67 - {NOTE: 2ND TIMOTHY WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN WITHIN DAYS OF PAULS' EXECUTION (AS SOON AS HE RECEIVED NEWS [EITHER FROM JESUS OR FROM ROME] THAT HE WAS TO BE EXECUTED) POSSIBLY EVEN WRITTEN WITHIN THE LAST HOURS OF HIS LIFE.} TRADITION

PAUL

SUFFERED MARTYRDOM IN

ROME

AROUND

The Historical Background To The Pastoral Letters: Paul's three pastoral letters, unlike his other ten letters, do not blend into the historical framework of Paul's missionary journey's recorded in the Book Of Acts. The Book of Acts concludes with Paul's first imprisonment in Rome prior to the time he wrote his three pastoral letters. Thus the order of events in Paul's life and ministry, as well as the dates of those events, from the time of his release from his first imprisonment in Rome to the time of his second imprisonment in Rome and his execution remain uncertain. -- Upon his release from his first imprisonment Paul appears to have revisited the churches in Asia Minor (in what is now the country of Turkey) and in Macedonia (the northern Roman province in what is now Greece). Paul had intended to do this (cf. Philemon 22; Philippians 2:24). It seems he traveled southeast from Rome to the island of Crete. There he left Titus to organize the church and to have pastors appointed (cf. Titus 1:5). He then possibly set sail and traveled northeast to Ephesus on the west coast of Asia Minor. He left Timothy in Ephesus to take charge of the affairs of the church there. From Ephesus he traveled west to Macedonia, where he revisited Philippi, In Philippi it is thought he wrote his First Letter to Timothy and his Letter to Titus in the fall of A.D. 63. -- It appears that Paul may have then spent the winter in Nicopolis where Titus was to join him after being relieved in Crete by Artemas or Tychicus (cf. Titus 3:12). The Nicopolis Paul referred to is thought to be the city in the Roman province of Epirus, which was located on the western coast of what is now Greece by the Ionian Sea. There is the possibility that in the spring of A.D. 64 Paul traveled to Spain to do mission work, as he had hoped to do (cf. Romans 15:23,24). Some scholars have thought that if Paul did indeed go to Spain, he did so immediately upon his release from imprisonment in Rome in A.D. 61-62. There is no scriptural evidence to verify that Paul did journey to Spain. The Letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, however, which was written in A.D. 96, states Paul did travel to Spain. If Paul did go to Spain around the spring of A.D. 64 and remained there to A.D. 65, he would have been there at the time of the burning of Rome, a fiery tragedy that Nero blamed on the Christians and used as an excuse to begin persecuting them. -- In his Second Letter to Timothy Paul wrote that he had been to Troas (cf. 2 Timothy 4:13) and to Corinth in southern Greece and to Miletus in Asia Minor (cf. 2 Timothy 4:20). If Paul did go to Spain in the spring of A.D. 64, then it appears he made a second trip to the East after his release before his second imprisonment in Rome. Where and when Paul was arrested is unknown. In any case, he was again imprisoned in Rome. During his second imprisonment he was treated harshly, unlike the better treatment he had received during his first imprisonment when he was held under house arrest in his own rented quarters. In 2 Timothy 2:9 Paul wrote that he was chained up like a criminal. He anticipated that his martyrdom was near, as he stated in 2 Timothy 4:6. According to Christian tradition Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome around A.D. 67 to 68. It is therefore thought that Paul wrote his Second Letter to Timothy shortly before his death in A.D. 67. [link]

1 TIMOTHY 1 - 1ST TIMOTHY IS THE APOSTLE PAUL'S LETTER TO A STRUGGLING MINISTER - SINCE ALL MINISTRY IS A STRUGGLE IN ONE SENSE OR ANOTHER THE LETTER IS GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS THE MAIN PASTORAL EPISTLE -- '1 TIMOTHY 1:1-4 PAUL, AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST BY THE COMMANDMENT [COMMAND] OF GOD OUR SAVIOR, AND LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHICH IS OUR HOPE; UNTO TIMOTHY, MY OWN SON IN THE FAITH: GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE, FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. AS I BESOUGHT THEE TO ABIDE STILL AT EPHESUS, WHEN I WENT INTO MACEDONIA [GREECE], *THAT THOU MIGHTEST CHARGE SOME *THAT THEY TEACH NO OTHER DOCTRINE, NEITHER GIVE HEED TO FABLES AND ENDLESS GENEALOGIES, WHICH MINISTER QUESTIONS, RATHER THAN GODLY EDIFYING WHICH IS IN FAITH: [AND] SO DO [ACCOMPLISH THE TASK OF TEACHING PURE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE].' 1 Timothy 1:15-20 **This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation [acceptance], that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief [foremost]. Howbeit for this cause [salvation] I [Paul] obtained mercy, that in me first [who originally persecuted the Christian Church] Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting. -- {Doxology begins} ***Now unto the King [Jesus] eternal, immortal, invisible, ***the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen {Doxology ends}. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to

blaspheme. - The Apostle Paul continues to define priorities and to set goals for the Pastors of the Church particularly the goals of keeping salvation, mercy, forgiveness faith and the eternal glory of God as the main focal and attention points for the ministry.

DOXOLOGY GENERAL INFORMATION: A DOXOLOGY IS A SHORT PRAYER OR HYMN OF PRAISE THAT EXTOLS THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF GOD. WELL KNOWN DOXOLOGIES INCLUDE THE GLORY TO GOD (GLORIA PATRI {LATIN}), THE GLORY BE (GLORIA IN EXCELSIS {LATIN}), THE HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (SANCTUS {LATIN}), AND THE HEBREW WORD ALLELUIA, WHICH MEANS "PRAISE THE LORD" SOME VERSES OF HYMNS, SUCH AS THOMAS KEN'S "PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW," ARE ALSO CALLED DOXOLOGIES Doxology Advanced Information: The term, which is derived from the Greek doxa (glory), denotes an ascription of praise to the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. In its commonest form, known as the Gloria Patri or "Lesser Doxology," it is rendered: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." Its use at the end of the Psalms, as directed, e.g., in the Book of Common Prayer, dates from the fourth century. It is thus a symbol of the duty of Christianizing the Psalms and serves at the same time "to connect the Unity of the Godhead as known to the Jews with the Trinity as known to Christians" (Tutorial Prayer Book, p. 101). The so - called Greater Doxology is the Gloria in Excelsis, "Glory be to God on high." On account of its opening words, taken directly from Luke 2:14, it is sometimes known as the Angelic Hymn. This doxology is of Greek origin (fourth century) and was used at first as a morning canticle. Later it became incorporated into the Latin Mass, where it occupied a place at the beginning of the service. In the English Communion Service of 1552 the Reformers transferred the hymn to the end of the office, no doubt in accordance with the usage at the first (Passover, Last Supper) Eucharist [Holy Communion]: "When they had sung an hymn, they went out" (Matt. 26:30). In this position it forms a fitting conclusion to the Christian sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. It is now generally agreed that the doxology ["For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen" was added to the Catholic Mass in 1970 as part of the liturgical reforms that sought to make the Mass more ecumenical by adding or embracing prayers and forms recognized by the Protestants. While often attributed to the Protestants, this doxology actually has its roots in the Christian writing of the "Didache" of the first century. It's link to Protestantism is through Martin Luther, who emphasized it. - Answers.com] at the end of the Lord's Prayer is not part of the original text of Matt. 6:9 - 13. It may be regarded as an ancient liturgical addition to the prayer, which was adopted by the Greek church but not by the [Roman Catholic] Latin [until 1970]. ~ F Colquhoun (Elwell Evangelical Dictionary) [link]

1 TIMOTHY - THE RECURRENCE OF DOXOLOGIES (1 TIMOTHY 1:17; 6:15,16; 2 TIMOTHY 4:18) AS FROM ONE LIVING PERPETUALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, TO WHOM THE LANGUAGE OF ADORATION WAS AS HIS NATURAL SPEECH 1 & 2 Timothy, Epistles by Paul -- The Epistles to Timothy and Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles, because they are principally devoted to directions about the work of the pastor of a church. The First Epistle was probably written from Macedonia, A.D. 65, in the interval between St. Paul's first and second imprisonments at Rome. The absence of any local reference but that in (1 Timothy 1:3) suggests Macedonia or some neighboring district. In some MSS. and versions Laodicea is named in the inscription as the place from which it was sent. The Second Epistle appears to have been written A.D. 67 or 68, and in all probability at Rome. --The following are the characteristic features of these epistles:-- (1) The ever-deepening sense in St. Paul's heart of the divine mercy of which he was the object, as shown in the insertion of the "mercy" in the salutations of both epistles, and in the "obtained mercy" of (1 Timothy 1:13) (2) The greater abruptness of the Second Epistle. From first to last there is no plan, no treatment of subjects carefully thought out. All speaks of strong overflowing emotion memories of the past, anxieties about the future. (3) The absence, as compared with St. Paul other epistles, of Old Testament references. This may connect itself with the fact just noticed, that these epistles are not argumentative, possibly also with the request for the "books and parchments" which had been left behind. (2 Timothy 4:13) (4) The conspicuous position of the "faithful sayings" as taking the place occupied in other epistles by the Old Testament Scriptures. The way in which these are cited as authoritative, the variety of subjects which they cover, suggests the thought that in them we have specimens of the prophecies of the apostolic Church which had most impressed themselves on the mind of the apostle and of the disciples generally. (1 Corinthians 14:1) ... shows how deep a reverence he was likely to feel for spiritual utterances. In (1 Timothy 4:1) we have a distinct reference to them.

(5) The tendency of the apostle's mind to dwell more on the universality of the redemptive work of Christ, (1 Timothy 2:3-6; 4:10) and his strong desire that all the teaching of his disciples should be "sound." (6) The importance attached by him to the practical details of administration. The gathered experience of a long life had taught him that the life and wellbeing of the Church required these for its safeguards. (7) The recurrence of doxologies, (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15,16; 2 Timothy 4:18) as from one living perpetually in the presence of God, to whom the language of adoration was as his natural speech. [Smith's Bible Dictionary] [link]

1 TIMOTHY 2 - CHRISTIAN CONDUCT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS ADDRESSED -- '1 TIMOTHY 2:1-4 I EXHORT THEREFORE, THAT, FIRST OF ALL, SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSIONS, AND GIVING OF THANKS, BE MADE FOR ALL MEN; FOR KINGS, AND FOR ALL THAT ARE IN AUTHORITY; THAT WE MAY LEAD A QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIFE IN ALL GODLINESS AND HONESTY. FOR THIS IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD OUR SAVIOR; WHO WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, AND TO COME UNTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH.' 1 Timothy 2:5-8 *For there is one God, *and one mediator *between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an Apostle, I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity [accordance with fact (and) reality Dictionary.com]. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. - Now the Apostle Paul mentions how the parishioners [worshipers] in Church attendance, both the men and the women, should behave.

1 TIMOTHY 3 - THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHURCH-FELLOWSHIP OVERSEERS AND LEADERS IS GIVEN -- '1 TIMOTHY 3:1 THIS IS A TRUE SAYING, IF A MAN DESIRE THE OFFICE OF A BISHOP [CHURCH OVERSEERS], HE DESIRETH A GOOD WORK. A BISHOP THEN MUST BE BLAMELESS, THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE [NO POLYGAMY; THIS IS NOT ABOUT DIVORCE IT IS ABOUT THE CHURCH REPRESENTING THE ONE BRIDE OF JESUS CHRIST], VIGILANT, SOBER, OF GOOD BEHAVIOR, *GIVEN TO HOSPITALITY, *APT TO TEACH [A BISHOP IS ABLE TO TEACH SOUND BIBLE DOCTRINE (I.E. SUNDAY SCHOOL) WHILE A DEACON IS A CHURCH SERVANT WHO DOES NOT YET REGULARLY TEACH BIBLE STUDIES]; NOT GIVEN TO WINE, NO STRIKER, NOT GREEDY OF FILTHY LUCRE [UNCLEAN MONEY]; BUT PATIENT, NOT A BRAWLER, NOT COVETOUS [DESIROUS OF WORLDLY ITEMS] ...' 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Likewise must the Deacons (Church servants) be grave [lit. have dignity], not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; *Holding the [Trinity - Triune] Mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. *And let these [Christian servants] also *first be proved [discerned of]; *then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Let the Deacons be the husbands of one wife [no polygamy is allowed in the Christian Church], ruling their [own] children and their own houses well. **For they that have used the office of a Deacon well **purchase [eternally] to themselves a good degree [Christian maturity], and great boldness [Christian strength] in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. ... 1 Timothy 3:15-16 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest *know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth. ***And without controversy great is the [Trinity - Triune] Mystery of godliness: God [Jesus] was manifest in the flesh [Matthew 1:23], justified in the Spirit [John 1:32], seen of angels [Luke 2:10-11], preached unto the Gentiles [Mark 8:1], believed on in the world [Luke 9:20, Mark 15:39], received up into Glory [Acts 1:9]. - Qualification to serve the Christian community continues to be faithfulness to God, to His word [the Bible] and to His people [Christians].

1 TIMOTHY 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL FOREWARNS THE BODY OF CHRIST OF ADVANCED PROBLEMS THAT WILL OCCUR WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE LATER YEARS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERA JUST PRIOR TO THE 2ND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST -- '1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2 NOW THE [HOLY] SPIRIT SPEAKETH EXPRESSLY [EMPHATICALLY], THAT IN THE LATTER TIMES [END OF THE CHURCH ERA] SOME [CHRISTIANS] SHALL DEPART FROM THE [CHRISTIAN] FAITH, GIVING HEED [ATTENTION] TO SEDUCING SPIRITS [I.E. THE VARIOUS 'NEW AGE' MOVEMENTS], AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS [I.E. ECUMENICALISM - REDUCING CHRISTIANITY AND MAKING ALL RELIGIONS EQUAL AND ONE]; SPEAKING LIES IN HYPOCRISY [TWO-FACEDNESS]; HAVING THEIR CONSCIENCE [GODLY DISCERNMENT] SEARED [HARDENED] WITH A HOT [ACTIVE] IRON ...' - NOTE: IRON BIBLICALLY GENERALLY DENOTES A STRONG FORCE OFTEN A

(PSALMS 107:10) THE 'HOT INFLUENCE IN THE LIFE OF A ONCE FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN. DEMONIC STRONGHOLD

IRON' MENTIONED IS POSSIBLY THE RESULT OF A DEMONIC DECEPTION AND

1 Timothy 4:6-16 If thou put the brethren [fellow Christians] in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good [faithful] minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the Words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. *For bodily exercise profiteth little [eternally - because our physical body does not resurrect (Genesis 3:19), we receive a new body (1 Corinthians 15:53)]: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that [eternal] which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. ***For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, **who is the Savior of all men [all are eligible to believe and be saved], *specially [actually saving] of those that [do] believe. These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, **give attendance *to [publically] reading [the Bible in Church], to exhortation [encouragement], to doctrine [Bible concepts]. Neglect not the [spiritual] gift that is in thee [as a born again Christian], which was given [explained] thee by *prophecy [forth telling, explaining spiritual things], with the laying on of the hands [guidance, fellowship] of the presbytery [Church elders, overseers]. Meditate [contemplate] upon these [Heavenly] things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear [manifest] to all (Romans 8:19). Take heed [attention] *unto thyself, *and unto the [Biblical] doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save [lit. safety - Sozo, G4982] thyself, and them that hear thee. - As the critical End Times and 2nd Coming events of Jesus Christ draw near to mankind the bourdon and necessity of Christian Church leadership to remain faithful to God, to Christian doctrine and to one another greatly increases.

1 TIMOTHY 5 - CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP AND RELATIONSHIPS ARE DEFINED IN TERMS NOT AS STRANGERS TO ONE ANOTHER, BUT AS CHRISTIAN FAMILY WITH ONE ANOTHER - THIS INCLUDES ALL CHRISTIANS EVEN THE PEOPLE WE HAVEN'T MET OR DON'T YET PERSONALLY KNOW -- '1 TIMOTHY 5:1-2 REBUKE [HARSHLY CORRECT] NOT AN ELDER [OLDER MAN], BUT INTREAT HIM AS A FATHER; AND THE YOUNGER MEN AS [EQUAL] BRETHREN; THE ELDER WOMEN AS MOTHERS; THE YOUNGER AS SISTERS, *WITH ALL PURITY. HONOR WIDOWS THAT ARE WIDOWS INDEED.' 1 Timothy 5:17-22 Let the [Church] elders *that rule well be counted worthy of double honor [physical and spiritual], especially they who labor in the Word and Doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn [in the O.T. a work animal was allowed to eat of the field and from their labor]. And, The [Christian] laborer is worthy of his reward. **Against an [Church] elder receive not an [single] accusation, but before two or three witnesses [consider the matter]. Them that sin rebuke [in love] before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect Angels [angels appointed by God to observe and overseeing Christian fellowship], that thou observe these things **without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands [become yoked] suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: **keep thyself pure [holy]. - Note "Them that sin rebuke before all" is applicable if the rebuke is done in love, in an appropriate way and in an appropriate place. At times a pastor would do it [a public rebuke] in an attempt to gain more power and authority to himself over the congregation or as an opportunity to openly criticize a fellow Christian and often even a legitimate matter would create gossip and scandal within the Church fellowship so there are many parameters to an open and public rebuke and wisely it is seldom done though the opportunity of public rebuke exists for a reason within the Christian Church.

1 TIMOTHY 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL BRIEFLY TOUCHES ON CHRISTIAN EMPLOYMENT AND THEN CONCLUDES HIS FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY BY AGAIN EMPHASIZING CHRISTIAN CONDUCT AND SERVICE TO GOD -- '1 TIMOTHY 6:1-2 LET AS MANY SERVANTS [WORKERS] AS ARE UNDER THE YOKE [EMPLOYED] COUNT THEIR OWN MASTERS [BOSSES] WORTHY OF ALL HONOR, THAT THE NAME OF GOD AND HIS DOCTRINE BE NOT BLASPHEMED. AND THEY [WORKERS] THAT HAVE BELIEVING [CHRISTIAN] MASTERS [BOSSES], LET THEM NOT DESPISE THEM [I.E. IF A NON-CHRISTIAN GETS A PROMOTION OR A RAISE AND NOT THE CHRISTIAN], BECAUSE THEY ARE BRETHREN; BUT *RATHER DO THEM SERVICE [GOOD WORK], BECAUSE THEY ARE FAITHFUL AND BELOVED, PARTAKERS OF THE [ETERNAL] BENEFIT. THESE THINGS TEACH AND EXHORT.'

The Bible's book of 1st Timothy concludes: 1 Timothy 6:11-21 But thou, O [Christian] man of God, flee these [immoral] things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. **Fight the good fight of faith, ***lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called [invited], and hast professed a **good profession [publically professing Jesus Christ] before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth [makes alive] all things, and before Christ Jesus, ***who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession [Jesus confessed to Pontius Pilate that He is the Messiah (Mark 15:2)]; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing [2nd Coming] of our Lord Jesus Christ: -- {Doxology begins} Which in His times He shall shew [reveal Himself], [Jesus] who is the Blessed and only Potentate [supreme power], the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ***Who [Jesus] only hath immortality, dwelling in the light [of the Throne of God the Father] which no man can approach unto [the Throne of God the Father]; [the Father] whom no man hath seen, nor can see [because of our sinful nature]: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen {Doxology ends}. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, **that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good [eternal] foundation against the [heavenly] time to come, *that they may lay hold [grasp the meaning] on eternal life. O [Pastor] Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing [Christians] have erred [gotten off course] concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

2 TIMOTHY SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY - THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY, USUALLY REFERRED TO SIMPLY AS SECOND TIMOTHY AND OFTEN WRITTEN 2 TIMOTHY, IS ONE OF THE THREE PASTORAL EPISTLES, TRADITIONALLY ATTRIBUTED TO SAINT PAUL, AND IS PART OF THE NEW TESTAMENT - [THE APOSTLE] PAUL [IN PRISON AGAIN] CLEARLY ANTICIPATES HIS BEING PUT TO DEATH AND REALITIES BEYOND IN HIS VALEDICTORY FOUND IN 2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8 "FOR I AM NOW READY TO BE OFFERED, AND THE TIME OF MY DEPARTURE IS AT HAND. I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH: HENCEFORTH THERE IS LAID UP FOR ME A CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH THE LORD, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, SHALL GIVE ME AT THAT DAY: AND NOT TO ME ONLY, BUT UNTO ALL THEM ALSO THAT LOVE HIS APPEARING." Content: In his letter, Paul urges Timothy to not have a "spirit of timidity" and to "not be ashamed to testify about our Lord" (1:7-8). He also entreats Timothy to come to him before winter, and to bring Mark with him (cf. Philippians 2:22). He was anticipating that "the time of his departure was at hand" (4:6), and he exhorts his "son Timothy" to all diligence and steadfastness in the face of false teachings, with advice about combating them with reference to the teachings of the past, and to patience under persecution (1:6-15), and to a faithful discharge of all the duties of his office (4:1-5), with all the solemnity of one who was about to appear before the Judge of the quick and the dead. Paul clearly anticipates his being put to death and realities beyond in his valedictory found in 2 Timothy 4:6-8: "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy contains one of Paul's Christological Hymns in 2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. (King James Version) [link]

A TALE OF TWO CITIES - A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1859) ORIGINALLY A NOVEL BY CHARLES DICKENS [1812 - 1870] - MOVIE 1935 B&W VERSION {BEST VERSION} - AN IMMORTAL STORY... A BRILLIANT CAST... AN UNFORGETTABLE FILM OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION - THE MOST DRAMATIC LOVE STORY IN THE HISTORY (SINCE THE BIBLE) OF LITERATURE! - [SPOILER ALERT: THE LEAD CHARACTER SYDNEY CARTON (A 'CARTON' - A IS CHEAP CONTAINER HOLDING WITHIN IT A MORE VALUABLE CONTENT I.E. THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL) OFFERS HIMSELF UP (2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8) TO BE POURED OUT AS A DRINK OFFERING.] (DVD)

Plot Summary for A Tale of Two Cities (1935 Version): An elaborate adaptation of Dickens' classic tale of the French Revolution. Dissipated lawyer Sydney Carton defends emigre Charles Darnay from charges of spying against England. He becomes enamored of Darnay's fiancée, Lucie Manette, and agrees to help her save Darnay from the guillotine when he is captured by Revolutionaries in Paris. Written by Marg Baskin. - A disreputable barrister finds redemption through the most unlikely of friendships and in the process provides for himself salvation of a kind. Written by Carl Schultz. - Plot Summary for A Tale of Two Cities (1958 version): British barrister Sydney Carton lives an insubstantial and unhappy life. He falls under the spell of Lucie Manette, but Lucie marries Charles Darnay. When Darnay goes to Paris to rescue an imprisoned family retainer, he becomes entangled in the snares of the brutal French Revolution and is himself jailed and condemned to the guillotine. But Sydney Carton, in love with a woman he cannot have, comes up with a daring plan to save her husband. Written by Jim Beaver. [link]

MOVIE - DICKENS: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 1939 [PARTS 1-15] (YOUTUBE) MOVIE BASED ON CHARLES DICKENS' NOVEL OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION PRODUCED BY DAVID O. SELZNICK WITH RONALD COLEMAN. [LINK]</TT>

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{1. THE APOSTLE PAUL SEEMED TO KNOW FROM GOD THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE OFFERED AS AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE OFFERING BUT PAUL HAD BEEN SPARED SO MANY TIMES (I.E. ACTS 27:42-43) AND HE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN EXACTLY SURE OF THE MOMENT. 2. THE APOSTLE PAUL DESPERATELY WANTED THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO CONTINUE ON AND TO FUNCTION NORMALLY EVEN AFTER HIS DEPARTURE. PAUL WANTED TIMOTHY TO NOT GIVE UP AND GO HOME BUT TO STILL CONDUCT CHURCH BUSINESS IN ROME AND ELSEWHERE WHETHER OR NOT PAUL WAS STILL ALIVE AND STILL IN NEED OF HIS CLOTHING AND MATERIALS THAT HE HAD REQUESTED TIMOTHY BRING TO HIM AT PRISON IN ROME.} 2 Timothy 1:13-18 Hold fast the form of sound Words [from the Bible], which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing [Christian ministry] which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. **This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. *The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well. - The Apostle Paul continues what would become his last letter with a slightly more personal tone and reveals that once again most of the Christians who were with Paul had abandoned him in another desperate hour of need and persecution.

2 TIMOTHY 2 - PAUL REITERATES THE NECESSITY OF APPLYING AND GENEROUSLY APPROPRIATING THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST INTO THE INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS OF DAY TO DAY MINISTRY - IN OTHER WORDS DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF IN MINISTRY BUT INSTEAD KEEP JESUS CHRIST IN FOCUS AND TRUST THAT GOD IS WORKING DAILY IN ALL EVENTS UNTO HIS ULTIMATE GLORY -- '2 TIMOTHY 2:1-3

THOU THEREFORE, MY SON, BE STRONG IN THE GRACE THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS. AND THE THINGS THAT THOU HAST HEARD OF ME [OPENLY] AMONG MANY WITNESSES, THE SAME [DOCTRINES] COMMIT THOU TO FAITHFUL MEN, WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO. THOU THEREFORE ENDURE HARDNESS [HARDSHIP], AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST.' 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David [Tribe of Judah] was raised [resurrection] from the dead according to [as also taught in] my gospel [preaching]: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the Word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal Glory. **It is a faithful saying: For *if we be dead with Him, *we shall also live with Him: *If we suffer, *we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us: If we believe not, yet He [exists] abideth faithful: He cannot deny himself. - Note: The reality is that the 1st Coming of Jesus Christ was to accomplish His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection on our behalf and Jesus did completely accomplish His 1st Coming in order to remove sin from the world. It is therefore imperative that we suffer in the same world that Jesus suffered in and was rejected in if we desire to identify with Jesus to the point of then living and reigning in the new world after the 2nd Coming Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ. - Also Note: the verse "if we deny Him, He also will deny us" if we deny Jesus after knowing all that He did for us He will deny us and not Himself and the verse goes on to say "yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself" Jesus will continue to exist and continue to reign and rule whether or not we approve. Jesus Christ is not the figment of someone's imagination and just because we can remove Him from our mind it does not mean that we can remove Jesus Christ from reality.

2 TIMOTHY 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN A UNIQUE UNDERSTANDING OF THE EVENTS AND CONDITION OF THE 'LAST DAYS' OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH -- '2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 THIS KNOW ALSO, THAT IN THE LAST DAYS PERILOUS TIMES SHALL COME. FOR MEN SHALL BE LOVERS OF THEIR OWN SELVES, COVETOUS, BOASTERS, PROUD, BLASPHEMERS, DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS, UNTHANKFUL, UNHOLY, WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION [A SEARED CONSCIENCE], TRUCEBREAKERS, FALSE ACCUSERS, INCONTINENT, FIERCE, DESPISERS OF THOSE THAT ARE GOOD, TRAITORS, HEADY, HIGH MINDED, LOVERS OF PLEASURES MORE THAN LOVERS OF GOD; HAVING A [SOCIETAL] FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING THE POWER THEREOF: FROM SUCH TURN AWAY.' 2 Timothy 3:10-17 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra [Timothy's hometown]; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and *all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. *But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, *deceiving, **and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures [Holy Bible], **which are able to make thee wise unto salvation *through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. - Note: The continuing and widening contrast between the Christian and the non-Christian just like in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 24:1-10) where eventually the figs (people) were either really good, pleasant and desirous in the sight of God or the figs were really bad and unpleasing to God but there were no in between figs. - Also Note: The "deceiving, and being deceived" is really the rails that ungodliness runs on. First a person has to deceive themselves before they can deceive others and this deception applies in the spirit realm as well. Satan first deceived himself (Isaiah 14:13) then he deceived 1/3 of the angels (Revelation 12:4) into rebelling with him and now besides the fallen angelic realm there is also the lesser demonic realm and Satan has seemingly a separate deception for the demonic real. Meaning that there are multiple layers of deception taking place [throughout multiple realms] in order to deceive the fallen angelic realm, the separate demonic realm and also to deceive mankind. Seemingly at one moment angelic [Antichrist] deception is occurring within the human realm, then demonic [violence] deception, then human [there is no God and no spirit realm] deception and then back to fallen angelic deception as mankind is continually being witnessed against by the various competing and interlocking deceptions.

2 TIMOTHY 4 - THE APOSTLE PAUL'S FINAL ADMONISHMENT TO HIS FELLOW CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND CO-LABORERS WITH HIM IN THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST -- '2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5 I CHARGE THEE THEREFORE BEFORE GOD, AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO SHALL JUDGE THE QUICK [LIVING] AND THE DEAD AT HIS APPEARING AND HIS KINGDOM; PREACH THE WORD [BIBLE]; BE INSTANT IN SEASON,

OUT OF SEASON; REPROVE, REBUKE, EXHORT WITH ALL LONGSUFFERING AND DOCTRINE. FOR THE TIME WILL COME [END TIMES] WHEN THEY WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE; BUT AFTER THEIR OWN LUSTS SHALL THEY HEAP TO THEMSELVES TEACHERS, HAVING ITCHING EARS; AND THEY SHALL TURN AWAY THEIR EARS FROM THE TRUTH [OF JESUS CHRIST], AND SHALL BE TURNED UNTO FABLES [I.E. THE

DA VINCI CODE]. BUT WATCH THOU IN ALL THINGS, ENDURE AFFLICTIONS, DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST [SPREAD THE GOSPEL], MAKE FULL PROOF OF [CONFIRM WITH GOD] THY MINISTRY.' The Bible's book of 2nd Timothy concludes: 2 Timothy 4:6-22 For I am now [mentally and physically] ready to be offered [as an acceptable sacrifice to God], **and {bombshell announcement!} the time of my departure is at hand. **I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: **Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that [Bema east Judgment (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)] day: **and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His [presence and] appearing. {Paul then immediately returns to business as usual for the Christian Church} Do thy diligence [continue on] to come shortly unto me [there is the slight chance at another stay of execution]: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. *Only Luke is with me {it seems that Luke might have penned this letter for Paul as Paul was vigorously chained at this time and could probably only dictate briefly to Luke}. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. **And [continuing the ministry] Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke [cloak] that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments [scrolls]. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware [wise about] also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. **At my first answer [trial] no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding **the Lord stood with me, **and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: **and I was delivered [from the previous imprisonment] out of the mouth of the lion [the circus or the Colosseum (Amphitheatre in Rome)]. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and **will preserve me unto His heavenly Kingdom: ***to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick. Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. - Note: Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts was with Paul at the time of the letter (2nd Timothy) and probably until the end and it seems that Paul and Luke decided to gloss over the death of Paul [and later Peter] and treat it as just one of the many Christian deaths that were occurring at the time. It's possible Paul and Luke also thought it might be detrimental to Timothy, Titus and to many of the young ministers if they suddenly found out that Paul had been executed and most of all they certainly did not want the death of Paul to be written into the scriptures where it might even slightly compete with the Biblical message of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It seems that 2nd Timothy ends very much the same way that the Book of Acts intentionally ends with the topic of Christian doctrine [and not specific martyrdoms] being discussed between the Jews and Christians creating the emphasis of the Christian message and of the a continuation of the same Christian work that so many faithful Saints had given so much to in building on the original foundation laid by Jesus Christ.

TITUS BACKGROUND

TITUS, A YOUNG [GENTILE] PASTOR, WHO FACED THE UNENVIABLE ASSIGNMENT OF SETTING THINGS IN ORDER IN THE CHURCH AT CRETE - CRETE IS THE LARGEST ISLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN - THE INHABITANTS OF CRETE HAD AN EVIL REPUTATION, A FACT WITNESSED NOT ONLY BY PAUL, BUT ALSO BY OTHERS - THEIR LYING WAS FAMOUS, SO MUCH SO THAT 'TO ACT THE CRETAN' WAS A SYNONYM FOR 'TO PLAY THE LIAR' - THEIR MORALS WERE LOW AND THE WINE OF CRETE WAS FAMOUS, DRUNKENNESS WAS EVERYWHERE - THE LOW STANDARD OF MORALITY AMONG THE CRETANS HAD DOUBTLESS OF

TITUS - PAUL

WROTE THIS LETTER TO

HAD AN ADVERSE INFLUENCE ON THE LIVES OF THE BELIEVERS

It appears that the chief problem in Crete came from false teachers, mainly, Jewish, 'of the circumcision' who are described by Paul as 'unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers'. (Titus 1:10) They were teaching 'Jewish fables' (Titus 1:14)

and introducing 'foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about the law' (Titus 3:9). Occasion: Paul wrote this letter to Titus, a young pastor, who faced the unenviable assignment of setting things in order in the church at Crete. It seems that the immediate reason for the writing of Titus was the forthcoming visit of Apollos and Zenas to Crete. (Titus 3:13) Paul took the opportunity to write to Titus. He was prompted to write because of his personal observation of conditions on Crete and his realization that Titus would need the encouragement and authorization which the letter would give him. ... Paul also writes advising him to appoint elders, men of proven spiritual character in their homes and businesses, to oversee the work of the church. But elders are not the only individuals in the church who are required to stand tall spiritually. Men and women, young and old, have their vital functions to fulfill in the church if they are to be living examples of the doctrine they claim to believe. Throughout this letter to Titus, Paul stresses the necessary practical outworking of salvation in the daily lives of the elders and congregation alike. [link]

TITUS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL'S LETTER TO TITUS AN ACCOMPLISHED GENTILE PASTOR - WHERE THE MUCH BELOVED TIMOTHY WAS HAVING ABUNDANT PROBLEMS IN HIS MINISTRY, IN HIS HEALTH AND PROBABLE EVEN PROBLEMS SLEEPING AT NIGHT - THE PASTOR TITUS WAS SEEING A LOT OF SUCCESS IN HIS MINISTRIES - TITUS ALSO OCCASIONALLY TRAVELED WITH PAUL (GALATIANS 2:1) AND WENT WITH PAUL AND BARNABAS ON AN EARLIER VISIT TO JERUSALEM - TITUS WAS SENT TO THE CHURCH IN CORINTH (2 CORINTHIANS 7:6) AND VERY MUCH HELPED STABILIZE THE SITUATION - TITUS WAS THEN PASTORING IN THE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE -- 'TITUS 1:5 FOR THIS CAUSE LEFT I [PAUL] THEE IN CRETE, THAT THOU [TITUS] SHOULDEST SET IN ORDER THE THINGS THAT ARE WANTING, AND ORDAIN ELDERS IN EVERY CITY, AS I HAD APPOINTED THEE' Titus 1:10-16 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching [pseudo Jewish-Christian] things which they ought not, for filthy [money] lucre's sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to [false] Jewish [Kabbalistic] fables, *and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. ***Unto the pure ***all things are pure: **but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is **nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; *but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate [irresponsible]. - Note: Titus and Luke were among the first of the successful Gentile Church Pastors and Titus as an early Gentile apparently was a particular target of rogue Jewish practitioners. The type of Judaism that Paul seems to be addressing was a non-traditional 'Jewish fable' [i.e. Kabbalistic] type of doctrine that was being packaged and sold to some unsuspecting Gentiles by some less than devout Jews. - Also Note: One of the greatest Christian verses in the entire Bible "Unto the pure all things are pure ..." this verse is a great reminder as we try to be pure and holy while we live our lives before God.

TITUS 2 - PAUL POINTS OUT THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THE MANNER AND WAY THAT THE PASTOR SPEAKS AND TEACHES IN HIS LOCAL FELLOWSHIP IS THE DIRECTION THAT THE CHURCH IS GOING TO GO IN -- 'TITUS 2: 1 BUT SPEAK THOU THE THINGS WHICH BECOME SOUND DOCTRINE ...' Titus 2:11-15 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation *hath appeared to all men, *Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, **in this present world; ***Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, *zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. - The Apostle Paul reiterates and confirms much of what Pastor Titus is already doing and accomplishing in his ministry in and among his fellow Gentiles.

TITUS 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL REMINDS TITUS TO INSTRUCT HIS CONGREGATION TO LIVE CONSTANTLY IN AN ETERNAL, HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE -- 'TITUS 3:1-7 PUT THEM [CONGREGATION] IN MIND TO BE SUBJECT TO PRINCIPALITIES [LIT. HIGHEST POWERS - GOD] AND POWERS [LIT. FREEDOMS], TO OBEY MAGISTRATES, TO BE READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK, TO SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN, TO BE NO BRAWLERS, BUT GENTLE, SHEWING ALL MEEKNESS UNTO ALL MEN. **FOR WE OURSELVES ALSO WERE SOMETIMES FOOLISH,

DISOBEDIENT, DECEIVED, SERVING DIVERS LUSTS AND PLEASURES, LIVING IN MALICE AND ENVY, HATEFUL, AND HATING ONE ANOTHER.

***BUT AFTER THAT THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR TOWARD MAN APPEARED, NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, BY THE WASHING OF REGENERATION, AND RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST; WHICH HE SHED ON US *ABUNDANTLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR; THAT BEING JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE, ***WE SHOULD BE MADE HEIRS [INHERITORS] ACCORDING TO THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE.' The Bible's book of Titus concludes: Titus 3:8-15 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. *A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; **Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter. Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them. And let ours [fellow Christians] also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

PHILEMON PHILEMON: INTRODUCTION - EVEN THOUGH THIS LETTER IS A BRIEF, PERSONAL NOTE TO A FRIEND, IT SHOWS UP IN THE EARLY CANON LISTS (MARCION'S [CANNON OF 144 A.D.] AND THE MURATORIAN [CANNON 170-200 A.D.]) - FURTHER, THE ANCIENT CHURCH NEVER DOUBTED ITS AUTHENTICITY

Epistle - Place of Origin: The traditional view that this letter was written while Paul was in a Roman prison has been assailed from two corners: some claim Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea. Before deciding on this issue, it must first be recognized that, on the assumption of authenticity, where Paul was when he wrote Ephesians is where he was when he wrote Colossians and Philemon. This can be seen by several pieces of evidence: the commendation of Tychicus, as the bearer of the letter, found in exactly the same form in both Eph 6:21-22 and Col 4:7-8, surely indicates that he was sent with both epistles at the same time; the strong verbal overlap between Colossians and Ephesians must, if authentic, indicate that the two were written at the same time; Colossians is inseparable from Philemon3-that is, they must both have been sent at the same time. Hence, all three letters were written and sent at the same time. Consequently, if there is anything in either Colossians or Philemon which helps to narrow down where Paul was imprisoned at the time of writing, such would equally apply to Ephesians. ... Occasion and Purpose: As we have discussed at length in our introductions to Ephesians and Colossians, Onesimus apparently ran away from Philemon, his pockets lined with his owner's money, and headed for Rome. He may have stumbled across Epaphroditus, who was also en route to Rome; if so, Epaphroditus may have urged him to seek out Paul in order to gain advice. While with Paul, Onesimus became a Christian (v. 10), and proved himself "useful" (a word-play on his name) to Paul. The apostle wrote this letter to Philemon, asking Philemon to reinstate Onesimus-this time as a "dear brother" (v. 16), rather than as a slave. Although Paul could command Philemon to do so, he urges him instead, hoping that Philemon will be willing without coercion. Further, to show his sincerity, Paul vows to pay back whatever Onesimus owes (vv. 18-19). [link]

PHILEMON BACKGROUND: ONESIMUS WHO WAS PROBABLY A DOMESTIC SLAVE OF PHILEMON'S AND HAD RUN AWAY, STOLE SOME MONEY FROM PHILEMON (VS. 18) TO AFFORD THE GETAWAY - WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT SLAVERY WAS AN ACCEPTED INSTITUTION IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE - ROMANS AND GREEKS BROUGHT MULTITUDES OF SLAVES (OLD AND YOUNG) HOME FROM THEIR WARS, AND THE BUYING AND SELLING OF SLAVES WAS A PART OF THEIR DAILY LIFE

Apparently Onesimus fled across Asia, across the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea to Rome. At Rome he was under the influence of Paul, was saved, and later returned to Colosse [Colossians 4:9 - note: Paul never visited Colosse himself].

Onesimus quickly grew in grace and endeared himself to Paul (vs. 11, 12) proving so serviceable to Paul that he would have gladly detained him in Rome (vs. 13) but Paul realized he belonged to Philemon so the Apostle took the opportunity to send him back with Tychicus, bearing the Colossian epistle and the private note to Philemon. -- The Letter: Paul's letter to Philemon was written to be the mediation between Onesimus and his outraged master. Terrible punishment was sanctioned by Roman law for such offenses; even the death penalty. A slave was absolutely at his master's mercy; for the smallest offense he might be scourged, mutilated, crucified, thrown to wild beasts, etc. But Philemon was a Christian, and therefore, when Paul writes this letter he appeals to his Christian character. [link]

PHILEMON - THRU THE BIBLE RADIO WITH DR. J. VERNON MCGEE - CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT DO AWAY OUR DUTIES TO OTHERS, BUT DIRECTS [US] TO THE RIGHT DOING OF THEM (MP3) Christianity does not do away our duties to others, but directs to the right doing of them. True penitents will be open in owning their faults, as doubtless Onesimus had been to Paul, upon his being awakened and brought to repentance; especially in cases of injury done to others. The communion of saints does not destroy distinction of property. This passage is an instance of that being imputed to one, which is contracted by another; and of one becoming answerable for another, by a voluntary engagement, that he might be freed from the punishment due to his crimes, according to the doctrine that Christ of his own will bore the punishment of our sins, that we might receive the reward of his righteousness. Philemon was Paul's son in the faith, yet he entreated him as a brother. Onesimus was a poor slave, yet Paul besought for him as if seeking some great thing for himself. Christians should do what may give joy to the hearts of one another. From the world they expect trouble; they should find comfort and joy in one another. When any of our mercies are taken away, our trust and hope must be in God. We must diligently use the means, and if no other should be at hand, abound in prayer. Yet, though prayer prevails, it does not merit the things obtained. And if Christians do not meet on earth, still the grace of the Lord Jesus will be with their spirits, and they will soon meet before the throne to join forever in admiring the riches of redeeming love. The example of Onesimus may encourage the vilest sinners to return to God, but it is shamefully prevented, if any are made bold thereby to persist in evil courses. Are not many taken away in their sins, while others become more hardened? Resist not present convictions, lest they return no more. [link]

PHILEMON 1 - PHILEMON - THE APOSTLE PAUL'S PERSONAL LETTER TO A FRIEND A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN [FROM COLOSSAE] WHOM PAUL HAD MET PROBABLY IN EPHESUS [PAUL NEVER MADE IT TO COLOSSAE] - PHILEMON HAD A SLAVE THAT RAN AWAY [AND PROBABLY STOLE SOMETHING] FROM PHILEMON AND PAUL ASKED PHILEMON TO RECEIVE THE SLAVE ONESIMUS BACK, NOT AS A RUNAWAY SLAVE AS HE HAD BEEN BUT NOW AS A FREE BROTHER IN JESUS CHRIST TO BOTH PAUL AND PHILEMON - IT'S NOT RECORDED BUT CHURCH TRADITION IS THAT PHILEMON DID RECEIVE ONESIMUS BACK AND DID GRANT HIM HIS FREEDOM -- 'PHILEMON 1:15-16 FOR PERHAPS HE THEREFORE DEPARTED FOR A SEASON, THAT THOU SHOULDEST RECEIVE HIM FOREVER; NOT NOW AS A SERVANT, BUT ABOVE A SERVANT, A BROTHER BELOVED, SPECIALLY TO ME, BUT HOW MUCH MORE UNTO THEE, BOTH IN THE FLESH, AND IN THE LORD?' The Bible's book of Philemon concludes: Philemon 1:17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. *If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, **put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus [Mark], Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas [Luke], my fellow laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

HEBREWS INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK OF HEBREWS - THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS PROBABLY THE MAIN CONTENT FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL'S SYNAGOGUE VISITING MINISTRY [ACTS 17:2] - ACTS 9:15 'FOR HE [PAUL] IS A CHOSEN VESSEL UNTO ME (JESUS), TO BEAR MY NAME BEFORE THE GENTILES, AND KINGS, AND THE [JEWS] CHILDREN OF ISRAEL' - THE APOSTLE PETER MENTIONS PAUL'S BOOK OF HEBREWS IN 2 PETER 3:15-16 'OUR BELOVED BROTHER [APOSTLE] PAUL ALSO ACCORDING TO THE WISDOM GIVEN UNTO HIM HATH WRITTEN [BOOK OF HEBREWS] UNTO YOU; AS ALSO IN ALL HIS [OTHER] EPISTLES' - THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS UNSIGNED AND UNDELIVERED MOST LIKELY INDICATING THAT PAUL WROTE IT HIMSELF WHILE IN JERUSALEM AND THAT PAUL PERSONALLY GAVE IT TO THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM The Book of Hebrews from the earliest times of the Christian Church has been attributed to the Apostle Paul without any previous controversy. It has only been in more recent times that scholars have attempted to remove the Apostle Paul from his writing. The Apostle Peter had read Paul's Book of Hebrews and mentions it along with his other epistles in one of Peter's writings. - '2 Peter 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation [Hebrews 2:10]; even as our beloved brother [Apostle] Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written [Book of Hebrews] unto you; As also in all his [other] epistles ...' - The original proclamation by God for the Apostle Paul is in Acts 9:15 'But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Paul] is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the Children of Israel' the Apostle Paul is to reach with his ministry; Gentiles, Kings, and Jews. Paul starts out his ministry reasoning with Jews on every Sabbath (Saturday) in the Synagogues as was his custom [Acts 17:2]. - In short on a visit to Jerusalem [Acts 21:17] the Apostle Paul was entangled in Christian Jewish customs and Temple rituals and it was in attempting to appease the Christian Church leaders in Jerusalem that the Apostle Paul was talked in to joining in on a Temple vow with some other Christians. The Apostle Paul went to the Temple in Jerusalem with the other Jewish Christians and was spotted by some of the Jews who had been outside of Jerusalem and were in opposition to his preaching. A riot ensued and the Apostle Paul was ultimately arrested by the Roman guards and held in confinement in the Roman 'castle' dungeon probably the same place where John the Baptist had early been confined by Herod. While in confinement it's most likely that the Apostle Paul figured that his long intended letter to the Hebrews in Jerusalem was in order and Paul wrote down in a sense the same message that he had been reasoning with all along with all the Jews in every synagogue he entered. Probably the Book of Hebrews is the main content of the Apostle Paul's synagogue visits. Unlike the Book of Romans the Book of Hebrews is undelivered and unlike the Book of Galatians the Book of Hebrews is unsigned because likely the Book of Hebrews was written in Jerusalem [while confined in the castle] and was not delivered by messenger but was given from the hand of Paul into the hands of Peter or possibly via the nephew of Paul [Acts 23:16 'Paul's sister's son'] into the hands of Peter and to the rest of the Christian Church in Jerusalem.

PERPETUAL BIBLE STUDY - BOOK OF HEBREWS: BACKGROUND - THE WRITER OF HEBREWS [APOSTLE PAUL] UNDERSTOOD THIS - IT NOT WOULD DO FOR HIM TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL MERELY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO JUDAISM; HE HAD TO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THE SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST - AND THAT IS THE KEY - HEBREWS IS A BOOK OF COMPARISONS, BUT IT IS NOT JUDAISM COMPARED TO CHRISTIANITY, BUT JUDAISM COMPARED TO CHRIST - HE IS THE DIFFERENCE - HE IS GREATER THAN ANGELS, HE IS THE [HIGH] PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK, HE IS THE PERFECT SACRIFICE, AND SO ON It is always useful to recall that Christianity did not originate "in a vacuum", so to speak. The gospel was first preached in Jerusalem, to a culture with a deeply entrenched religion and deep-seated beliefs. The religion and the culture were inextricably linked; it is not for nothing that the word "Jew" can equally describe a person's ethnicity or a person's religious affiliation. The two were practically synonymous in N.T. times. - Thus Jews in the first century had a very difficult decision to make when presented with the gospel. There are those who tried to bring Judaic ways into the church; these attempts were addressed at Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 15. (It is a sad footnote of history that the legalizers eventually got their way, and many churches today essentially practice old-time Judaism with a Christian veneer.) But many others were faced with an either/or choice; reject the gospel and maintain your old ways as a Jew, or take the step of faith and accepting Christ, regardless of the consequences to your previous cultural standing. Let it not

be said that this was a casual choice for anyone. - The writer of Hebrews understood this. It not would do for him to present the gospel merely as an alternative to Judaism; he had to clearly demonstrate the superiority of Christ. And that is the key. Hebrews is a book of comparisons, but it is not Judaism compared to Christianity, but Judaism compared to Christ. He is the difference. He is greater than angels, He is the priest after the order of Melchizedek, He is the perfect sacrifice, and so on. - The key phrase to me in the book of Hebrews is "a new and living way" (Heb. 10:20). That is what the gospel is. The O.T. rituals and observances were useful as patterns and shadows of things to come, but they could never meet the real needs of the Jewish people, or indeed of anyone. There is real life, eternal life, in the gospel. [link]

HEBREWS 1 - THE APOSTLE PAUL'S TRILOGY OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY TO THE NATIONS [ROMANS, GALATIANS, HEBREWS] - THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS TO GIVE THE HEBREW, JEWISH NATION A PERSPECTIVE OF THEIR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE GLORY WITH GOD IN JESUS CHRIST THE RISEN SAVIOR, MESSIAH - 'HEBREWS 1:8-9 BUT UNTO THE SON HE (FATHER) SAITH, *THY THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER: A SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS [THE CROSS] IS THE SCEPTRE [RULE] OF THY KINGDOM. THOU HAST LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND HATED INIQUITY; THEREFORE GOD, EVEN THY [FATHER] GOD, HATH ANOINTED THEE WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE THY [HUMAN] FELLOWS.' Hebrews 1:1-4 God, who at sundry times [in history] and in divers manners spake in time past unto the [Jewish] fathers by the Prophets, Hath in these *last days {after the cross it's the last days until the second coming} spoken unto us by His Son (Jesus), whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds [physical and spiritual realms]; Who being the brightness [equal in Glory] of His [Father God's] Glory, and the express image [exact representation] of His [Father God's] person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself [carried His cross] purged our sins, [resurrected and] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.' - The Apostle Paul immediately sets out the Divinity and the Superiority of Jesus Christ even over the angels. Paul notes that Jesus is both the creator and the inheritor of all things. Then Paul presents a reminder that the present universe is going to vanish and concluding that Jesus Christ as the creator, inheritor and redeemer of the Universe is not just an improved version of Judaism but is the ultimate consummation of the plan of God given throughout the ages to all mankind and to miss out on the plans of Jesus Christ is to miss out on the one and only plan available to mankind. Note: It is important to know that Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father in Majesty on High. Any thought or notion of the previously rejected Jesus is an ancient aberration of human history as Jesus is currently reigning and ruling in Authority, Splendor, Majesty and Glory while all heaven rejoices at the presence of Jesus Christ. -- Also Note: A clarification technically Daniels' 70th Week [Last Days] began on the day of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem [Palm Saturday or Palm Sunday depending on how you figure it] so about six days, Saturday Triumphal Entry through the Thursday crucifixion, of Daniel's 70th week have happened. With the crucifixion the 70th week came to a temporary halt until the fullness of the Gentiles [Acts 15:17] can be brought in. - 'Daniel 9:20-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy Holy City [Jerusalem], to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision [Law] and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy (Jesus). Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah (Jesus) the Prince shall be seven weeks [seven Jewish decades 49 years - these weeks were the Jewish decade of seven years the Levitical decade seventh year of release], and threescore and two weeks [62 Jewish decades 434 years]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks [the 434 years] shall Messiah be cut off [crucifixion], but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And He [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [the 70th and final week regarding Jerusalem]: and in the midst of the week at [3Â˝ years] he [Antichrist] shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation [in the rebuilt Temple] to cease, and for the overspreading [saturation] of abominations [evil] he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation [end of the Book of Revelation], and that determined shall be poured [vial (measured) judgments of Revelation 16:1] upon the desolate.'

HEBREWS 2 - THE APOSTLE PAUL

CONTINUES TO BUILD HIS CASE AND LAY THE GROUND WORK THAT IN

CHRISTIANITY

THERE IS

SOMETHING GOING ON THAT IS BIGGER THAN JUDAISM AND IN FACT CHRISTIANITY IN THE RISEN JESUS CHRIST IS ENCOMPASSING BOTH

- 'HEBREWS 2:14-15 FORASMUCH THEN AS THE CHILDREN [GOD'S CHILDREN] ARE PARTAKERS OF FLESH AND BLOOD, HE (JESUS) ALSO HIMSELF LIKEWISE TOOK PART OF THE SAME [FLESH AND BLOOD]; THAT THROUGH DEATH HE MIGHT DESTROY HIM [SATAN AND SIN] THAT HAD THE POWER OF DEATH, THAT IS, THE DEVIL; *AND DELIVER THEM WHO THROUGH FEAR OF DEATH [FEAR OF DYING] WERE ALL THEIR LIFETIME SUBJECT TO [PHOBIA OF DEATH] BONDAGE.' HEAVEN AND EARTH AND BOTH OUR MORTAL AND ETERNAL EXISTENCE

Hebrews 2:8-13 Thou [Father God] hast put all things in subjection [authority] under His feet (Soul) [foot or feet can also can represent the soul in the Bible]. For in that He (Jesus) put all in subjection [at the cross] under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all [earthly societal, political] things put under Him. But we (Christians) see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, Crowned with Glory and Honour; that He by the grace [individuality] of God should taste death [separation from God] forevery man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many Sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect (complete) [even though God suffers and grieves in every wrong that is committed against every human some might think that God does not see or has not suffered as humans have so God also took on our physical form and suffered physically as we have suffered just so we could know for certain that God having willingly suffered with us physically is also more than willing and able to bring us into His presence and into a deep intimate relationship with Himself] through sufferings. For both He that sanctifieth [cleanses] and they who are sanctified [cleansed by Jesus] are all of one body]: for which cause He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them [Christians] brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the Church [Heavenly Congregation including Angels] will I sing praise unto thee. - All things are in "subjection" to Jesus Christ. Note: It's important to keep in mind that when the Bible talks about the "world" it is talking more about the world social and political system and not so much about the physical earth itself. Technically the world "social political" system was redeemed [brought back into the presence and authority of God] but the earth itself has never been out of God's possession [Psalms 50:12]. Besides the physical earth is going to pass away [Hebrews 1:11] so it would not need redeeming. In the beginning Dominion (authority) over the earth [Genesis 1:26] was given to Adam and Eve but possession of the earth as an inheritance from God was never given to them so not possessing the physical earth they did not lose it to Satan. One of the first mentions, besides the Book of Psalms of humans inheriting the earth is during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5:5] and Jesus explains that "the meek shall inherit the earth" [the new earth]. Satan in not in possession of the earth and never having been Satan has always been a trespasser on the earth though he does have some ability to deceive and he did before the cross of Jesus have more power and authority over the decisions, politics and social structure of mankind. The powers of Satan have been broken for the Christian by Jesus on the cross. Satan is deceiving mankind into thinking that he has some form of real power, authority or ownership however he has only a short Antichrist kingdom that God will give to him and it will last only a short seven years [3 ½ in apparent secret leadership and 3 ½ in outright leadership]. Also note that Satan not having any substantial kingdom on earth is completely without any kind of kingdom or authority in hell. When finally confined in hell Satan is another inhabitant in hell no more and no less.

HEBREWS 3 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES TO EXPLAIN THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST IN THAT JESUS' AUTHORITY, CREATION ABILITIES AND CONGREGATION [GATHERING] SPANS BOTH HEAVEN [ANGELS AND SAINTS] AND THE EARTH [HUMANS, ALL THINGS] UNLIKE THE GREAT HUMAN ENDEAVORS - EVEN THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MOSES ARE LIMITED AND WERE ONLY PERFORMED HERE ON EARTH -- 'HEBREWS 3:1-2 WHEREFORE, HOLY BRETHREN, PARTAKERS OF THE HEAVENLY CALLING, CONSIDER THE *APOSTLE AND *HIGH PRIEST OF OUR (CHRISTIAN) PROFESSION, *CHRIST JESUS; WHO WAS FAITHFUL [IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH, ALL THINGS] TO HIM [FATHER GOD] THAT APPOINTED HIM, AS ALSO MOSES WAS FAITHFUL IN ALL HIS HOUSE [NATION OF ISRAEL].' - 'HEBREWS 1:6 AND AGAIN, WHEN HE (FATHER) BRINGETH IN THE FIRSTBEGOTTEN (JESUS) INTO THE WORLD, HE SAITH, AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM (JESUS).' 'Hebrews 3:4-6 Forevery house [establishment, Nation] is builded by some man [laws of Moses]; but He that built all things [physical and spiritual realms] is God (Jesus). And Moses verily was faithful in all his house [Nation of Israel], *as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; *But Christ as a Son over His own house [Heaven and earth]; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.' 'Hebrews 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.' - 'Hebrews 1:10 And, Thou, Lord (Jesus), in the

beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands' - 'Hebrews 1:1-2 God, ... Hath in these last days spoken unto us [all humans] by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds [physical and spiritual realms];' - The superiority of Jesus Christ over Moses extends beyond the fact that Moses was a servant of God and that Jesus is the Son of God it also extends into the realms of their dominion. Moses served during the beginning and development of the Nation of Israel [Israel went into Egypt as a family (70 people) and upon their delivery from Egypt (some 200 years later) they left as a Nation (approx. 2.5 million people) the Nation of Israel]. Moses oversaw the beginning and building of the Nation of Israel however Joshua (Jesus) led them into the Promise Land and established them there. Jesus, God from Heaven has completed us in all things. Jesus created us and sustains our life, Jesus redeemed our soul back to Himself and has given to us of His eternal Spiritual life, Jesus has gone back into Heaven to prepare a place for us. The accomplishments of Moses and any human for that matter are so inconsequential when compared to the accomplishments of Jesus Christ that humans and also Angels shouldn't even be compared to Jesus.

HEBREWS 4 - HAVING ESTABLISHED THAT THE KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST IS BOTH IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND THAT IT LASTS FOR ALL ETERNITY - THE APOSTLE PAUL NOW DIRECTS PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE ENTER INTO THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST - THE WAY TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE ENTERED INTO HIS KINGDOM IS THAT WE HAVE CEASED FROM OUR WORKS AND HAVE ENTERED INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST AND REST WITH GOD -- 'HEBREWS 4:1 LET US (CHRISTIANS) THEREFORE FEAR, LEST, A PROMISE BEING LEFT US OF ENTERING INTO HIS [ETERNAL] REST, ANY OF YOU SHOULD SEEM TO COME SHORT OF IT.' Hebrews 4:9-12 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour [make sure] therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall [in the wilderness] after the same example of unbelief. For the Word of God is quick [alive], and powerful [transforming], and sharper [makes a bigger difference] than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit [with spiritual implications], and of the joints and marrow [with physical implications], and is a Discerner [Judge] of the thoughts and intents of the heart. - The Kingdom of God is inherited based on our trusting and resting in the finished and completed works [cross, resurrection] of Jesus Christ. When we enter into God's rest provided only through Jesus Christ we have then entered into a personal relationship with God. Much of our personal relationship with God is going to involve our Prayer to God and our hearing from God in reading His Bible 'the Word of God'. When we read the Bible it should Judge us, lead us, guide us and direct us into a closer and more intimate relationship with God provided that our relationship with God is based on the trust and rest provided by the accomplished, finished and completed works of Jesus Christ.

HEBREWS 5 - HAVING MADE CERTAIN THAT WE HAVE ENTERED INTO THE RIGHT KINGDOM THE KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST THE KINGDOM OF SECURITY AND REST AND THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN DECEIVED INTO SOME KINGDOM OF WORKS, STRIFE, ENVY AND WORRY - THE APOSTLE PAUL WILL NOW GOES INTO A LONG DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS' DIVINE PRIESTLEY KINGDOM -'HEBREWS 5:10 [JESUS] CALLED OF GOD AN HIGH PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHISEDEC (MELCHIZEDEK).' 'Hebrews 5:8-10 Though He (Jesus) were a Son, yet learned He [human] obedience by the things which He suffered; And being made perfect [complete from heaven and also physically on earth], He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; Called of God an High Priest [along with the Holy Spirit and Father God as each is the High Priest having access to themselves] after the [eternal] order of Melchisedec.' - Jesus is the Melchizedek High Priest encompassing and administrating both Heaven and earth for all eternity. It is necessary to show that Jesus is Divine from Heaven to have authority in Heaven but then the amazing component in Jesus' Kingdom of human Christianity is that God stepped down from heaven and became a human entering into our likeness, enduring what we endure He is completely able to relate to us from our level making Jesus complete (perfect) to be the High Priest in both Heaven and on earth. The Apostle Paul is instructing that where the Levitical/Aaronic priesthood was earthly based and physical and therefore limited in existence [only for the Jewish Nation], extent [the atonement had to be repeated yearly] and duration [the Levitical Priesthood ceased when Jesus was on the cross with the tearing of the Temple veil (Matthew 27:51)]. However the perfect, complete eternal Melchizedek Priesthood is sufficient for both in Heaven and on earth encompassing both the Angelic realm and the Human realm in the one Divine mediation authority of Jesus Christ. --

'Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven.'

HEBREWS 6 - THE APOSTLE PAUL IS INSTRUCTING THE JEWISH SEGMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH THAT THEIR REDEMPTION IN JUDAISM ONCE COMBINED WITH THE SALVATION OF CHRISTIANITY IS PERMANENT AND THAT FOR ANYONE JEW OR GENTILE TO REJECT JESUS CHRIST AFTER HAVING EXPERIENCED ETERNAL SALVATION IS TO FORFEIT SALVATION AND RECEIVE ETERNAL DAMNATION 'HEBREWS 6:4-6 FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THOSE [JEWS OR GENTILES] WHO WERE ONCE ENLIGHTENED, AND HAVE TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT, AND WERE MADE PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND HAVE TASTED THE GOOD WORD OF GOD, AND THE POWERS OF THE [ETERNAL] WORLD TO COME, IF THEY SHALL FALL AWAY [REJECT GOD], TO RENEW THEM AGAIN UNTO REPENTANCE; SEEING THEY CRUCIFY TO THEMSELVES THE SON OF GOD AFRESH, AND PUT HIM TO AN OPEN SHAME.' -- THE HEBREWS/JEWS ARE REDEEMED BY GOD BUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEWISH REDEMPTION AND CHRISTIAN SALVATION IS IMMENSE. - THE JEWS ARE A PART OF THE FULL PLANS OF JESUS TO THE EXTENT THAT JESUS CAME AS A JEW AND IS JEWISH. JESUS IS NOT A GENTILE. 'Hebrews 6:13 For when God made Promise to Abraham, because He could Swear [Promise] by no greater, He Sware [witnessed] by Himself,' - Rejecting God: A relationship with God is an individual decision. God has already made it clear even to the point of going to the cross that He is available for a relationship with all mankind through Jesus Christ. For a Gentile to reject Jesus is a personal spiritual decision that they have to make for themselves. Jesus has not rejected anyone therefore regardless of our human inabilities and actions while a person is alive and on this earth there remains a relationship with God in Jesus Christ. - The Patience of God: Patience is a Divine attribute it is not a human attribute therefore we cannot subscribe our limited knowledge of human patience to the Patience of God. God is Patient and Compassionate with all of mankind sinner and saint our so called sinful thought, desires, lies and covenants even with death and hell are lies [misrepresentations of God] and as lies they do not stand either for some form of good or for any form of evil because God does not acknowledge them they simple do not existence in any form with God. What is in existence with God is Zion and the one True plan of God in Jesus Christ. - 'Isaiah 28:15-18 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay *in Zion for a foundation a stone (Jesus Christ), a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: *he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. *And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.'

HEBREWS 7 - IF MELCHIZEDEK WHERE HUMAN IT WOULD BE A REDUNDANT AARONIC PRIESTHOOD BUT MELCHIZEDEK IS NOT HUMAN HE IS ETERNAL AND SPIRITUAL AND THEREFORE NOT A REDUNDANT HUMAN PRIESTHOOD - MELCHIZEDEK IS SUPERIOR TO EVEN ABRAHAM - ABRAHAM WAS BLESSED BY GOD YET MELCHIZEDEK BLESSED ABRAHAM - JACOB THEN HAVING THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM FROM GOD BLESSED THE PHARAOH OF EGYPT [GENESIS 47:7] - ITS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE THAT ABRAHAM WOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE BLESSING OF A HUMAN AFTER HAVING RECEIVED THE BLESSINGS OF GOD - ABRAHAM DID RECEIVE THE BLESSING FROM MELCHIZEDEK -- 'HEBREWS 7:1 FOR THIS MELCHISEDEC [MELCHIZEDEK], KING OF SALEM [PEACE], PRIEST OF [FROM GOD, OF GOD] THE MOST HIGH GOD, WHO MET ABRAHAM RETURNING FROM THE SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS, AND BLESSED HIM;' 'Hebrews 7:3-4 [Melchizedek] Without father [no earthy father], without mother [no earthly mother, at least at that time or more likely Melchizedek was an appearance of the Holy Spirit], without descent [preexistent], having neither beginning of days [eternal], nor end of [spiritual] life [everlasting]; *but made [manifested] like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this *man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.' - The entire concept of the Book of Hebrews and in fact all of Christianity is that God became a 'man' a human Priest in order to officiate a sacrifice on behalf of all mankind to God. The Sacrifice that Jesus performed was the Atonement sacrifice a sacrifice that amends the offenses of one party against another party. Mankind has offended God, God has not offended mankind nor Himself. God is not offering Atonement to mankind [God has not sinned against mankind] it is mankind that has sinned against God and is offering Atonement to God it is then up to God to either

accept or reject the atonement offering and in Jesus Christ God has accepted the Atonement offering for all mankind for all eternity. If Jesus did not become a 'man' a human then the sacrifice of Jesus would be Atonement from God to God however the way between God has never been blocked. Had Jesus taken on the appearance of an Angel [Hebrews 2:16] then the atonement and accompanying redemption would have been for Satan and the fallen angels and it would have excluded mankind. Jesus became a 'man' in order to offer to God to Atone for mankind all mankind. Satan and the fallen angels/demons are excluded from the Atonement and redemption of man to God. There is no provision for the sin of fallen angels or the demonic realm. The Atonement is a onetime access atonement either the way to God is Atoned [open] for mankind or it is closed to all mankind there are not hundreds or thousands or millions of individual atoning sacrifices from mankind to God and there are not any Atoning sacrifices offered from God to man because God has in no way offended mankind. Atonement is a 'man' offering to God to repair a broken relationship and once the sacrifice is acceptable to God the relationship is repaired and the way to God is now open in the acceptable Atonement of Jesus Christ.

HEBREWS 8 - THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD OFFERED LIMITED ATONEMENT IN THAT THE SACRIFICES THEY OFFERED TO GOD WERE LIMITED TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL HOWEVER THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST IS UNLIMITED BECAUSE IT WAS OFFERED ON BEHALF OF ALL MANKIND AND THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS ON THE CROSS BEING AN ACCEPTABLE ATONING SACRIFICE TO GOD HAS OPENED THE WAY TO GOD AND ACCESS TO GOD IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL MANKIND THROUGH THE ATONEMENT BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST -'HEBREWS 8:11 AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERY MAN HIS NEIGHBOUR, AND EVERY MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, KNOW THE LORD: FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST.' 'Hebrews 8:1-10 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum [summary]: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens; A minister of the [Heavenly] sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. Forevery High Priest is ordained [given authority] to offer gifts and sacrifices [to God]: wherefore it is of necessity that this man [Jesus] have somewhat also to offer. For if He were on earth, He (Jesus) should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests [Levitical] that offer gifts according to the law [of Moses]: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He [God from Mt. Sinai], that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. But now hath He (Jesus) obtained a more excellent [eternal, Heavenly] ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant [New Testament], which was established upon better promises [crucifixion and resurrection life of Jesus]. For if that first covenant [O.T.] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them [followers of the O.T.], He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their [Jewish] fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those [O.T.] days, saith the Lord; I will put My Laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a [Spiritual] people:' - Note: The Levitical/Aaronic Priesthood represented the Old Testament but with the New Testament encompassing Heaven and earth the new eternal Melchizedek Priesthood supersedes the old priesthood and is now the only Priesthood in existence to enable mankind to enter into the presence and into a relationship with the Holy God.

HEBREWS 9 - THE APOSTLE PAUL IS NOW SAYING THAT IN JESUS CHRIST SPIRITUAL ACCESS INTO THE ONCE RESTRICTED HOLIEST PRESENCE OF GOD IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL MANKIND -- 'HEBREWS 9:1 THEN VERILY THE FIRST COVENANT [OLD TESTAMENT] HAD ALSO ORDINANCES *OF DIVINE SERVICE, *AND A WORLDLY SANCTUARY.' - 'HEBREWS 9:8 THE HOLY GHOST THIS SIGNIFYING, THAT THE WAY INTO THE HOLIEST OF ALL WAS NOT YET MADE MANIFEST [AVAILABLE], WHILE AS THE FIRST TABERNACLE [AND LATER THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM] WAS YET STANDING [WITH THE VEIL BLOCKING THE WAY KEEPING MANKIND APART FROM THE HOLIEST PRESENCE OF GOD]:' - NOW! - 'HEBREWS 10:19-20 HAVING THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BOLDNESS TO ENTER INTO THE HOLIEST [PRESENCE OF GOD] BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, BY A NEW AND LIVING [SPIRITUAL] WAY, WHICH HE HATH CONSECRATED [MADE AVAILABLE] FOR US, THROUGH THE VEIL, THAT IS TO SAY, HIS FLESH' {INTO HIS SPIRIT REALM THAT IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL MANKIND}

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once [one eternal sacrifice] offered [to God] to bear the sins of many [all who receive]; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time *without [regard to] sin [but] unto salvation [healing]. There will be no reference to sin on the second coming of Jesus Christ. The sin of mankind was dealt with entirely on the first visit of Jesus with His death on the cross. There is no future work for removing sin and when Jesus returns the existence of any sin will have to immediately depart from His presence. At His return Jesus will to set up His 1,000 year righteous Kingdom reign here on earth.

HEBREWS 10 - THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE PHYSICAL LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD THAT ACCOMPANIED IT HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY REMOVED BY THE COMPLETED WORK OF THE FIRST COMING OF JESUS CHRIST - THE NEW COVENANT WITH ITS ETERNAL SPIRITUAL MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD HAS NOW BEEN PERMANENTLY ESTABLISHED "ONCE FOR ALL" IN THE SHED BLOOD AND ETERNAL BODILY RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST -- 'HEBREWS 10:5-10 WHEREFORE WHEN HE COMETH [INCARNATE] INTO THE WORLD, HE SAITH, [LEVITICAL] SACRIFICE AND OFFERING THOU WOULDEST NOT, BUT A [PHYSICAL] BODY HAST THOU [HOLY SPIRIT] PREPARED ME: IN BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN THOU HAST HAD NO PLEASURE. THEN SAID I (JESUS), LO, I COME IN THE VOLUME [PAGES] OF THE BOOK (BIBLE SCROLLS) IT IS WRITTEN OF ME, TO DO THY WILL, O [FATHER] GOD. ABOVE WHEN HE SAID, SACRIFICE AND OFFERING AND BURNT OFFERINGS AND OFFERING FOR SIN THOU WOULDEST NOT, NEITHER HADST PLEASURE THEREIN; WHICH ARE OFFERED BY THE LAW; THEN SAID HE, LO, I COME TO DO THY WILL, O GOD. HE TAKETH AWAY THE FIRST [OLD TESTAMENT], THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH THE SECOND [NEW TESTAMENT]. *BY THE WHICH WILL WE ARE SANCTIFIED THROUGH THE OFFERING OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST ONCE FOR ALL.' 'Hebrews 10:16-25 This is the [New] Covenant that I [God] will make with them after those [O.T.] days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these [sins] is, there is no more [need for] offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living [Spiritual] way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; And having an [Melchizedek] High Priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [by the blood sacrifice of Jesus] from an evil conscience, and our [Spiritual] bodies washed with pure water [Holy Bible]. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He (Jesus) is faithful that promised [to enter us into Heaven]; And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the (Church) assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting [encouraging] one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day [Second Coming] approaching.' - With our sins removed by the sacrifice of Jesus and now having received the eternal Holy Spirit inside of us we are completely equipped for all things Spiritual. Having confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and by receiving His Holy Spirit we now have everything necessary for living a complete, full and successful eternal Spiritual life with God and with our fellow Christian brethren.

HEBREWS 11 - THE APOSTLE PAUL WRITES WHAT IS NOW KNOWN HAS THE BIBLE'S 'HALL OF FAITH' IN HEBREWS CHAPTER 11 'HEBREWS 11:16 BUT NOW THEY [MEN AND WOMEN OF FAITH] DESIRE A BETTER COUNTRY, THAT IS, AN HEAVENLY: WHEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD: FOR HE HATH PREPARED FOR THEM A CITY [A HOME IN HEAVEN].' 'Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' - 'John 20:25-29 The other disciples therefore said unto him (Thomas), We have seen the [Resurrected] Lord. But he (Thomas) said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, *I will not believe [in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to eternal life]. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came [the Resurrected] Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He (Jesus) to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and *be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, *My [Resurrected] Lord and my [Living, eternal life giving] God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed [in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ]: *blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed [in the sinless eternal life giving resurrection of Jesus Christ].' Faith in the Bible is singular: There is only one type of faith and that is that God is the creator of and giver of Life both physical life and eternal spiritual life. - Along

with the one type of faith that of life over death there is only one faith and that is in the Resurrection Life of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ includes His Divine nature via His Virgin Birth, His sinless life, His Atoning blood sacrifice on the cross, His Resurrection of eternal life and His freely giving of His eternal Spirit Life. - 'Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;' - 'Colossians 2:27 ... [the Resurrected Jesus] Christ in you, the hope of glory:'

HEBREWS 12 - THE APOSTLE PAUL NOW ENCOURAGES EVERY CHRISTIAN TO HAVE AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE AND HEAVENLY FOCUS OF THE KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST - HAVING AN ETERNAL HEAVENLY FOCUS WE ARE TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN A HOLY HEAVENLY MANNER -'HEBREWS 12:2 LOOKING UNTO JESUS *THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH; WHO FOR THE JOY [OUR SALVATION] THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, DESPISING THE SHAME, AND IS [RESURRECTED] SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.' 'Hebrews 12:22-29 But ye (Christians) are come unto mount Sion [Mt. Zion], and unto the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels, *To the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn (Jesus Christ), which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect [completed with the Spirit life of Jesus], And to Jesus the [Melchizedek High Priest] mediator of the New Covenant, and to the [sinless] blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not Him [Holy Spirit] that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth [at Mt. Sinai], much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also Heaven [Book of Revelation]. And this Word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are [human] made, that those things which cannot be shaken [eternal Kingdom of Jesus] may remain. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a [judge and administrator] consuming fire.' - We are directed to have an eternal heavenly focus. The world and all that exists in it is once again going to be shaken [Book of Revelation] and all the false gods and false ideologies of demons and of mankind will crumble to the ground only the New Testament Kingdom of Jesus Christ will remain. Therefore it is with great hope that we look to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ the only Kingdom that is capable of lasting and enduring for all eternity.

HEBREWS 13 - THE APOSTLE PAUL CONCLUDES THE BIBLE'S BOOK OF HEBREWS -- 'HEBREWS 13:20-21 NOW THE GOD OF PEACE, THAT BROUGHT AGAIN FROM THE DEAD OUR LORD JESUS, THAT GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP, THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT [NEW TESTAMENT], MAKE YOU PERFECT [COMPLETE] IN EVERY GOOD WORK TO DO HIS WILL, WORKING IN YOU THAT WHICH IS WELLPLEASING IN HIS SIGHT, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST; TO WHOM BE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.' 'Hebrews 13:1-2 Let brotherly (Christian) love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained [interacted with] Angels unawares [unknowingly].' - Angels are 'ministering spirits' [Hebrews :14] in fact all of Heaven [Hebrews 12:1] is very aware and interested in the events of mankind on earth particularly in the witnessing and ministry in the Name of Jesus Christ. Anytime anyone is preaching, witnessing or ministering [helping, serving] in the Name of Jesus Christ the residents of Heaven are aware and are even intimately involved. The holy Angeles as members of God's Kingdom are always present when ministry is being performed (it is their ministry as well) and on occasion we might encounter the visible or discernable presence of a holy Angel or Angels. Angels are present when ministry and witnessing are taking place here on earth and likewise the Holy Spirit of God is of course always present and in fact all of heaven declares the Glory of God. When we enter into the plan of Salvation from God and participate in God's plan of Salvation by doing His ministry work and in spreading His Gospel we are a direct participant in the Kingdom of God and we join in with the other participants in God's Kingdom of Heaven being accomplished here on earth. - After the Apostle Paul concludes his letter to the Hebrews 13:21 he then apparently receives some Christian visitors [probably while he was incarcerated in Jerusalem] from Italy who inform Paul that Timothy has been released from jail. Paul has his visitors read his letter and apparently they found it to be a little on the tough love side. The Apostle Paul then adds a four verse addendum starting with requesting the readers to bear with his short tough message and he also tells of the news and

of greetings delivered to him and to all the Church from the Christians in Italy. The completed letter is probably then handed directly to his fellow Jewish Christians and to the Church leaders in Jerusalem.

COWBOYS AND ANGELS (2000) - WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY GREGORY C. HAYNES - [WARNING - SKIP THE DVD PREVIEWS] (MOVIE - DVD) User Comments : What a nice surprise to see Mia Kirshner in a movie where she doesn't take off her clothes or kiss other girls or look anorexic... I think Mia is an amazing actress, and I was surprised by this movie. It's one of those that you see in the video store and say, "I've never heard of that - wonder if it would be worth my time." It's certainly not the best movie I've ever seen, but it was refreshing to watch a love story where the characters didn't have to have sex on their first date to know they were compatible. I liked the story. The angel bit was a little strange, but who hasn't wondered if there are angels among us? This was my introduction to Adam Trese, and I found his character likable and believable. I was annoyed with Radha Mitchell. She kept getting in the way. I suppose she was included so that the movie would be called more than just "Cowboys." Because that might be lame. Anyway, a refreshing change from what Hollywood believes love is all about. Three cheers for Greg Haynes for tackling this project. [link]

DEBBIESCHLUSSEL.COM: HAPPY 'JEWISH' NEW YEAR! - TONIGHT (FRIDAY), AT SUNDOWN, ROSH HASHANAH-THE JEWISH NEW YEARBEGINS - ONE OF THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT JEWISH HOLIDAYS THE OTHER IS YOM KIPPUR, IT MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH "TEN DAYS OF REPENTANCE" [ROSH HASHANAH (NEW YEAR) UNTIL THE 'DAY OF ATONEMET' YOM KIPPUR] {HAVING JUST FINISHED STUDYING THE BOOK OF HEBREWS ITS GOOD TIMING IN THAT AT SUNDOWN (8/18/2009) IT IS THE START OF THE JEWISH NEW YEAR ROSH HASHANAH AND TEN DAYS OF JEWISH OBSERVANCES THAT CONCLUDES WITH THE FEAST OF YOM KIPPUR THE 'DAY OF ATONEMENT' - WE PRAY GOD'S BLESSING, PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR THE NATION OF ISRAEL AND FOR ALL THE JEWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHO ARE IN BLESSED OBSERVANCE OF THEIR HOLY FEAST DAYS.} On the holiday, we traditionally eat apples with honey (and other items with honey) to signify that we seek a new year that is as sweet as that uber-sweet combination. (My favorite apples, BTW, are McIntosh.) The holiday ends at nightfall on Sunday Night. During two days of intense prayer at synagogue, we hear the blowing of a ram's horn (called a "shofar"), which makes several different kinds of sounds we are required to hear. ... To all of my Jewish readers and friends, Shanah Tovah u'Metukah KeTapuach B'Dvash-May You Have a Good New Year, As Sweet as an Apple with Honey. Thanks to all of my readers who sent me e-mails and i- and e-cards wishing me a Happy New Year. Right Back at Ya! I hope you have a happy and healthy new year. [DS] -- {Having just finished studying the Bible's Book of Hebrews it's good to know that as the Jews celebrate Yom Kippur that there will be no blood from bulls or goats this year and that animal blood is no longer necessary [Hebrews 8:8] since during the Jerusalem Passover with Jesus Christ He instituted the New Testament for the 'House of Israel'. A few days earlier with His triumphal enter into Jerusalem Jesus presented Himself as the Messiah to the world, He was not universally received as the Messiah however it's irrelevant whether or not mankind acknowledges the institutions of God pertaining to whether or not the edicts of God go into effect. Jesus is the Messiah reigning and ruling from Heaven whether mankind accepts it or not and just as important the New Testament for the Nation of Israel has been instituted whether it has been accepted or not. - It's hard to understand that the New Covent is strictly Jewish as it was initiated by Jesus during the Jerusalem Passover while Gentiles were excluded by God from the Passover even that very night. In the Gospel of John [John 12:20] we learn that at least two Greeks came to Jesus' disciples to see Jesus. Gentiles were in Jerusalem the very day of the New Testament Passover and were there to 'worship' at the Feast and wanted to see Jesus however they were sent away until after the cross and resurrection of Jesus. The cross and resurrection of Jesus is the only way that we Gentiles have access to Jesus. The New Testament is the covenant between God and Israel it is actually the Jews that are under the New Testament as Christians we enter into the New Covenant that was previously promised to Israel [Jeremiah 31:31] that has been enacted and given to Israel and it has been instituted and is in effect for the House of Israel.} [link]

JAMES AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF JAMES - THESE FACTORS SUGGEST THAT THE DATE OF WRITING COULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLY AROUND A.D. 45 - SUCH A DATE MAKES THE LETTER OF JAMES THE FIRST BOOK AND LETTER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN It appears that the letter was written during the early period of the Jewish Christian Church. The letter was written to Jewish Christians who had been scattered among the nations. They were most likely scattered by the persecution of Jewish Christians that erupted in Jerusalem in connection with the stoning of Stephen in the early A.D. 30's (cf. Acts 7:58-8:2). Since the letter was written to Jewish Christians, and it does not include statements directed to Gentile Christians, it was probably written before the influx of Gentiles began, such as began to occur during Paul's first missionary journey, which has been dated as A.D. 46-48. With the influx of Gentile Christians into the church the Judaistic Controversy arose, which was settled by the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in A.D. 49-50. The letter makes no reference to the troubles and strife that arose with the influx of the Gentiles. Nor does it state that the Jewish Christians should not trouble the Gentile Christians over observing the laws of Moses and especially the rite of circumcision. These factors suggest that the date of writing could have been possibly around A.D. 45. Such a date makes the Letter of James the first book and letter of the New Testament to have been written. ... Already in A.D. 44 James the brother of the Lord was the recognized leader of the church in Jerusalem. Shortly after the apostle John's brother James was put to death by King Herod Agrippa, and immediately after an angel released Peter from prison to save him from the same martyrdom, Peter instructed those in the house of Mary to report his release to "James and the brothers", meaning the members of the church of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 12:17). In A.D. 49-50 James was clearly the leader of the church of Jerusalem and a recognized authority within the Apostolic Council. He voiced the final decision of the council that the Gentiles should not be troubled about having to follow the laws of Moses, especially with regard to circumcision, in order to be saved (cf. Acts 15:3-21). As a result of James' decree the apostles, elders, and church of Jerusalem then sent a letter to the churches to uphold that they were saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus (cf. Acts 15:11,22-29). In his Letter to the Galatians, written about A.D. 52, Paul put James on a level of importance equal with that of the apostles (cf. Galatians 1:19), and stated that James together with Peter and John were the "reputed pillars" of the church in Jerusalem (cf. Galatians 2:9). James was such an influential person within the church of Jerusalem that Paul referred to Jewish Christians from Jerusalem as "certain men (who) came from James" (cf. Galatians 2:12). At the end of his third missionary journey when Paul brought the collection from the churches for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, he reported to James with the collection (cf. Acts 21:17,18). James was so widely recognized in the early apostolic church that Jesus' brother Judas (cf. Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) introduced himself in his Letter of Jude as "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James" (Jude 1). [link]

BIBLE STUDY NOTES JAMES INTRODUCTION PART I BY DR. RICHARD J. KREJCIR - JAMES IS A BOOK ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF OUR FAITH AND THE IMPORTANCE TO LEARN AND GROW IN CHRIST - THAT WAY, WE CAN GROW IN FAITH AND MATURITY SO WE CAN APPLY OUR CHRISTIAN CHARACTER AND CONDUCT IN HOW WE (RELATE) TO OTHERS! During the time of James, the church was at a crossroads of ending its "honeymoon" period of being ignored by the religious leaders, so they were growing and feeling comfortable and good. They were still a part of Judaism and had not split off from their roots. Now, they are being singled out and picked on. The persecutions were just starting; the two other Jameses in the New Testament had been martyred, Steven had been stoned to death, and many were leaving the faith because of fear. The Church was also starting to deal with the human, sinful nature of gossip, strife, carnality, slander, doctrinal arguments and power plays, so their faith was becoming useless and unproductive-the themes we still have with us today. The self-filled life and the focus on the will of ourselves was overtaking fulfillment in Him and seeking God's Will (John 1:16; 3:30; Eph. 1:23; 3:19; 4:13; Col. 1:19; Col. 1:25). James seeks to write an extolment of Christ and an encouragement to the saints to look to Christ in faith and not to their circumstances. Thus, we will then be able to live a righteous life and be a meaningful Christian. [link]

BACKGROUND OF JAMES - WHOSE EPISTLE (LETTER) IS SAID TO BE THE FIRST OF THE EPISTLES CALLED CATHOLIC (UNIVERSAL) - THE BOOK OF JAMES WAS NOT WIDELY CIRCULATED AND ACCEPTED BY THE EARLY CHURCH - THE CHURCH APPLIED THE RULE THAT UNLESS A BOOK WAS APOSTOLIC IT COULD NOT BE CANONICAL [PLACED IN THE BIBLE] The book of James was not widely circulated and accepted by the early church. The church applied the rule that unless a book was apostolic it could not be canonical. The Muratorian Canon, which dates from 175 A.D. fails to list the epistle of James. The church fathers rarely make reference to it. After describing the martyrdom of James, Eusebius says 'such is the story of James, whose epistle is said to be the first of the epistles called Catholic. It is to be observed that its authenticity is denied, since few of the ancients quote it, as is also the case with the epistle called Jude's...nevertheless we know that these letters have been used publicly with the rest in most churches.' The Council of Carthage recognized the epistle of James as part of scripture in 397 A.D. It is interesting that the east recognized the epistle sooner than the west. During the Reformation Erasmus doubted whether James the brother of Jesus wrote the letter. Martin Luther was slow to accept it because it taught little about Christ, was not apostolic, stresses law instead of gospel, and opposes Paul on the doctrine of faith and works. Luther said 'I cannot put the letter among the chief books, though I would not thereby prevent anyone from putting him where he pleases and estimating him as he pleases; for there are many good sayings in it.' He placed it without a number at the end of his New Testament. William Tyndale also placed it as the last book in his translation. However subsequent English translations have placed it in its present spot. [link]

JAMES 1 - JAMES A SERVANT (BOND SLAVE) OF GOD AND OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - JUDE ALSO USES THE INTRODUCTION OF 'BOND SLAVE' - JAMES AND JUDE WERE FULL BROTHERS AND HALF-BROTHERS TO JESUS CHRIST - BOTH JAMES AND JUDE BECAME BELIEVERS AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THEIR HALF-BROTHER - WHILE PETER WAS THE FIRST LEADER OF THE CHURCH JAMES BEING A HALF-BROTHER OF JESUS BECAME THE DE FACTO FIRST LEADER OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM AND AS LEADER JAMES DEALT WITH THE MANY AND DIVERS PROBLEMS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE EARLY CHURCH - 'JAMES 1:27 PURE RELIGION AND UNDEFILED BEFORE GOD [JESUS] AND THE FATHER IS THIS, TO VISIT THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR AFFLICTION [NEED], AND TO KEEP HIMSELF UNSPOTTED [PURE] FROM THE WORLD' The book of James is probably the first Christian New Testament document written even before the Gospel of Matthew: The book of James is considered by most historians to be the first Christian document written or to be among the first Christian documents written. Written prior to the council in Jerusalem in 49 A.D. an impromptu council of early Church leaders and Apostles that was headed up by James after the Apostle Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary trip having converted and brought Gentile believers into the primarily Jewish Christian Church. The 49 A.D. council in Jerusalem was needed to determine the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers and particularly whether or not the Gentiles would have to be circumcised and follow Jewish customs in order to become Christians. The council determined that faith alone in Jesus would be sufficient to have Gentiles enter into full fellowship in the Christian Church. The book of James is a simple book focusing primarily on relationships between individual persons and among groups of people while a relationship with God is then expressed out of relationships with each other. The book of James seems simple in language [though very advanced in application] because the relationships in that time were more simple not because Christianity was simple or started out simple. Christianity did not grow, change, evolve or even mature. Christianity is completely embodied in the one person of Jesus Christ; all of His doctrines, teachings, prophecies and applications were delivered at one time in one life by the one person Jesus Christ. Though communion, baptism, End Times, Second Coming and other doctrines will be discussed in more depth in other Church writings it does not mean that they didn't exist or weren't practiced from the start at the Christian Church in Jerusalem. -- 'James 1:2 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty [grace], and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.'

EXPERTS SAY BURIAL BOX FOR 'BROTHER OF JESUS' IS A FORGERY - THE 20-INCH LONG OSSUARY, WHICH WAS COMMON IN JEWISH BURIAL CEREMONIES IN THE FIRST CENTURIES B.C. AND A.D., HAS AN INSCRIPTION IN THE ARAMAIC LANGUAGE THAT READS, "JAMES, SON OF JOSEPH, BROTHER OF JESUS" - BUT AFTER A LENGTHY INVESTIGATION, THE ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY OF ISRAEL SAID IT FOUND

OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE THAT THE [ARAMAIC] INSCRIPTION WAS A FAKE PRODUCED IN MODERN TIMES - "THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT EVERY SINGLE SCHOLAR WHO EXAMINED THIS CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE INSCRIPTION WAS NOT AUTHENTIC; IT WAS DONE RECENTLY BY A VERY SKILLFUL ARTIST"

{ANY USE OF THE ARAMAIC LANGUAGE ON AN ANCIENT JEWISH ARTIFACT IS ALMOST A SURE GREEK WITH THE EARLY COMMENTARIES BEING WRITTEN IN THE ROMAN LATIN LANGUAGE. INTRODUCING ARAMAIC INTO THE BIBLICAL LANGUAGES IS A DIRECT ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE FORGED DOCUMENTS AND OBJECTS INTO CHURCH HISTORY IN ORDER TO REWRITE AND MANIPULATE CHURCH HISTORY.} INDICATION THAT THE ITEM WAS TAMPERED WITH OR IS AN OUTRIGHT FORGERY. THE BIBLICAL LANGUAGES ARE HEBREW AND

JERUSALEM, June 19 - Israel's archaeological experts declared today that an ancient limestone burial box, which bears an inscription suggesting it held the remains of Jesus' brother James, is a modern forgery. When the existence of the burial box, or ossuary, was announced last October, it stirred great excitement as potentially the earliest historical artifact linked to Jesus. But after a lengthy investigation, the Antiquities Authority of Israel said it found overwhelming evidence that the inscription was a fake produced in modern times. "The bottom line is that every single scholar who examined this came to the conclusion that the inscription was not authentic; it was done recently by a very skillful artist," said Dr. Gideon Avni, director of excavations and surveys for the Antiquities Authority and one of 14 experts who took part in the investigation. ... The 20-inch long ossuary, which was common in Jewish burial ceremonies in the first centuries B.C. and A.D., has an inscription in the Aramaic language that reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." The New Testament on several occasions says that Jesus had a brother named James, who became a leader of a Christian community in Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus. James was executed by stoning in A.D. 63, according to the firstcentury Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. At the time, it was a common Jewish practice to place the body in a burial cave for about a year. When only the bones remained, they were then placed in a small ossuary. Only a small number of the burial boxes were inscribed, and they usually belonged to prominent people. It is not clear whether the early Christians followed the same burial ceremonies as the Jews. The most convincing evidence of fraud was the lack of the stone's patina, the natural fossilized sheen, in the indentations where the inscription was made, the Antiquities Authority said. The scholars concluded that the ossuary itself was an original dating back some 2,000 years, while the writing is of a much more recent vintage, though they could not pinpoint the date. The inscription had been partially filled in with modern materials including dirt, carbon and small flecks of gold in an attempt to make it look ancient, the officials said. "The lab reports found that these specific materials don't exist in the Jerusalem area," Mr. Dorfman said. Also, the latter part of the inscription, which refers to Jesus, is in a separate style of writing, the Antiquities Authority said. Scholars have been debating the authenticity since the ossuary became public last October, and some leading experts said they believed it was genuine. ... But some Israeli authorities expressed suspicions from the beginning based on the shadowy ways in which the ossuary and the tablet came to public notice. Mr. Golan, who is in his early 50's, initially attempted to conceal his identity and connection to the artifacts. When he was eventually questioned by authorities, he said he bought the ossuary from an antiquities dealer in Jerusalem's Old City in the mid-1970's, but did not know the name of the seller or the place where it was excavated. Israel's antiquities laws say that any item excavated since 1978 belongs to the state. Despite efforts to regulate antiquities, the legal, gray and black markets all do brisk business, according to officials. [link]

JAMES 2 - JAMES CONTINUES TO PROVIDE HIS GODLY WISDOM AND COUNCIL TO THE EARLY CHURCH - JAMES INSTRUCT CHRISTIANS TO HONOR EVERYONE EQUALLY REGARDLESS OF STATUS OR CLASS IN SOCIETY - 'JAMES 2:1-4 MY BRETHREN (CHRISTIANS), HAVE NOT THE FAITH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE LORD OF GLORY, WITH RESPECT [VENERATION] OF PERSONS. ... ARE YE NOT THEN PARTIAL [SOCIETAL SEGMENTATION] IN YOURSELVES, AND ARE BECOME JUDGES OF EVIL [CLASS SUPERIORITY] THOUGHTS?' Godly faith will bring forth godly intentions and actions in the individual first and then to the group as a whole: 'James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble [but do nothing about their knowledge of God in a godly manner].' - The book of James is a letter of encouragement to Christians for individual Christians to gain in Christian growth and maturity. Christian growth is about personal; individual, meaningful, spiritual growth. Meaningful mature Christian growth is developed in the individual human soul and it is a maturity that can only take place on an individual level. The Christian maturity has to be individual because the circumstances, locations and timing needed in order for God to accomplish the growth and maturity are somewhat unique to each individual. The Christian growth process has to be individual for the individual to grow but it also has to be individual in order to

accomplish the ultimate growth in an individual meaningful relationship with God. - In accomplishing individual growth and maturity then group growth and maturity can take place but if there are no mature individuals in the group then the group cannot necessarily function on a mature level however with a few or even only one mature individual in a group the group can function in a mature way. James in seeking to create a greater group maturity is giving general guidelines to individuals for individual godly Christian growth and not a strict pattern of events for groups to follow. It is then through the individual growth and godliness, in the individual first, that ultimately the Christian Church group as a whole will grow and mature.

JAMES 3 - WE ARE URGED TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR TONGUE WHEN WE SPEAK TO OTHERS - AND WHEN WE DO SPEAK TO SPEAK WORDS OF BLESSING AND WORDS OF EDIFICATION NOT WORDS OF ACCUSATIONS -- 'JAMES 3:8-10 BUT THE TONGUE CAN NO MAN TAME [YOU HAVE TO FIRST TAME YOUR SOUL IN ORDER TO TAME YOUR TONGUE]; IT IS AN UNRULY EVIL, FULL OF DEADLY POISON. THEREWITH [WITH OUR MOUTH] BLESS WE GOD, EVEN THE FATHER; AND THEREWITH [OUR SAME MOUTH] CURSE WE MEN, WHICH ARE MADE AFTER THE SIMILITUDE [IMAGE] OF GOD. OUT OF THE SAME MOUTH PROCEEDETH BLESSING AND CURSING. MY BRETHREN, THESE THINGS OUGHT NOT SO TO BE.' God's wisdom brings peace to our soul: 'James 3:13-18 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth [God is alive and in our midst]. This [bitter] wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. *But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated [accepted], full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.' - The wisdom that comes from God leads us to peace. We have been at war with God in our lifestyle but God is offering to us His Peace. The peace we receive from God that allows us to be at peace with God and ourselves also allows us to live at peace with one another.

JAMES 4 - JAMES

CHRISTIANS TO ADHERE TO THE HIGHER CALLING IN CHRISTIANITY BY SEPARATING THEMSELVES FROM THE CONDUCT OF THE WORLD -- 'JAMES 4:7-8 SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. DRAW NIGH [CLOSE] TO GOD, AND HE WILL DRAW NIGH [CLOSE] TO YOU.' CONTINUES TO EXHORT

'James 4:8-8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded [be single minded towards God]. Be afflicted [cautious], and mourn [critical self-examination], and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning [an inward perspective], and your joy to heaviness [reality]. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.' - James makes certain the Biblical precept that the contrived ways of the world are not the ways of God. This precept was true in the Old Covenant, it has been true since creation and it remains true today during the New Covenant Christian Church era that God is concerned with the treatment and wellbeing of all humans. To get lost in our own pleasures and in our own wellbeing is not what God has intended for Christianity. God has it in mind that Christians will seek after the desires and intentions of God and in doing so Christians can make a small difference here and there in the world. A small difference that in the mind of the world is minimal but possibly a difference that in the eyes of God is eternal.

JAMES 5 - JAMES CONCLUDES HIS REMARKS AND EXHORTATIONS TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WITH AN EMPHASES ON THE NEED FOR INDIVIDUALS TO PRAY WITH AND FOR ONE ANOTHER - AND REALLY JUST TO ENCOURAGE, ASSIST AND TO COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER - TO KEEP FOCUSED ON THE RETURN OF JESUS ALL THE WHILE REMAINING DILIGENT IN GODLY PURSUITS - AND TO BE PATIENT IN ALL THINGS PARTICULARLY IN ILLNESSES, PERSECUTIONS AND ANY TYPE SUFFERINGS -- 'JAMES 5:7-8 BE PATIENT THEREFORE, BRETHREN, UNTO THE COMING OF THE LORD. BEHOLD, THE HUSBANDMAN WAITETH FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUIT OF THE EARTH, AND HATH LONG PATIENCE FOR IT, UNTIL HE RECEIVE THE EARLY AND LATTER RAIN. BE YE ALSO PATIENT; STABLISH [ESTABLISH] YOUR HEARTS: FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH.'

'James 5:15-20 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up [God always hears our spiritual prayers no matter what our physical condition is]; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him [all who ask God for forgiveness at any time will receive it]. Confess your faults [be real] one to another, and pray [intercede] one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias (Elijah) was a man [just like us] subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed [1 Kings 17:1] earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again [1 Kings 18:45], and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren (Christian), if any of you do err from the truth [Jesus is God], and one convert [redirection, remind] him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.' - Note: James is making some final statements and generalizations. He repeatedly makes the point that the social, financial and physical status of an individual does not represent the spiritual status of an individual. If or when someone is ill for any kind of reason that God will still hear their prayer and forgive their sins and "the Lord shall raise him up" make them well or bring them into heaven according to their appointed time regardless of their social standing, finances or physical condition. - James goes on to point put the need to assist one another in keeping each other on the path to God. The Christian walk when done properly is a walk of mutual support. Christianity is not a go it alone hope for the best situation. We know who God is and we do know most of what God requires from us. [Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang [support] all the law and the prophets.] When a person can remind, redirect [convert] a fellow Christian and orientate them again to the cross and living resurrection of Jesus Christ then there is a multitude of sin being covered. Covered in the sense that sins are forgiven and removed by the blood of Jesus and covered in the sense that sins that were potentially going to be committed are now not going to be committed because of the change in direction and the renewed commitment and conformity to the ways of God.

1 PETER BOOK OF 1ST PETER - INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION - DATE OF WRITING SOMEWHERE AROUND AD 62-64 [BY PETER IN ROME] {NOTE: THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE START OF HIS CHRISTIAN CHURCH WAS IN 32 A.D. COUNTING HIS BIRTH AS YEAR 0 A.D. [33 A.D. OTHERWISE] -- THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS MARTYRED ABOUT 64-65 A.D. IN ROME -PETER WAS MARTYRED ABOUT 67 A.D. ALSO IN ROME -- CAESAR NERO (*WAS THE FIFTH, AND LAST ROMAN EMPEROR (AND ALSO THE MOST WICKED) OF THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY) REIGNED IN ROME FROM 13 OCTOBER, AD 54 - 9 JUNE, AD 68 -- LATER THE 2ND JERUSALEM TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED BY ROME IN 70 A.D. (TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS (VESPASIAN) WAS THE EMPEROR IN ROME [69-79 AD] -- HIS SON ROMAN GENERAL TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS (TITUS) OVERSAW THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL, JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE {THIS GENERATION, MATTHEW 23:36} IN 70 A.D. AND WAS LATER BRIEFLY EMPEROR OF ROME HIMSELF [79-81 A.D.]) - WIKI.COM} - CLEARLY, THIS WAS A HORRIFIC TIME FOR THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH - THEMES: THERE ARE GENERALLY SPEAKING FIVE THEMES THAT PERMEATE THIS TEXT: HOPE, SUFFERING, *HOLINESS, HUMILITY, SUBMISSION This period is, in all likelihood, the first official persecution of Christians by Rome. The madman Nero was the Emperor of Rome at this time. This was the time period of The Great Fire of Rome where Nero supposedly played his fiddle while Rome burned. Roman historian Tacitus describes the scene this way: "Neither human resources, nor imperial generosity, nor appeasement of the gods, eliminated the sinister suspicion that the fire had been deliberately started. To stop the rumor, Nero, made scapegoats--and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius' reign by the Procurator of Judaea, Pontius Pilatus (who was actually a Praefectus, not a Procurator). But in spite of this temporary setback, the deadly superstition had broken out again, not just in Judaea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome. All degraded and shameful practices collect and flourish in the capital. First, Nero had the self-admitted Christians arrested. Then, on their information, large numbers of others were condemned--not so much for starting fires as because of their hatred for the

human race. Their deaths were made amusing. Dressed in wild animals' skins, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or crucified, or made into torches to be set on fire after dark as illumination.... Despite their guilt as Christians, and the ruthless punishment it deserved, the victims were pitied. For it was felt that they were being sacrificed to one man's brutality rather than to the national interest." -- Clearly, this was a horrific time for the early Christian church. Themes: There are generally speaking five themes that permeate this text: Hope, Suffering, Holiness, Humility [and] Submission. It serves us well to understand the historical backdrop to this text. The church was under unspeakable persecution. Let's keep this in mind as we journey together the God-breathed doctrines and life-applications from the Apostle Peter. [link]

STUDIES IN 1 PETER - A CALL TO HOLINESS - "AS OBEDIENT CHILDREN, NOT FASHIONING YOURSELVES ACCORDING TO THE FORMER LUSTS IN YOUR IGNORANCE: BUT AS HE WHICH HATH CALLED [INVITED] YOU IS HOLY, SO BE YE HOLY IN ALL MANNER OF CONVERSATION; BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN (LEVITICUS 11:44), BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY" [1 PETER 1:14-16 KJV] - "BUT YE ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION [PEER GROUP], A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, AN HOLY NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE; *THAT YE SHOULD SHEW FORTH THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO HATH CALLED [INVITED] YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT" [1 PETER 2:9 KJV] Introduction: The word "holy," in contemporary thinking, is closely akin to the term "nerd" which our children use. Holiness is not thought of as a virtue but as a vice. How insulting to be thought of as "holy" by your peers. Even in the church, holiness is becoming rare. Only recently I heard a well-known evangelist speak of holiness as something which the church in America has lost. How comfortable we are to add God to our lives with little or no change necessary on our part. Such is not the message of the true gospel or the teaching of the Scriptures on the spiritual life. The Old Testament prophets, along with John the Baptist and then Jesus, called for a radical change for those who would trust and obey God. "Repent" was an indispensable word to those who proclaimed the Word of God in truth. To repent means to change not only our thinking but our actions. When we are saved, we are saved from our heathen desires and practices and called to live a life of holiness. This call to holiness comes very early in Peter's first epistle in chapter 1:14-16 and continues to be stressed throughout his epistle. The belief and behavior of holiness of which Peter speaks comes neither naturally (through our flesh) nor easily. Peter did not find it natural or easy either. While the concept of holiness is frequently taught in the Old Testament, Judaism (especially the scribes and Pharisees) distorted it until it became something entirely different. To many, the scribes and Pharisees, who saw themselves as holy, were the epitome of holiness. How shocking Jesus' words must have been to those who first heard them: "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). True holiness was not what the scribes and Pharisees or Peter thought it was. The message Peter shares with us in his first epistle came to him with great difficulty. In fact, only after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord did Peter understand true holiness. ... A Basic Definition of Holiness: To be holy is the opposite of being "common" or "profane." God is holy in that He is utterly different and distinct from His creation. His people must also be distinct, separate from the heathen attitudes and actions which characterized them as unbelievers. The translation of 1 Peter 2:9 by the King James Version conveys this idea of "separateness:" [link]

1 PETER 1: 22-2:3 SPIRITUAL DYNAMICS OF HOLINESS - WHEN PETER TELLS US: "BE HOLY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO" HE IS SIMPLY SAYING: "LIVE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIVES THE WAY GOD DESIGNED YOU TO LIVE" - GOD HAS CREATED US IN HIS IMAGE, AND THEREFORE OUR LIVES HAVE A HIGH PURPOSE-TO DEMONSTRATE HIS CHARACTER (HIS LOVE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUSTICE, ETC.) IN THIS WORLD - *TO LIVE OTHERWISE IS TO PROFANE MY LIFE, TO MISREPRESENT GOD'S CHARACTER **AND TO DAMAGE MYSELF AND OTHERS Introduction: As Mark pointed out last week, this section of 1 Peter is about holiness (read 1:15). "Holiness" has negative connotations in our culture ("holy roller;" "holier than thou"), so we tend to avoid it (and use a more relevant synonym like "sanctification!"). Actually, the biblical meaning of holiness is intensely positive. Holiness means fulfilling the special purpose for which something or someone was designed. Holiness presumes a designer [creator]. Holiness not only brings fulfillment to the holy thing or person-it also brings health and beauty into the world, and it brings honor to its designer/owner. Conversely, to use something or someone in an unholy way is to make it profane. ... When Peter tells us: "Be holy in everything you do," he is simply saying: "Live every aspect of your lives the way God designed you to live." God has created us in his image, and therefore our lives have a high purpose-to demonstrate his character (his love, righteousness, justice, etc.) in this world. To live otherwise is to profane my life-to misrepresent God's character

and to damage myself and others. ... Holiness begins with a new birth: The first thing Peter emphasizes is that holiness begins with a new birth. Everything he says about holiness in this passage is rooted in the assumption that his audience has "been born again" (1:23). To be born again means to be {born again spiritually, become a child of God - adoption as sons and daughters comes later after the (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) judgment in Heaven} adopted into God's family, to be made his son or Daughter. Why must holiness begin with {spiritual birth} adoption? Because adoption provides the foundation for the rest of your development. {Note: If you are waiting for an adoption (in heaven) to begin to become holy it will be too late because holiness begins with becoming a (born again) child of God [here on earth] and then holiness in a sense is completed and mostly finished at the adoption in Heaven. - Also Note: I think we have discovered something about modern Christianity and that is that all the leaders, teachers and pastors all want to ignore the (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ that is needed in the life of every believer for God's final and ultimate approval of the believer. Skipping over being a child of God and wanting instead to immediately claim the Adoption as Sons and Daughters attempting to prematurely receive the advanced privileges and blessings that go along with the adoption and Sonship. -- Consider This: If Jesus Christ were to manifest [being God] before our very eyes and at the same moment Elijah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and the Angels Michael and Gabriel and even the evil entities Apollyon, Abaddon and Satan himself also materialized before our eyes as deceiving messengers of light would you be able recognize and immediately be able to pick out your Father God in Jesus Christ from among the group? No! Because we have never seen Jesus visually [face to face] in His Glory and therefore having not seen Jesus [and being unable to identify who He is] we remain a "children of God" it is a child that might not be able to recognize their father [earthy or heavenly] by sight but it is a Son having met his father that can identify their father by sight [the other option from 'born again' into the family as a Child of God and later the 'Adoption' {inheritance} as an approved of Son (Sonship) or Daughter, becoming a living heir of the Kingdom of God or else that of a spiritual 'bastard' a child or an adult who has not yet met or is unable to identify their Heavenly Father]. For the Christian we will see Jesus face to face in Heaven and having met Jesus face to face [brother to brother and Father to Son or Daughter] and after becoming adopted by God [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] in Heaven we as Sons and Daughters will know who our Father is. But in the meantime being a child we have to be very careful because Satan is indeed passing himself off as our Father and having not seen our Father (because we are only children) we can be deceived if we look to the advanced giftings that Satan is going to present in order to entice people to accept sonship in Satan. -- We will be able to cover more of this very important topic in the Bible's book of Job. -- Lastly: In ancient Rome, Greece and also in Israel if a person [regardless of age] went into their fathers house and saw the keys to the chariot (or car) sitting on the counter as a child of the family [regardless of age - they might even be living on their own] they would have to wait for the parent and ask permission from the parent to use the chariot. However if the person were a Son [in status and authority] (having received the adoption - very literal in Roman customs) within the family that person could help themselves to the vehicle because they know their father and their father knows them and trusts them and they are going to be faithful to use the vehicle in accordance with the father's desires. The son is probably not going to be reckless and wreck the vehicle or damage property possibly injuring or even killing himself. Instead the son will use the vehicle in a way that will assist the family overall and will return the vehicle in good condition, fueled and ready to go again because the Son knows the Father and is in agreement with the Father! However with the child [regardless of age] who knows what kind of a 'wild child' event might happen and therefore a good Father would more closely supervise and initiate more authority over the child until the child can grow and mature [through a relationship in knowing who the Father is] into a faithful Son or Daughter.} [link]

1 PETER 1 - THE APOSTLE PETER THE APOSTLE OF HOLINESS - THE FIRST ORDER OF HOLINESS IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE WE ARE ALIVE IN OUR FLESHLY BODY IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD THAT WE LIVE HOLINESS GENERALLY AT THE LEVEL OF A CHILD OF GOD IN NEED OF GOD'S CONSTANT PRESENCE AND SUPERVISION -- '1 PETER 1:1-5 PETER, AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST, TO THE STRANGERS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT PONTUS, GALATIA, CAPPADOCIA, ASIA, AND BITHYNIA, ELECT [CALLED FOR A PURPOSE - I.E. EVANGELIST] ACCORDING TO THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT, *UNTO OBEDIENCE *AND SPRINKLING OF ***THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST: GRACE UNTO YOU, AND PEACE, BE MULTIPLIED. BLESSED BE THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHICH ACCORDING TO HIS ABUNDANT MERCY HATH BEGOTTEN US AGAIN UNTO A LIVELY HOPE ***BY THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD, TO AN INHERITANCE INCORRUPTIBLE, AND UNDEFILED, AND THAT FADETH NOT AWAY, **RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, WHO ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH FAITH [IN THE COMPLETED WORKS OF THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST] UNTO SALVATION READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME.'

1 Peter 1:9-17 Receiving the end [lit. final, completed, end result, outcome - Telos, G5056] of your faith [as a child], even the salvation {Adoption} of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [individuality - individual relationship with God] that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings [1st Coming] of Christ, and the Glory [2nd Coming] that should follow. ... As obedient *children [Teknon, G5043], not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written (Leviticus 11:44), Be ye holy; for I am Holy. -- 1 Peter 1:18-23 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things [i.e. money], as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious Blood of [Jesus] Christ, as of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the [beginning] foundation of the world, but was manifest [revealed] in these last times for you, Who by Him [Jesus] do [we] believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him Glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the Truth [Bible] through the [Holy] Spirit unto **unfeigned love of the brethren [fellow Christians], see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: ***Being ***born again, not of [perishable] corruptible seed, but of [eternal] incorruptible [Spirit], by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. - Note: The eternal Holiness that Peter is speaking of first involves the Blood of Jesus Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit and of our being 'born again' by faith through the eternal Blood and the Holy Spirit in order to become children of God. It is only through having the born again Spirit image of God within us and by being in the actual spiritual presence of God that the Holiness of God then becomes our holiness.

1 PETER 2 - HOLINESS DERIVES FROM BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD [PRAYER, BIBLE STUDY, FELLOWSHIP, SERVICE TO GOD] 'THE MILK OF THE WORD' AS A CHILD OF GOD AND THEN CHRISTIAN MATURITY DERIVES FROM HOLINESS [MATURITY DOES NOT LEAD TO HOLINESS (ACCEPTABILITY AND A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD), HOLINESS (INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD) LEADS A CHILD OF GOD TO MATURITY AND EVENTUALLY INTO SONSHIP] -- '1 PETER 2:1-3 WHEREFORE LAYING ASIDE ALL MALICE [MISCHIEVOUS], AND ALL GUILE [BITTERNESS], AND HYPOCRISIES [SELF-PROMOTION], AND ENVIES, AND ALL EVIL SPEAKINGS, *AS NEWBORN BABES (MATTHEW 18:3), DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD (BIBLE), THAT YE MAY GROW [MATURE] THEREBY: IF SO BE **YE HAVE TASTED [FELLOWSHIPPED WITH GOD] THAT THE LORD [JESUS CHRIST] IS GRACIOUS.' 1 Peter 2:4-12 To whom coming [unto Jesus Christ], as unto a living (Temple) stone, disallowed [rejected] indeed of men, *but chosen of God, and *precious, **Ye [fellow Christians] also, as lively (Temple) stones, are built up [together as the body of Christ comprising] a Spiritual House [Heavenly Temple], an Holy Priesthood [having direct access to God], to offer up *spiritual sacrifices [praise, thanks, worship], acceptable to God by [being through] Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture (Isaiah 28:16), Behold, I lay in Sion (Mt. Zion - Temple Mount in Jerusalem) a chief corner stone {the cornerstone anchors the location and sets the direction of the building}, elect (chosen for a reason), precious: and he that believeth on Him [Jesus Christ] **shall not be confounded [disappointed]. Unto you therefore which believe He [Jesus] is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and **a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the Word (Bible), being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed [lit. placed aside - served their desires]. ***But ye [Christians] are a Chosen Generation [peer group], a Royal Priesthood [brotherhood with Jesus the King of the Tribe of Judah and the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek], an Holy Nation [assembly], a peculiar people; **that ye should shew forth the praises of Him [Jesus Christ] who hath called [invited] you out of darkness into His marvellous [eternal] light: Which [but] in time past [Gentiles] were not a people, but [Christians] are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy [knowledge of God], but now have obtained mercy [knowledge of God]. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation [God's presence]. - Note: This amazing verse proclaims that each individual Christian [while on earth] through the experiencing of trials and tribulations on earth is being shaped and matured by life itself [a relationship with God] in order to be a part of and to belong as a living stone in an eternal Spirit Temple being built and crafted for all eternity by God.

BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG: THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD - THE HIGH CALLING OF EACH CHRISTIAN - NOW THAT WE ARE CHRISTIANS AND IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THERE IS STILL THE QUESTION OF HOW DO WE AS PEOPLE APPROACH AND INTERACT WITH THE HOLY GOD? In the Old Testament there are three groups of people who knowingly interacted with God these three distinct groups are the Priests, the Prophets, and the Citizens of God's Kingly Rule and Authority. • The office of Priest is interaction with God in the act of man offering to God. • The office of Prophet is interaction with God in the act of man receiving from God. • The office and position of Citizen or Subject of the King is interaction with God, the Eternal King, in the act of man having placed his life under the Authority and Rule of God the True King. Are these just Old Testament Practices or do these offices still have merit for us today in the New Testament Church? And if so, how do they work? [link]

1 PETER 3 - THE APOSTLE PETER ADMONISHES ALL CHRISTIANS TO HAVE A HEAVENLY, ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE -- '1 PETER 3:8-9 FINALLY, BE YE ALL OF ONE MIND, HAVING COMPASSION ONE OF ANOTHER, LOVE AS [CHRISTIAN] BRETHREN, BE PITIFUL [COMPASSIONATE], BE COURTEOUS: NOT RENDERING EVIL FOR EVIL, OR RAILING FOR RAILING: BUT CONTRARIWISE [CONTRARY TO THE WAYS OF THE WORLD INSTEAD BE A] BLESSING; KNOWING THAT YE ARE THEREUNTO CALLED, THAT YE SHOULD [AS SONS AND DAUGHTERS] INHERIT A [LIVING, ETERNAL] BLESSING.' 1 Peter 3:10-18 For he that will love life [lit. eternal spirit life - Zoe, G2222 - (not physical life - Bios {Biology}, G979)], and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. **For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and ***His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good [being in God's Divine protection]? But and [then] if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and **be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; ***But sanctify the Lord God [Jesus Christ] in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. **For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer [as Jesus Christ did] for well doing, than for evil [criminal] doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might [remove sin and] bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [made alive] by the [Holy] Spirit ... Note: The two and only two options of mankind [and as the verse goes on to explain the same two options equally had applied to the Angelic realm]. The first option (desired by God) is fellowship with God as a Child of God [as a Son of God for Angels] the second option (not intended by God) is to be at enmity with God.

1 PETER 4 - THE APOSTLE PETER REVEALS THAT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS AN INTERMIXED, INTERDEPENDENT GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS - COMPRISED OF ALL THE INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE [AND IN PRAYER] AND IT IS CERTAINLY NOT JUST THE EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ONE HIGHLY VISIBLE PERSON OR OF A FEW NOTABLE PEOPLE -- '1 PETER 4:10 AS EVERY MAN HATH RECEIVED THE [SPIRITUAL] GIFT [I.E. ADMINISTRATION, SERVANT, TEACHER, LEADER, VISIONARY, ETC.], EVEN SO MINISTER THE SAME [USE YOUR OWN (GOD GIVEN) GIFT - DON'T TRY TO IMITATE THE GIFTS OF OTHERS] ONE TO ANOTHER, **AS GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MANIFOLD GRACE [INDIVIDUALITY GIVEN TO US] OF GOD. IF ANY MAN SPEAK [TO A GROUP OR TO ANOTHER PERSON], LET HIM SPEAK AS THE ORACLES [PAGES OF THE BIBLE] OF GOD; IF ANY MAN MINISTER [SERVANT], LET HIM DO IT AS OF THE ABILITY WHICH GOD GIVETH: ***THAT GOD IN ALL THINGS MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BE PRAISE AND DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.' 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God: and if it first begin at us [Christians], what shall the end be of them [non-believers] that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved [only by the works of Jesus Christ through His cross and His resurrection], where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear [there is no place but the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ to appear for salvation]? Wherefore let them [Christians] that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. - Note: The judgment of God actually begins with the Children of God in the 'House of God' and then later [the Book of Revelation] everyone and even the entire earth is ultimately judged by God.

1 PETER 5 - THE APOSTLE PETER WARNS THE PASTORS NOT TO NEGLECT THEIR TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT AS A FAITHFUL SHEPHERD TO A PART OF THE FLOCK OF GOD -- '1 PETER 5:1-4 THE ELDERS WHICH ARE AMONG YOU I EXHORT, WHO AM ALSO AN ELDER, AND ***A WITNESS OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, AND ALSO A PARTAKER [MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION, MATTHEW 17:1-2] OF THE GLORY [OF JESUS] THAT SHALL BE REVEALED: *FEED [READ THE BIBLE TO] THE FLOCK OF GOD WHICH IS AMONG YOU, TAKING THE OVERSIGHT THEREOF, NOT BY CONSTRAINT, BUT WILLINGLY; NOT FOR FILTHY LUCRE, BUT OF A READY MIND; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS [OWNERS] OVER GOD'S HERITAGE, BUT BEING [SERVANT] ENSAMPLES [EXAMPLES] TO THE FLOCK. AND WHEN [JESUS CHRIST] THE CHIEF SHEPHERD SHALL APPEAR, YE SHALL RECEIVE A CROWN OF GLORY THAT FADETH NOT AWAY.' The Bible's book of 1 Peter concludes: 1 Peter 5:6-14 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: **Casting all your care upon Him; for ***He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil [Satan, Lucifer], as a roaring [boasting] lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are [alive] in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal Glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect [complete], stablish [establish], strengthen, settle you. To Him [Jesus Christ] be Glory and *Dominion [governmental authority - i.e. federal authority] forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. The Church that is at *Babylon [probably Rome], elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. - Note: It's probably Rome that Peter is referring to in that he is saying that the previous captivity and spiritual warfare of old Babylon has only shifted and is now in the new location of Rome and is just as fierce as ever in waging a multi fronted [physical, emotional, spiritual] assault against the Children of God.

2 PETER EPISTLE OF 2ND PETER - 2ND PETER WAS WRITTEN SOMEWHERE AROUND 67 AD, SHORTLY BEFORE PETER'S MARTYRDOM IN ROME 2nd Peter was written somewhere around 67 AD, shortly before Peter's martyrdom in Rome. It is [one of] the most controversial book of the New Testament because a wide variety of scholars deny its authenticity [Jude is also very controversial and easily the Book of Revelation is the most controversial book in the N.T. and probably the whole Bible for that matter]. There is no real mention of it before the early 3rd century [200's] and Origen {of Alexandria, Egypt} (185~254 A.D.), who accepted it, while admitting that others did not. Ultimately, Christians can rely on the epistle as a matter of faith, for in a biblical worldview it is unthinkable that God could not protect the Scriptures sufficiently to avoid a spurious epistle's inclusion. - [Note: 2nd Peter probably didn't get circulated as much as 1st Peter, the letters of Paul and some of the other N.T. letters did - the book of Jude was not a widely circulated letter. - Also Note: the lesser circulated epistles; Philemon, II John, and III John all missed out on some early N.T. Bible canonization -- i.e. Didymus the blind {of Alexandria, Egypt} (A.D. 313~398 A.D.) who was a celebrated head of the catechetical school at Alexandria {Egypt} - Source: http://www.ntcanon.org/Didymus.shtml] [link]

BACKGROUND OF SECOND PETER - THE THEME OF 2 PETER IS SUMMARIZED BY THE WORD 'KNOWLEDGE' WHICH OCCURS TWELVE TIMES IN THE [SHORT] LETTER - IN A LETTER WHICH FIGHTS FALSE TEACHING, THE GREATEST WEAPON IS A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH Occasion: There was persecution from the outside of the church as well as false teachers within the church. Peter grounds his hearers in the authoritative word of God given not by the will of man but by the Holy Spirit. Armed with the word of God these believers were to refute the false teachers. Peter in his later years writes to the churches of Asia Minor and warns, encourages and instructs them in light of Christ's second coming. The readers must consider the

second coming of Christ as an historic fulfillment of the progress of God's plan and not simply another crystal ball by which men could know the future for personal and selfish gain. [link]

2 PETER 1 - WHERE 1ST PETER WAS WRITTEN MORE WITH CHRISTIAN CONDUCT, HOLINESS AND MATURITY IN VIEW THE SECOND LETTER, 2ND PETER WAS WRITTEN MORE WITH CHRISTIAN ENDURANCE AND THE EVENTUAL END TIMES IN VIEW -- '2 PETER 1:16 FOR WE HAVE NOT FOLLOWED CUNNINGLY DEVISED FABLES, WHEN WE MADE KNOWN UNTO YOU THE POWER [SUPERNATURAL, THE RESURRECTION POWER - DUNAMIS, G1411] AND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BUT [AS DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES] WERE EYEWITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY.' 2 Peter 1:16-21 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but **were eyewitnesses [to actual events] of His majesty. For He [Jesus] received from God the Father Honor 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. ***And this voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the Holy Mount [the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17:1-2]. ***We have also a ***more sure word of Prophecy [O.T. and N.T. both containing 1st Coming (i.e. Simeon in Luke 2:26) and 2nd Coming prophecies (i.e. Jude 1:14)]; ***whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise [the early morning resurrection of Jesus Christ] in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation [from the prophet]. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake *as they were moved by the Holy [Spirit] Ghost. - Note: Prophecy came not as an idea or as an inkling from men but as the deliberate (Epignosis, G1922 - strong, experiential, deliberate Knowledge from God above). The prophecies in the Bible were written without private interpretations from the prophets themselves but the Bible itself including the prophecies are for our own individual private interpretations. We are all free in the presence and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to interpret the 'Living Scriptures' [2 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 3:16] and apply them to our own individual lives as Jesus the 'Daylight Star' arises in our own heart to guide us into His decisions regarding His Kingdom the eternal Kingdom of God.

2 PETER 2 - THE APOSTLE PETER POINTS OUT THAT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE TO CONTEND WITH FALSE DOCTRINES AND FALSE TEACHERS JUST AS THE JEWS THEMSELVES HAD TO CONTEND WITH FALSE PROPHETS IN THEIR MIDST -- '2 PETER 2:1-3 BUT THERE WERE FALSE PROPHETS ALSO AMONG THE PEOPLE [IN O.T. TIMES], EVEN AS THERE SHALL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU, WHO PRIVILY [PRIVATELY, SECRETLY, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS] SHALL BRING IN DAMNABLE HERESIES, *EVEN DENYING THE LORD [JESUS] THAT BOUGHT THEM [PAID WITH HIS BLOOD FOR OUR SINS], AND BRING UPON THEMSELVES SWIFT DESTRUCTION. AND MANY SHALL FOLLOW THEIR PERNICIOUS WAYS; BY REASON OF WHOM THE WAY OF TRUTH [CHRISTIANITY] SHALL BE EVIL SPOKEN OF. AND THROUGH COVETOUSNESS SHALL THEY WITH FEIGNED WORDS MAKE MERCHANDISE [SELLING BLESSINGS OR MINISTRY ITEMS] OF YOU: WHOSE JUDGMENT NOW OF A LONG TIME LINGERETH NOT, AND THEIR DAMNATION SLUMBERETH NOT.' 2 Peter 2:18-21 For when they [merchandisers] speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. **While they promise them [followers] liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: ***for of whom a man is overcome, ***of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge [knowledge from above, Epignosis, G1922] of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the [lost salvation] latter end is worse with them than the [unsaved] beginning. **For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment [love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40)] delivered unto them. - Note: To turn from God is to reject Salvation. Peter is alluding to the fact that often people first turn away from God subtly, being allured away by even slightly turning towards other people [often they end up being unscrupulous people], ministries, events or items and then having been lured away from Jesus being gradually overcome having lost focus of the Truth of Jesus Christ. The safety of our soul is in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone so we do need to be diligent and faithful to keep the Truth and Light of Jesus Christ always shining brightly before us.

2 PETER 3 - THE APOSTLE PETER BEGINS TO CLOSE HIS SECOND AND LAST EPISTLE WITH A WARNING THAT EVENTUALLY THE EARTH IS GOING TO BE JUDGED AGAIN AND AT THE COMMAND OF GOD ALL PHYSICAL THINGS WILL PERISH IN A 'FERVENT HEAT' -- '2 PETER 3:15 THIS SECOND EPISTLE, BELOVED, I NOW WRITE UNTO YOU; IN BOTH WHICH I STIR UP YOUR PURE MINDS BY WAY OF REMEMBRANCE: THAT YE MAY BE MINDFUL OF THE WORDS WHICH WERE SPOKEN BEFORE BY THE HOLY PROPHETS, AND OF THE COMMANDMENT [LOVE GOD AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR (MATTHEW 22:37-40)] OF US THE APOSTLES OF THE LORD AND SAVIOR [JESUS CHRIST]: KNOWING THIS FIRST, THAT **THERE SHALL COME IN THE LAST DAYS SCOFFERS, WALKING AFTER THEIR OWN LUSTS, AND SAYING, WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS [RETURN, 2ND] COMING? FOR SINCE THE FATHERS FELL ASLEEP, ALL THINGS CONTINUE AS THEY WERE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION. FOR THIS THEY WILLINGLY ARE IGNORANT [THE EARTH HAS NOT CONTINUED UNCHANGED BUT HAS HAD RADICAL CHANGES (FLOOD OF NOAH) AND WILL CONTINUE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION TO HAVE MORE RADICAL CHANGES] OF, THAT BY THE [COMMAND] WORD OF GOD THE HEAVENS [SKIES] WERE OF OLD, AND THE EARTH STANDING OUT OF THE WATER AND IN THE WATER ...' {NOTE: THE ORIGINAL EARTH OF CREATION WAS FLOODED IN THE FLOOD OF NOAH BY THE COMMAND JUDGMENT OF *WATER FROM GOD - NOW THE EARTH IS CURRENTLY BEING JUDGED THIS TIME BY THE *BLOOD AND CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST AND WITH THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY *SPIRIT (1 JOHN 5:6-9) - AND FINALLY FOR THOSE WHO REJECT THE WATER AND THE BLOOD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT THE EARTH WILL AGAIN BE JUDGED A FINAL TIME BY JUDGMENT AND DESTRUCTION IN *FIRE.} The Bible's book of 2nd Peter concludes: 2 Peter 3:6 Whereby the world that then was [before Noah], being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store [by the blood of Jesus Christ], reserved unto fire against the day of [final] judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. *The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; *but is longsuffering to us-ward, **not willing that any should perish, ***but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works [of man] that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these [physical] things shall be dissolved, ***what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, ***Looking for and hasting [keeping busy] unto the coming of the Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat [coming judgment of fire]? Nevertheless *we, according to His promise, **look for new heavens and a new earth, ***wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. ... 2 Peter 3:17-18 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. *But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

1 JOHN HISTORY OF JOHN THE DISCIPLE OF JESUS To learn the history of John, the disciple of Jesus, we begin with his life before he met Jesus. John, his brother James, Peter, and Andrew were all partners in the fishing business before they became disciples of Jesus. John was the son of Zebedee who was also a fisherman in Galilee. John's mother's name was Salome and some say that Salome was the sister of Jesus' mother, Mary. John owned a home in Jerusalem. Shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, John moved to Ephesus. John pastored a church in Ephesus. He communicated with other churches in the area as stated in the book of Revelation. He advised and counseled many people who would later become believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. By order of the Roman Emperor, Domitian, John was exiled to the island, Patmos. Domitian ordered his exile because he saw John as a threat to his rule. However, his popularity and influence in the Christian community continued through correspondence with all the churches. John wrote the book of Revelation during his exile. When he was released from exile, he returned to Ephesus. John founded and built churches all through Asia

until he was old, and died the sixty-eighth year after our Lord's passion, peacefully in Ephesus. During his life, John wrote the book of John and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd book of John and the book of Revelation. Near the end of his life, it is said that he constantly repeated the phrase, "Little children, love one another!" He did that because he believed it was the Lord's most important commandment. [link]

1ST JOHN - **LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER - BECAUSE GOD'S CHILDREN HAVE EXPERIENCED SUCH LOVE, THE COMMAND THAT COMES TO THEM TO LOVE EACH OTHER IS NOT THE "OUGHT" OF EXTERNAL COMPULSION BUT THE "OUGHT" OF INTERNAL CONSTRAINT (BRUCE 1970:109) - SO STRONG IS JOHN'S CONFIDENCE THAT THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY WILL FULFILL THIS COMMAND THAT HE WRITES THAT MUTUAL CHRISTIAN LOVE MANIFESTS THE PRESENCE AND ACTION OF THE INVISIBLE GOD (V. 12; SMALLEY 1984:246) - WHEN HE WRITES NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD, HE CALLS TO MIND THE SAME STATEMENT IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN (1:18) - *IN BOTH CASES, HE IS NOT TRYING TO TELL US WHAT GOD IS LIKE BUT HOW GOD IS KNOWN - AND GOD IS KNOWN NOT ONLY IN THE REVELATION THAT COMES TO US IN JESUS (JN 1:18) BUT ALSO BY THE MANIFESTATION OF OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER (1 JN 4:12) [IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST] Let Us Love One Another: One of the best-known works of Western art is surely that section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which depicts God reaching down to touch Adam's fingertip and give him life. So well known is this portion of Michelangelo's monumental work that it appears not merely in art histories and coffee-table display books, but is also used and caricatured in advertising and political cartoons. Only the most jaded of tourists can fail to marvel when gazing up at the mural, so laboriously and painstakingly painted, so powerful in its depiction of the life-giving power of God. We stop, study, appraise and admire. What a masterpiece! What an artist! -- In this section of the epistle, John writes, This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world (v. 9). We might be tempted to exclaim, What a masterpiece! What an artist! But "The Sending of the Son" is not simply the title of a painting that we study, admire and appreciate. Michelangelo's painting has power not just because of its artistic merits, but because we can virtually feel the life that flows from God's hand to Adam. Even so, John writes not just that God showed his love among us but that he did so by sending the Son into the world that we might live through him. God's life-giving love, then, is the theme of this passage. As John develops this theme, he makes three important points: God is the source of all love (4:7-8); God models what genuine love is (4:9-10); and God commands us to love each other (4:11-12). We move from the assertion that God is love to the command that we are to love each other. Indeed, the whole point of the passage is to trace the relationship between God's love and human love, and to show how human love flows from God's own love. The Source of Love (4:7-8). -- In exploring the relationship between God's love for us and our love for each other, the Elder makes two statements: love comes from God (v. 7), and God is love (v. 8). The second statement is more far-reaching than the first. To comprehend the sweeping character of the statement God is love, substitute the name of anyone you know--your mother, pastor, friend, a well-known Christian or hero of the faith or even yourself--for "God." Few are the people we would describe simply with the word love. Mom may be the most loving person you have known. She may have shown you what mature, self-giving, genuine love is like. But no matter how full, rich and steadfast her love, the statement "Mom is loving," can never be changed into "Mom is love." For love does not characterize her as it characterizes God. Because God is love, love comes from God. God is the source of love. Like the electricity running through electrical wires, love comes from God to us, then flows through us to others in the community. When John exhorts his readers, let us love one another, he is encouraging them to allow God's love to flow through them. For because God is love, love must characterize those who claim to be born of God or to know God (v. 7; 3:10, 14; 4:20-21). Those who claim to be doing the will of God and reflecting God's activity in the world will be known by the love they manifest for God and for each other. This was what Jesus told his dis ciples (Jn 13:35). ... First, just as God's love was manifested in the sending of the Son, so John expects that we will demonstrate love in action to others (compare 3:1618). Christians will live out their love in kindness, generosity and service to others. But, second, the Elder's argument moves quickly beyond the example that God's love provides for us to an examination of its active and redeeming character (vv. 9-10). God has loved us in a way that has given us life. The atoning death of Jesus provides the means by which believers come into a life-giving realm where love is received and expressed (John 3:16). We do not simply gaze at the painting on the wall; we are touched by the hand of God and given life-giving love. And, third, because life and love come from God, it is God's activity and not our own behavior and efforts that defines the essence of love. The Command to Love (4:11-12). Because God's children have experienced such love, the command that comes to them to love each other is not the "ought" of external compulsion but the "ought" of internal constraint (Bruce 1970:109). On its own, the

commandment cannot provide the incentive or the power to fulfill it, and this might foster either discouragement or indifference. But those who are in touch with the very source of love, who have been shown what love is and who are the recipients of a great and healing love, can receive the commandment with hope and joy. For they are not commanded to do something that is alien to their experience or beyond their ability to learn and to do. So strong is John's confidence that the Christian community will fulfill this command that he writes that mutual Christian love manifests the presence and action of the invisible God (v. 12; Smalley 1984:246). When he writes no one has ever seen God, he calls to mind the same statement in the Gospel of John (1:18). In both cases, he is not trying to tell us what God is like but how God is known. And God is known not only in the revelation that comes to us in Jesus (John 1:18) but also by the manifestation of our love for each other (1 Jn 4:12). The love of believers makes evident and concrete the activity of God among them. In fact, when the Elder writes that this is how [God's] love is made complete, he means that it reaches its intended goal when it flows from God, through us, to our fellow believers. The love with which God loved us must in turn be extended to the fellowship of believers. In short, God not only gives us the command to love but has also modeled for us what true love is, just as Jesus modeled love for his disciples when he washed their feet before his death (Johnn 13:1-17). Love that does not express itself concretely and in service to others is not love (1 Jn 3:16-18). But even more, God also empowers us to love. By confession of the Son whom God has sent, we are born of God and come to know God, who is love (v. 7); we are given life (v. 9); our sins are forgiven (v. 10). We come into the realm of life and love, in which we are given life and are empowered to extend the same kind of life-giving love to others. We come to know the source of love. [link]

BACKGROUND OF FIRST JOHN - ONLY IN JOHN AMONG THE BIBLICAL WRITERS DOES THE WORD 'ANTICHRIST' OCCUR - IT IS MENTIONED IN 1 JOHN 2:18, 22; 4:3 AND 2 JOHN 7 - ANTI MEANS ['INSTEAD OF,' REPLACEMENT - REPLACEMENT CHIRST (SAVIOR) - NOT JESUS CHRIST BUT A REPLACEMENT - ANTICHRIST EITHER AS SELF OR EVENTUALLY ANTICHRIST AS SATAN IN THE BODY OF A HUMAN] 'ONE WHO TAKES THE PLACE OF, OR OPPOSES OR STANDS AGAINST' - THE ESSENCE OF THE ANTICHRIST ESSENTIALLY IS A DENIAL OF THE INCARNATION AND DEITY OF CHRIST - THIS MEANS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF CHRIST, WHICH WAS THE BASIS FOR THE DESTRUCTION [WORKS] OF SATAN HIMSELF - WITHOUT THE WORK OF CHRIST, SATAN WOULD CONTINUE IN HIS EVIL WAYS HOWEVER **THE CROSS [OF JESUS CHRIST] PUTS AN END TO ANTICHRIST AND ALL HIS PLANS [AND ABILITIES OF ENTRAPPING AND ENSLAVING MANKIND] Occasion: John writes near the end of the first century to define and defend the nature of the person of Christ against heretical teachings affecting the early church. The name given to the heresy which John addressed was Gnosticism from the Greek word for 'knowledge'. Gnosticism taught that only the spiritual was good and matter was evil. Thus for the Gnostics the goal of salvation was to free oneself from the material world through physical denial. Only a preoccupation with spiritual matters was good. Salvation was found in a mystical knowledge of the secret mysteries of this path of salvation. This view was a direct attack on the person and work of Christ. If matter was evil then Jesus could not become a physical man and so the incarnation was denied by the Gnostics. Jesus in his humanity was only a shadow. He only seemed to be Jesus but was not really there, therefore no one really died on the cross making the work of Christ null and void. This view of the person of Christ is called Docetism from the Greek word meaning 'to seem to be'. John also writes to deal with an enemy of the gospel called Cerinthus. While Cerinthus is not mentioned in the book of 1 John he is known to John from tradition. Irenaus an early church father tells the story that Polycarp a disciple of John used to tell. 'There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerintus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, Let us fly, lest even the bath - house fall down, because Cerintus, the enemy of the truth, is within.' -- John sets forth the deity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Message: The theme is best described in John's own words in 1 John 5:13 'These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.' John proceeds to give a check list of standards by which one can gage their spiritual health. Has all known sin been confessed to God? Is there obedience to God's word? Is there demonstrated love for the brethren? [link]

1 JOHN 1 - JOHN THE BELOVED DISCIPLE AND APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST BEGINS HIS FIRST OF THREE LETTERS (EPISTLES) - THE FIRST LETTER IS TO THE GENERAL CHURCH AT LARGE THEN HIS NEXT LETTER IS TO A SPECIFIC CHURCH FELLOWSHIP WHILE HIS THIRD LETTER IS TO AN INDIVIDUAL -- '1 JOHN 1:1-4 THAT [JESUS CHRIST] WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING, WHICH *WE HAVE HEARD, WHICH *WE

HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES, WHICH *WE [APOSTLES] HAVE LOOKED UPON, AND OUR HANDS HAVE HANDLED, OF THE WORD OF LIFE;

FOR THE LIFE WAS MANIFESTED [VIRGIN BIRTH], AND WE HAVE SEEN IT, AND BEAR WITNESS, AND SHEW UNTO YOU THAT **ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH WAS WITH THE FATHER, AND WAS MANIFESTED [RESURRECTION] UNTO US; THAT WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD DECLARE WE UNTO YOU, ***THAT YE ALSO MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH US [CHRISTIAN APOSTLES]: AND TRULY **OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THE FATHER, AND WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. AND THESE THINGS WRITE WE UNTO YOU, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.' 1 John 1:5-10 This then is the Message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the Truth: 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. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth [of the cross and resurrection] is not in us. If we confess [agree with God] our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us [with a new eternal life] from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. - Note: The Gospel of John, the Book of Revelation and the his three epistles (letters) were all written very late [around 90 A.D.] in the life of the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ yet the "Message" of Jesus Christ is the one and only central theme in all the writings of the Apostle John.

1 JOHN 2 - THE DISCIPLE AND APOSTLE JOHN WRITES OF THE WORKS ACCOMPLISHED AND COMPLETED IN JESUS CHRIST FOR THE SALVATION OF THE ENTIRE WORLD -- '1 JOHN 2:1-2 MY LITTLE CHILDREN, THESE THINGS WRITE I UNTO YOU, THAT YE SIN NOT. AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS: AND HE IS THE PROPITIATION (FULL PAYMENT) FOR OUR SINS: AND *NOT FOR OURS ONLY, **BUT ALSO FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD.' {NOTE: EVERYONE WHO CHOOSES TO BE FORGIVEN OF THEIR SIN AND TO ENTER INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WILL BE ACCEPTED BY GOD INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.} The Disciple John explains how we are to know if we are in God and how we are to know if others are in God as well: 1 John 2:3-17 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments [Love God and love one another]. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected [completed]: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him **ought himself also so to walk, even as He Walked. Brethren, I write no new Commandment unto you, but an old Commandment which ye had from the beginning. The Old Commandment is the Word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a New [insight] Commandment I write unto you, which thing is true *in Him and *in you: ***because the darkness is past, and the True [Resurrection] Light now shineth. He that saith He is in the [eternal resurrection] light, and hateth his brother, is in [spiritual] darkness even until now. **He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, **because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake [so God can fellowship with and among us]. I write unto you, fathers [faithful, tested Christians], because ye have known Him [Jesus] that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men [those strong in the Christian faith], because ye have overcome [Satan] the wicked one. I write unto you, little children [those new in the Christian faith], because *ye *have *known [God] the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and **the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome [Satan] the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the **world [system], the *lust of the flesh, and the *lust of the eyes, and the *pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world [system]. And the world [system first then 1,000 years later the earth itself] passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever [eternally]. Little children, it is the Last Time [the last time (age) mankind will have to experience and endure separation from God]: and as ye have heard that *Antichrist [Satan manifested] shall come, even now are there many antichrists [self-saviors]; whereby we know that it is the Last Time [continuing into the 7th Kingdom]. They [some] went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us [Christians]: but they went out, **that they might be made *manifest [visible] that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction [anointing] from the Holy One [Father, Son Jesus, Holy

Spirit], and ye know all things [eternally]. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. **Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist [selfsavior], that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but **he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide [remain] in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And *this is the promise that He hath promised us, even **eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them [false teachers] that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same [Holy Spirit] anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him [Jesus Christ]. And now, little children, abide in Him [Jesus Christ]; that, when He shall appear [2nd Coming], we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If ye know that He is Righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him.

1 JOHN 3 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN EXPLAINS THAT OUR PARTAKING IN THE LOVE THAT HAS BEEN AND IS MANIFESTED IN JESUS CHRIST REACHES ITS ULTIMATE CONCLUSION IN OUR ETERNAL LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST -- '1 JOHN 3:1-3 BEHOLD, WHAT MANNER OF LOVE THE FATHER HATH BESTOWED UPON US, THAT WE SHOULD BE CALLED THE SONS [LIT. CHILDREN] OF GOD: THEREFORE THE WORLD KNOWETH US NOT, BECAUSE IT KNEW HIM NOT. BELOVED, NOW ARE WE THE SONS [LIT. CHILDREN] OF GOD [SEE ALSO - ROMANS 8:14, SONS OF GOD], AND IT DOTH NOT YET APPEAR WHAT WE SHALL BE [IN THE RESURRECTION]: BUT WE KNOW THAT, WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR [2ND COMING], WE SHALL BE [BODILY] LIKE HIM [JESUS CHRIST]; FOR WE SHALL [BODILY] SEE HIM AS HE IS. AND EVERY MAN THAT HATH THIS HOPE [ETERNAL LIFE] IN HIM PURIFIETH HIMSELF, EVEN AS HE [JESUS CHRIST] IS PURE.' The Disciple John explains that God is far greater than our own uncertain heart, fears and worries and that to trust in Jesus Christ with our life is to receive a full eternal life from Jesus Christ: 1 John 3:4-24 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He [Jesus Christ] was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen [lit. perceive - Horao, G3708] Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the Devil [Lucifer, Lucifer]; for the Devil sinneth from the beginning [of mankind]. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works [strength] of the Devil. Whosoever is born [again] of God doth not commit sin [separation from God]; for His seed [Holy Spirit] remaineth in him: and he cannot [separate from God] sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the Devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew [Abel] his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and [Abel] his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto [eternal] life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer [like Cain]: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. **For if our heart [thoughts] condemn us, ***God is greater than our heart [thoughts and imaginations], and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him [as we have need], because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He [Jesus Christ] gave us Commandment. And he that keepeth His Commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, **by the [Holy] Spirit which He hath given us.

1 JOHN 4 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN WARNS EVERYONE ABOUT THE DECEIVING, MANIPULATING AND EVIL SPIRITS THAT ARE OUT TO DESTROY MANKIND AND THAT OFTEN THE EVIL SPIRITS WORK DIRECTLY THROUGH MANKIND -- '1 JOHN 4:1-3 BELOVED, BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TRY THE SPIRITS WHETHER THEY ARE OF GOD: BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS [EVIL SPIRITS] ARE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD. HEREBY KNOW YE THE [HOLY] SPIRIT OF GOD: EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH [AGREES IN WORD AND ACTIONS] THAT JESUS

CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH IS OF GOD: AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH NOT [IN WORD AND LIFESTYLE] THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH IS NOT OF GOD: AND THIS IS THAT SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST, WHEREOF YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT SHOULD COME; **AND EVEN NOW ALREADY IS IT IN THE WORLD.' The Apostle John declares our certain victory over our own sin and this world in the love and faithfulness of Jesus Christ: 1 John 4:4-21 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them [false teachers]: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. **Hereby know we the *Spirit of Truth, and the *spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born [again] of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was *manifested the Love of God toward us, because that ***God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him [Jesus Christ]. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us [first], and sent His Son to be the propitiation [full payment] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen [the complete Divine fullness of] God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And **we have seen [God in Jesus] and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess [agree with God] that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. **God is love [commitment]; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect [complete], **that we may have boldness **in the day of judgment: because as He is [holy and righteous], so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him [God], because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this Commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. - Note: God is Love therefore we are to love one another. The Love of God is an attribute of God and it is one of the many attributes and characteristics of God; including God's Love and also His faithfulness, His Righteousness, His Justice and His eternal life being.

1 JOHN 5 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN EXPLAINS THAT OUR VICTORY OVER OUR SIN AND THIS WORLD LEADS TO FELLOWSHIP - FELLOWSHIP BOTH WITH OUR FELLOW MANKIND AND OUR PERSONAL FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD -- '1 JOHN 5:1-5 WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST [SAVIOR] IS BORN OF GOD: AND EVERY ONE THAT LOVETH HIM [FATHER GOD] THAT BEGAT LOVETH HIM [JESUS CHRIST] ALSO THAT IS BEGOTTEN OF HIM [FATHER GOD]. BY THIS WE KNOW THAT WE LOVE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, WHEN WE LOVE GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. FOR THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD, THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: AND HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT GRIEVOUS. FOR WHATSOEVER IS BORN [AGAIN] OF GOD OVERCOMETH THE WORLD: **AND THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD, EVEN **OUR FAITH [BELIEF IN THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS; CREATION, CROSS, RESURRECTION]. WHO IS HE THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD, BUT HE THAT BELIEVETH THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD?' The Bible's book of 1 John concludes with another declaration that the Christian does already have eternal life in Jesus Christ: 1 John 5:6-21 This is He [Jesus Christ] that came by [physical] water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit that beareth witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is Truth. ***For there are three [Tri-unity] that bear record in heaven, the *Father, the Word [Jeus Christ], and the Holy [Spirit] Ghost: **and these three are one [Tri-unity]. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit [(living - breathing, John 3:5) Jesus physically manifested], and the [physical] water {Virgin birth, Baptism John 1:31, death on the cross (water and blood)}, and the [physical] blood, John 19:34 {stories, myths, legends and ghosts go not breath and bleed human blood (water and blood)}: and these three [the physical manifestation] agree in one [that Jesus came in human physical flesh]. If we receive the witness of men [good], [but] the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath Testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. **He [human] that hath the Son [Jesus Christ] hath [eternal] life; and he that hath not [Jesus Christ] the Son of God hath not [eternal] life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name [Jesus Christ] of the Son of God; **that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Name [Jesus Christ] of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask [in

prayer] anything according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him [God hears our prayers and answers them according to His will in our life]. If any man see his brother sin a sin [ordinary unrighteous sin] which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death [unbelief, rejection of Jesus Christ]: I do not say that he [intercessor] shall pray for it [intercessory cannot override the unbelief of the human will]. *All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born [again - with faith/belief] of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not [eternally]. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him [Father] that is True, and we are in Him that is True, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God, and *eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

2 JOHN WALKING THRU THE BIBLE - SECOND & THIRD JOHN - WHILE JOHN

DOES NOT USE HIS NAME IN THESE TWO EPISTLES IT IS

GENERALLY ACCEPTED BY THE SCHOLARS THAT THE WRITER IS THE SAME AS THE WRITER OF THE FIRST EPISTLE AND THE

GOSPEL THAT

BEARS HIS NAME - JOHN REFERS TO HIMSELF AS "THE ELDER" NOT IN THE SENSE IN WHICH THAT WORD IS SYNONYMOUS WITH BISHOP IN A LOCAL CHURCH BUT IN THE PRIMARY SENSE OF AN OLDER OR AGED PERSON

CHURCH CONGREGATION) REGION (PDF)

- **JOHN

WRITES TO WARN THIS DEAR SISTER (OR

AGAINST HAVING HER HOSPITALITY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THE FALSE TEACHERS CIRCULATING IN THE

Recipient of 2nd John: There is a great diversity among the scholars as to whom the letter was really addressed, some think "the elect lady, and her children" meant a particular Christian woman and those who met in her house to worship God. Some believe that either "Electa" or "Lady" may have been her name. If so, this is then a more personal letter than the first epistle. Others believe this reference is simply to a local church and its members. To speak of a church under the figure of a "Lady and her Children" is in no sense unlikely. If the "chosen lady" is a figurative way of designating a particular church, then the "chosen sister" of v.13 would mean a different church, or "sister" congregation. Perhaps as one writer has put it, "the problem of the address is insoluble with our present knowledge." Background of 2nd John: The false philosophy of Gnosticism and its teachers is still the major problem with which this epistles deals. This second epistle had more to do with the practical side of the right attitude to take toward Truth, false doctrine, false teachers and faithful brethren. John writes to warn this dear sister (or congregation) against having her hospitality taken advantage of by the false teachers circulating in the region (vs. 9-11). -- Purpose and Contents of 2nd John: 1) John expresses joy in finding her "children" walking in the truth as they had been commanded of God. This was a cause of joy when so many were being led astray by false teachers. They had been taught to love the truth (2 Thess.2:10-12). That truth had to be discerned and they must continue to walk in it lest they lose those things already accomplished such Traveling preachers, perhaps sent by John, had visited the church and a leader there named Diotrephes had spoken against the Apostle John and had stood against those who had received them. The only reason given for his conduct was that he "loved to have the preeminence." John condemned this haughty and selfish ambition and the envy and jealousy it stirred up in his heart as reflected in his wicked treatment of both John and other brethren. [link]

THE APOSTLE JOHN - THERE IS A CHURCH TRADITION, WHICH SAYS, THAT WHEN JOHN WAS EVIDENTLY AN OLD MAN IN EPHESUS, HE HAD TO BE CARRIED TO THE CHURCH IN THE ARMS OF HIS DISCIPLES - AT THESE MEETINGS, HE WAS ACCUSTOMED TO SAY NO MORE THAN, "LITTLE CHILDREN, LOVE ONE ANOTHER!" - AFTER A TIME, THE DISCIPLES WEARIED AT ALWAYS HEARING THE SAME WORDS, ASKED, "MASTER, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY THIS?" - "IT IS THE LORD'S COMMAND," WAS HIS REPLY - "AND IF THIS ALONE BE DONE, IT IS ENOUGH!" - THERE IS, ALSO, A TRADITION WHICH SAYS THAT JOHN WAS IN ROME FOR A TIME

John was one of the sons of Zebedee (a fisherman of Galilee) and his mother's name was Salome (Salome is believed to be a sister of Jesus' mother, Mary). John, along with his brother (the apostle James) and the apostles Peter and his brother Andrew , were all partners in a fishing business prior to their call by Jesus to follow Him. Zebedee was also a partner in the business. It is said that John owned a home in Jerusalem and that it is possible that the interview Nicodemus had with Jesus was held there. The apostle John rose to a position of influence within world-wide Christianity and shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, he moved to Ephesus. He became the pastor of the church in Ephesus and had a special relationship to other churches in the area, as we know from the letters to the Seven Churches in Asia, in the book of Revelation. John's brother, James, was the first of the apostles to die, where John, on the other hand, was the last. All of the apostles met a violent death, however, John died peacefully in Ephesus, at an advanced age, around the year 100 AD. There is a church tradition, which says, that while John was living in Ephesus, John had with him Mary, the mother of Jesus, for a few years. [link]

2 JOHN 1 - THE BELOVED DISCIPLE JOHN WRITES HIS 2ND OF THREE LETTERS - THIS LETTER IS TO ADMONISH A FELLOW CHRISTIAN CHURCH NOT TO PARTAKE WITH OR TO ASSIST JUST ANYONE - TO BE CAREFUL AND MAKE SURE NOT TO ACCEPT OR TO ASSIST IN ANY WAY ANY OF THE MANY DECEIVERS THAT ARE OUT THERE ATTEMPTING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SIMPLE CHRISTIANS -- '2 JOHN 1:1-4 THE ELDER UNTO THE ELECT LADY AND HER CHILDREN, WHOM I LOVE IN THE TRUTH; AND NOT I ONLY, BUT ALSO ALL THEY THAT HAVE KNOWN THE TRUTH; FOR THE TRUTH'S SAKE, WHICH DWELLETH IN US, AND SHALL BE WITH US FOREVER. GRACE BE WITH YOU, MERCY, AND PEACE, FROM GOD THE FATHER, AND FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE FATHER, IN TRUTH AND LOVE. I REJOICED GREATLY THAT I FOUND OF THY CHILDREN WALKING IN TRUTH, AS WE HAVE RECEIVED A COMMANDMENT FROM THE FATHER.' The Bible's book of 2 John concludes: 2 John 1:5-13 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. **For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess [agree] not [in words and actions] that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. **Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. **If there come any unto you, and bring not this [Christian] doctrine, **receive him not into your house, **neither bid him God speed: **For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister [Church] greet thee. Amen.

3 JOHN 3 JOHN: INTRODUCTION, ARGUMENT, AND OUTLINE - IT IS PROBABLE THAT BOTH 2 JOHN AND 3 JOHN WERE WRITTEN AND SENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME, DUE IN LARGE MEASURE TO THE REMARKABLE STYLISTIC SIMILARITIES - THE LETTER IS ADDRESSED TO ONE GAIUS THE GREEK NAME-AS WELL AS THE GREEK NAMES OF DIOTREPHES AND DEMETRIUS MENTIONED IN THE LETTER-SUGGEST THAT THIS LETTER WAS ADDRESSED TO A GENTILE CHRISTIAN - HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A MEMBER IN ONE OF THE CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR WHICH JOHN HAD ADOPTED [OVERSEEN] AS HIS OWN AFTER THE DEATH OF [THE APOSTLE] PAUL - **THEME: SHOW [CONTINUE TO SHOW] HOSPITALITY TO THE MESSENGERS OF [CHRISTIANITY] THE TRUTH Occasion: Gaius had shown hospitality to itinerant preachers of the gospel, even though such men were strangers to him (vv. 5-7). A certain Diotrephes had apparently stopped the brothers from showing hospitality to these preachers and in fact had booted them out of the church (vv. 9-10). John had written to the church about Diotrephes, but he either did not allow the letter to get read publicly or repudiated John's authority. John is therefore sending Demetrius to the church (v. 12). He is apparently to stay with Gaius. 3 John functions as a cover letter for him. In understanding this

occasion, two negative statements must be made: (1) The occasion for 3 John does not at all seem to be an issue of heresy, but one of pride. There is no real evidence that Diotrephes was a heretic. (2) Although some have suggested that Gaius belonged to another church,5 the simple statement in v. 9, "I wrote to the church," seems to indicate that the same church is in view. One of the issues rarely raised is why Diotrephes would dispute John's authority. One possibility is that he recognized the authority of no apostle. But another possibility is that he disputed John's authority. Perhapsand this is only a suggestion-he had recognized Paul's authority, but no other apostle's. Thus, the problem would crop up after Paul's death.7 Too much could be made of this, of course, but in the least one ought to recognize that the apostles were not universally recognized and respected in their lifetimes. -- Theme: Show hospitality to the messengers of the truth. [link]

BASILICA OF ST. JOHN, EPHESUS - THE BASILICA OF ST. JOHN WAS A GREAT CHURCH IN EPHESUS CONSTRUCTED BY EMPEROR JUSTINIAN IN THE 6TH CENTURY [WHO REIGNED IN ROME FROM 9 AUGUST 525 A.D. - 4 NOVEMBER 565 A.D. (40 YEARS, 97 DAYS) - WIKI.COM] - IT STANDS OVER THE BELIEVED BURIAL SITE OF ST. JOHN, WHO IS IDENTIFIED AS THE APOSTLE, EVANGELIST, AUTHOR OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL AND PROPHET/AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION (PHOTOS) Myth & Mystery: There was a St. John identified wih Ephesus since as early as the 1st century, who seems to have originally been the author of Revelation who was exiled on Patmos. By the second century this John was equated with John the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of John (presumed also to be the same person as John the Apostle, beloved disciple of Jesus). Legend had it that John wrote his gospel in Ephesus at the request of other disciples, then died in the church named for him on Ayasoluk Hill. Later legends developed that he was not really dead, but sleeping, and dust could even be seen moving above his grave as he breathed. -- The 13th-century Golden Legend narrates John's death as follows: According to Isidore, when John was 98 years old, that is, in the 67th year after the Lord's passion, the Lord appeared to him with his disciples and said: 'Come to me, my beloved: it is time for you to feast at my table with your brothers!' John rose and was about to go, when the Lord added: 'You will come to me on Sunday.' When Sunday arrived, all the people gathered in the church that had been built in his name, and John preached to them at cockcrow, exhorting them to be steadfast in the faith, and zealous in carrying out the commandments of God. Then he had them dig a square grave near the altar and throw the earth outside the church. He went down into the grave and, with arms outstretched to God, said: 'Lord Jesus Christ, you have called me to your feast: here I am, and I thank you for deigning to invite me to your table. You know that I have longed for you with all my heart!' When he had said this, he was surrounded by a light so brilliant that he was lost to human sight. Then, when the light faded, the grave was found to be full of manna. This manna is still produced there to this day, and it covers the floor of the grave, looking rather like the fine grains of sand at the bottom of a spring... History: St. John's grave was marked by a memorial and enclosed by a church of modest proportions in the 4th century. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian (527-65 AD) believed that a tomb dating from the 300s was John's, so he built a magnificent church on the site dedicated to the saint. The traditional tomb of St. John, located under the main central dome, elevated the site to one of the most sacred sites in the Middle Ages and thousands made pilgrimage here. But with the decline in importance of Ephesus and after Arab raids, the basilica fell into ruins until the Seljuk Aydinoglu clan converted it into a mosque in 1330. The building was then completely destroyed in 1402 by Tamerlane's Mongol army. The ruined church was thereafter pillaged for building materials, but recent restoration enables visitors to understand its size and visualize its former splendor. [link]

3 JOHN 1 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN'S THIRD AND FINAL EPISTLE (LETTER) IS TO GAIUS - PROBABLY SOMEONE THAT JOHN HIMSELF HAD PERSONALLY LED TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - GAIUS HAD BEEN KIND, HOSPITABLE AND GIVING TO EVERYONE HOWEVER HE APPARENTLY HAD BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF SO MUCH THAT HE STOPPED [OR LESSENED] HIS GENEROSITY AND HOSPITALITY - THE DISCIPLE JOHN WROTE GAIUS IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE HIM TO BE CAREFUL BUT TO CONTINUE TO BE GENEROUS AND HOSPITABLE TO OTHERS ESPECIALLY TO THOSE IN THE FAITH THEREFORE KEEPING HIS FAITH PURE AND NOT TO END UP ACCIDENTLY HAVING THE SAME INHOSPITABLE CONDUCT OF DIOTREPHES A KNOWN DECEIVER -- '3 JOHN 1:1-4 THE ELDER [DISCIPLE JOHN] UNTO THE WELL-BELOVED

GAIUS, WHOM I LOVE IN THE TRUTH. BELOVED, I WISH ABOVE ALL THINGS THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH, *EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERETH. FOR I REJOICED GREATLY, WHEN THE BRETHREN CAME AND TESTIFIED OF THE TRUTH THAT IS IN THEE, EVEN AS THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH. I HAVE NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HEAR THAT MY CHILDREN WALK IN TRUTH.'

The Bible's book of 3 John concludes: 3 John 1:5-14 Beloved, *thou doest faithfully whatsoever [hospitality] thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; Which have borne witness of thy charity before the Church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: Because that for His name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the Truth. I wrote unto the Church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, *neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. **Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. *He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the Truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is True. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. and I hope straightway to see thee, and mouth to mouth we shall speak. Peace to thee! salute thee do the friends; be saluting the friends by name.

JUDE NEW TESTAMENT OVERVIEW: JUDE - WRITTEN BY JUDE, THE HALF-BROTHER OF JESUS, THIS LETTER IS AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE TO CONTEND FOR THE TRUE FAITH, AND NOT TO LET FALSE TEACHINGS CREEP IN Background to the Bible: Christians make the claim that the Bible, as we know it today, is actually God's word written to us. They also claim that it's God's only word to us. But how did the Bible we know today come to be? Speaking the Same Language (Bible Definitions) -- Bible: This word comes from the Greek word Biblos, which means "book". - Covenant: This word refers to an agreement made between two parties. A covenant can be unconditional or conditional. In the Old Testament, there were quite a few covenants made between God and people. The two most important were the covenant between God and Abraham, and the so-called "New Covenant", spoken of in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Both these covenants were unconditional. Early Christian writers correctly recognized that Jesus, as the promised Savior, was the center of the New Covenant. And so, the biblical writings before Jesus were termed the Old Testament. Naturally, those writings after Jesus were termed the New Testament. Today, a testament is the written will of someone. In early Christian times, a testament was interchangeable with a covenant. - Old Testament: The collection of 39 books written between about 1500 B.C. and 400 B.C. - New Testament: The collection of 27 books written between about 45 A.D. and 95 A.D. - Apocrypha: Seven books which were written during the same time as the Old Testament, but which 1st century Jews recognized were not part of God's word. - Gospel: This word comes from a Greek word meaning "good news". - Inspired: By this word, Christians mean "God-breathed". The idea is that rather than a piece of writing simply being the product of a human mind, an inspired piece of writing is the product of God writing through the conscious efforts of a human. This is how some writings can be seen as the inspired Word of God. [link]

BIBLE STUDY - THE BOOK OF JUDE: IN SEARCHING FOR STUDY MATERIAL ON THE BOOK OF JUDE, I WAS AMAZED AT HOW MUCH COULD BE GLEANED FROM THIS LITTLE BOOK - IT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS THE "DIFFICULT AND NEGLECTED LETTER" AND I NOW BELIEVE THAT THIS IS CERTAINLY TRUE - IT HAS A LOT TO SAY TO THE MODERN CHURCH; AND ADDRESSES MUCH OF WHAT WE CALL "TODAY'S CULTURE" HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LIBERTY - IT ALSO GIVES GUIDANCE AS TO WHAT ROLE THE CHURCH SHOULD PLAY TODAY - THESE 25 VERSES ARE PACKED FULL OF SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES; IN FACT, SO MUCH SO, THAT THIS WILL BE A RATHER EXTENSIVE STUDY

Notice in reading Jude 1, the word "sanctified" means "set apart" or "kept". In other words, it means "to all believers". Jude realized that every believer is a potential backslider, and that any of us could fall away from the Lord; so he admonished all of us to watch ourselves and to help others, lest we fall away from God. - Remember the great men in the Bible who fell away - at least for a season: There was Peter, who denied the Lord; David, who went into sin;

Solomon, who turned to pagan religions; Samson, who had a weakness for immoral women, etc. ... Let's think for a minute about what it means to be "called by God". We are called to be apostles (Rom. 1:1 - Paul). The Greek word is Apostolos - meaning one who is sent out. The Christian is the ambassador of Christ - sent out into the world to speak, act, and live for Christ. We are also called to be saints (Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:2). The word for saint is hagios, commonly translated "holy", the root meaning being "different". To be called to be a saint is to be called to be different, i.e., different from the world; with holy values. The Christian is called according to the purpose of God (Rom. 8:28). God has a plan and purpose for every person who accepts Christ. No Christian can say "I can't do anything"; because God uses our weakness to display His power. God has prepared a task and a purpose for all those He calls. Contentment and satisfaction is working toward the goals that God has set for our lives. ... CONCLUSION: It's hard to believe that 25 verses in this little book have dealt with so much; but I believe we have uncovered the passion that Jude felt for the Church and his fellow Christians. There is so much for us to apply to our lives and in the life of our church. Just think - if every member of your church burned with the passion and zeal shown by Jude - what do you suppose would happen in your city? - In your county, your state, your country? There are four facts emphasized in this book: (1) We know the Lord's coming is sure, (2) We know who will accompany the Lord, (3) We know the purpose of His coming, and (4) We know the result of the Lord's coming. Why do you think Jude wrote this letter? His brother James' epistle deals with good works as an evidence of saving faith; while, in contrast, Jude's letter deals with evil works as evidence of apostasy. I believe the Book of Jude was written as a counter-balance to the Book of James - to show that we must "earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude verse 3) at all times, because there are "tares among the wheat" (Matthew 13:25) (false brethren who have stolen into the Church). This letter was written for the Church, not only for that day, but for us today - for the end times. [link]

JUDE'S PURPOSE: TO CONDEMN THE PRACTICE OF THE FALSE TEACHERS - TO CONDEMN THE DOCTRINE(S) OF THE FALSE TEACHERS - TO ENCOURAGE THE TRUE BELIEVERS TO STAND FIRM AND CONTEND FOR THE FAITH - HIS MESSAGE: DIRECT EXHORTATION TO BELIEVERS TO FIGHT [STAND FIRM AND CONTEND] FOR THE TRUTH - ORIGINALLY HE [JUDE] THOUGHT HE WOULD WRITE THEM CONCERNING OUR SALVATION - HOWEVER, WHILE HE WAS STILL CONSIDERING WHAT TO SAY, HE WAS INFORMED ABOUT A GROUP OF FALSE TEACHERS WHO HAD BEGUN TO INFILTRATE THE CHURCH - THEY WERE USING GRACE AS AN EXCUSE TO LIVE GODLESS LIVES - HE DECIDED THAT HE MUST WRITE THEM IMMEDIATELY AND URGENTLY - THE FALSE TEACHERS WERE USING THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE AS AN EXCUSE TO LIVE GODLESS AND IMMORAL LIVES - IN ADDITION TO THE PRACTICAL [PAGANISM] ERROR, THEY WERE ALSO DENYING [JESUS] CHRIST THEREFORE, JUDE WROTE OUT OF URGENT CONCERN FOR THE [WELLBEING OF THE] SAINTS Jude's answer to the teaching of the false teachers is based on three instances when God judged drastically those who sinned against Him. -- ISRAEL's UNBELIEF => DISOBEDIENCE: First, he uses the case of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea. God judged some of His own redeemed people, whom He had delivered out of Egypt when they did not believe and disobeyed Him. God destroyed His people who did not believe. ANGELS: REBELLION => INSUBORDINATION - Second, God even judged the angels. Rather than recognize the position of privilege God had given them, they left their proper place [heaven] and sought to establish themselves elsewhere [earth]. God bound for judgment the angels who abandoned their proper place. They rebelled against God's authority and sought to establish their own. Sounds more like Satan's sin than Genesis 6 (compare Ezek. 28 and Is. 14) {Jude is referring to Genesis 6} therefore, they were confined in darkness and await judgment. - SODOM AND GOMORRAH: PERVERSION - Finally, the perversion of Sodom and Gomorrah caused their immediate physical destruction. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities for immorality. They are examples of the eternal punishment which awaits those who follow their lifestyle. Those who use grace as an excuse for sin commit all three offenses. They refuse to believe God. They rebel against His authority. They practice immorality and perversion. Therefore they may expect similar consequences. -- DESCRIPTION OF THE FALSE TEACHERS 8-16 Having warned them of the danger of the false teachers' course, Jude describes the false teachers. THEIR REBELLION 8-11 - Four examples are given to emphasize the importance of submission to the authority God has established (8-11). The Archangel Michael is mentioned **as a positive example of submission (8-10). Michael recognized Satan as a superior {or equal} creature to himself, by divine order at creation. Therefore, instead of rebuking or accusing him directly, he left that in God's hands. By way of contrast, **the false teachers reject authority they don't even understand. [Use of non-biblical literature: Verse 9 - Assumption of Moses Verses 14-15 -Enoch Use of a source neither documents its authenticity nor its reliability. Compare Paul's use of Greek philosophers and poets. Inspiration only authenticates the contents of the passage cited as there interpreted-no more! He includes this here because its

true, not because it's in the source cited!]. -- Three negative illustrations of failure to obey God are presented. Cain Rejected revelation {the proper Biblical animal sacrifice to God} 11a Tries to worship his own way, rather than God's way. Finally kills his brother rather than repent and submit. Balaam - *Greed 1:11b Puts *personal profit before seeking to do what would please God. Korah - Rebellion 11c Rebels against God's designated authority. **Tries to intrude into office, ignoring the authority God has established. Each of these was judged by God for his disobedience. **These **false teachers [today] **do the same things, therefore, they can expect the same results. THEIR CHARACTER 12-13 Jude next uses several illustrations to demonstrate the true character of these false teachers. They are useless and destructive! [link]

JUDE 1 - THE EPISTLE (LETTER) OF JUDE - JUDE BEGINS TO WRITE A LETTER TO FELLOW CHRISTIANS REJOICING IN THEIR COMMON SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST - HOWEVER AS JUDE BEGINS TO WRITE THE HOLY SPIRIT IMPRESSES UPON HIM TO INSTEAD WRITE A LETTER OF EXHORTATION ENCOURAGING FELLOW CHRISTIANS TO RESIST SELFISH AND FALSE TEACHERS AND TO STAND FAST IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'JUDE 1:1-4 JUDE, THE SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST, AND BROTHER OF JAMES, TO THEM THAT ARE SANCTIFIED BY GOD THE FATHER, AND PRESERVED IN JESUS CHRIST, AND CALLED: MERCY UNTO YOU, AND PEACE, AND LOVE, BE MULTIPLIED. BELOVED, 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. FOR THERE ARE CERTAIN MEN CREPT IN UNAWARES, WHO WERE BEFORE OF OLD ORDAINED TO THIS CONDEMNATION, UNGODLY MEN, TURNING THE GRACE OF OUR GOD INTO LASCIVIOUSNESS, AND **DENYING THE ONLY LORD GOD, AND OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.' The Bible's book of Jude concludes: Jude 1:5-25 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him [Satan] a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee [Satan]. **But these [false teachers] speak evil of those [spiritual] things which they know not: but what they know naturally [physically], as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. **Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core (Korah - Numbers 16:1-2). These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead [lit. already twice dead - born again, rejected God, dead again], plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh [2nd Coming, 8th Kingdom on earth] with ten thousands of His Saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, **having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the Words which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the [Holy] Spirit. ***But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most Holy Faith, praying in the Holy [Spirit] Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, ***looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some [lost souls and backsliders] have compassion, making a difference: And others [lost souls and backsliders] save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating {their evil ways and vile practices} even the garment spotted by the flesh. {Doxology Begins} Now unto Him [Jesus Christ] that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen {Doxology Ends}.

REVELATION INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION - THE BOOK OF REVELATION IS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL BOOK IN THE BIBLE REVELATION HAS CAUSED MAJOR DIVISIONS BETWEEN DENOMINATIONS, CHURCHES AND FAMILIES - WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK SO CONTROVERSIAL? {REVELATION IS ABOUT THE FUTURE AND IT IS ABOUT COMPLICATED END TIME EVENTS, EVENTS (ACTS 1:6-7) THAT ARE PURPOSELY CLOUDED FROM HUMANITY EVEN CHRISTIANS, THE VERY NATURE OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION REQUIRES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SPECULATION AND WITH SPECULATION COMES CONTROVERSY} - A PROMISE OF BLESSING IS MADE IN THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK TO THOSE WHO READ AND HEAR THE WORDS OF THIS PROPHECY - THE BOOK HAS 404 VERSES, AND ACCORDING TO SOME SCHOLARS, [OVER] HALF OF THOSE VERSES HAVE AN OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE The Book of Revelation is a letter revealed to man named John [Disciple John], who was on the Island of Patmos, off the coast of Asia Minor. He was persecuted because of his testimony of Jesus Christ. [The Book of Revelation also contains within it the seven letters] The letter was written to seven churches located in the mainland cities of; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. What is the meaning of this letter? Should the words be taken literally or are they symbolic? Did the letter concern events just in the day of John or did it include events in the future? Was John, the Apostle John or another John? Does this letter refer to Israel or to the church? These are just a few of the many questions raised by those who have studied this book. -- Who wrote the book of Revelation? The early church attributed authorship to the apostle John. Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) quotes John the Apostle that Jesus Christ would dwell in Jerusalem one thousand years. Irenaeus (120-200 A.D.) is quoted in every chapter of Revelation. Tertullian (155220 A.D.) also quotes from almost every chapter of Revelation and attributes John the Apostle as author. Hippolytus (170-235 A.D.) also attributed Revelation to John, he quotes Revelation chapter 17 and 18 a great deal. Clement of Alexandria (150-211 A.D.) and Origen (185-254 A.D.) also attribute John the Apostle as the author of Revelation. Ignatius (30-108 A.D.) writes regarding John the Apostle, And why such facts as the following: Peter was crucified; Paul and James were slain with the sword; John was banished to Patmos; Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews who killed the Lord? But, [in truth,] none of these sufferings were in vain; for the Lord was really crucified by the ungodly. The evidence against John the Apostle being the author is minimal, largely based on grammatical and writing style differences with the John's Gospel. -- When was the book of Revelation written? The other issue regarding Revelation is the date of the book. External tradition places the time of Revelation to the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81-96), brother of Titus, son of Vespation. Clement of Alexandria reports John returned to Ephesus after the death of Domitian, referred to as the "tyrant". the Apostle John. For when, on the tyrant's death, he returned to Ephesus from the isle of Patmos, he went away, being invited, to the contiguous territories of the nations, here to appoint bishops, there to set in order whole Churches, there to ordain such as were marked out by the Spirit. [link]

REVELATION 1 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN BEGINS TO RECORD FOR ALL MANKIND THE REVELATION MESSAGE GIVEN DIRECTLY TO HIM FROM THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST -- 'REVELATION 1:1-3 THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WHICH GOD [THE FATHER] GAVE UNTO HIM, TO SHEW UNTO HIS SERVANTS [CHURCH ERA] THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY [REVELATION 22:7] COME TO PASS; AND HE [JESUS CHRIST] SENT AND SIGNIFIED IT BY HIS ANGEL [MESSENGER] UNTO HIS SERVANT JOHN [THE DISCIPLE JOHN]: [THE SAME JOHN] WHO BARE RECORD OF THE WORD OF GOD, AND OF THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, AND OF ALL [DISCIPLE] THINGS THAT HE SAW. BLESSED IS HE THAT READETH, AND THEY THAT HEAR THE WORDS OF THIS PROPHECY, AND KEEP THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN THEREIN: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND.' - NOTE: AT TIMES SOME SAY THAT JESUS CHRIST DID NOT HAVE ANY DIRECT INPUT INTO THE WRITTEN BIBLE HOWEVER JESUS HIMSELF DICTATES THE BOOK OF REVELATION TO HIS DISCIPLE JOHN AND REVELATION SEAL'S THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE ENTIRE BIBLE PLACING JESUS' SEAL AND APPROVAL UPON THE ENTIRE HOLY BIBLE FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION. Revelation 1:9-12 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the [prison] isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the Testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on {Sunday} the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,

and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. ... Revelation 1:17-20 And when I saw Him [Jesus Christ], I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive [resurrection] forevermore, Amen; **and have the keys of hell and of death. *Write the things which thou hast seen, and *the things which are, *and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars [lights in heaven] are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks [lights on earth] which thou sawest are the seven churches. - Note: The Book of Revelation is not a sealed book as the Book of Daniel was sealed (Daniel 12:4) but the book of revelation was sealed for most of Church history in a sense in that the English version of the Book of Revelation is really the language version that best matches the Book of Revelation and presents the Book of Revelation to the English (1611 KJV) reader like at no other time in history including the Greek and Latin versions of the Book of Revelation that were almost completely ignored, neglected and even in some cases rejected by the historical Christian Church.

REVELATION 2-3 - THE RESURRECTED LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST DICTATES SEVEN LETTERS TO HIS ENTIRE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ENCOMPASSING BOTH THE ENTIRE CHURCH BODY AND THE ENTIRE CHURCH AGE FROM THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (JOHN 20:22) UNTIL THE EVENTUAL RAPTURE [CLOSURE] OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH -'REVELATION 2:1-4 UNTO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS WRITE; THESE THINGS SAITH HE [THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST] THAT HOLDETH THE [HEAVENS] SEVEN STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND, WHO WALKETH IN THE MIDST OF [EARTH] THE SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS; I KNOW THY WORKS, AND THY LABOUR, AND THY PATIENCE, AND HOW THOU CANST NOT BEAR THEM WHICH ARE EVIL: AND THOU HAST TRIED [DISCERNED] THEM WHICH SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES, AND ARE NOT, AND HAST FOUND THEM LIARS: AND HAST BORNE, AND HAST PATIENCE, AND FOR MY NAME'S SAKE HAST LABOURED, AND HAST NOT FAINTED. NEVERTHELESS I HAVE SOMEWHAT AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAST LEFT THY FIRST LOVE [LIT. AGAPE].' Revelation 3:14-22 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith [Jesus Christ] the Amen, the faithful and True witness, the beginning [lit. first cause] of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to **buy of Me gold tried in the fire [baptism of cleansing fire], that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve [humanity], that thou mayest see [the human condition]. As many as I love [lit. friendship - Phileo, G5368], I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. **Behold, I stand at the door, and knock (Song of Solomon 5:2): if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup [nurish] with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne [authority], even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the [Holy] Spirit saith unto the Churches. - Note: The seventh and final Christian Church is considered to be the predominant characteristics of the modern Christian Church of our day and in our era. All of the Seven Letters of Jesus Christ are applicable at all times and at all locations to all Christians however the letter to the Church at Laodicea is considered to be the most relevant to the most Christians in our own current day and age.

BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG: THE 7 CHURCH LETTERS OF REVELATION FROM JESUS CHRIST - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS DIVIDED INTO SEVEN CHURCH GROUPS - WHICH CHURCH GROUP ARE YOU IN? Like the seven miracles that we went through in the Gospel of John that John himself personally witnessed, Jesus personally spoke to the disciple John and had John write an evaluation of the Christian Church in the book of Revelation. Likewise to critique the entire Christian Church (people) Jesus divided it up into seven churches. Each Church existed in the day that Jesus spoke to John about it and each Church type is still practiced throughout today. Note the book of Revelation and in particular the part about the seven churches is unique because Jesus is asking John to write it for Him. The entire Bible is written by God through man but Revelation makes that point even more evident. So onto the description of the seven churches as critiqued by none other than the resurrected Jesus Himself. ... The Parables of Jesus (Matthew 13:1-50) are from the teaching of Jesus during His time on earth. The letters of the Apostle Paul (New

Testament) are from a representative of Jesus and finally the 7 letters of Revelation (Revelation 2:1-3:22) are teaching and instruction from the resurrected Jesus, the three teaching groups span three timeframes with the one unique message of Jesus Christ and His eternal Kingdom. [link]

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT PODCAST - THE SEVEN LETTERS OF REVELATION (MP3S) Going through and studying what Christ is saying in His letters to the Church. [link]

REVELATION 4 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN AFTER WRITING AND DOCUMENTING THE COMPLETE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AGE THE DISCIPLE IS 'CALLED' INTO HEAVEN TO BE TOLD WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERA HAS CONCLUDED ON EARTH -'REVELATION 4:1-2 AFTER THIS I [DISCIPLE JOHN] LOOKED, AND, BEHOLD, A DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN: AND THE FIRST VOICE WHICH I HEARD WAS AS IT WERE OF A TRUMPET (1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-51) TALKING WITH ME; WHICH SAID, COME UP HITHER, AND I WILL SHEW THEE THINGS WHICH MUST BE HEREAFTER [AFTER THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AGE]. AND IMMEDIATELY I WAS IN THE SPIRIT [AND IN HEAVEN BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD]: AND, BEHOLD, A THRONE WAS SET IN HEAVEN, AND ONE SAT ON THE THRONE.' NOTE: IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE INTERPRETATION, TIMING AND EVENTS OF REVELATION ARE HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL AND THEREFORE ALL ANYONE CAN DO IS TO INTERPRET THE BOOK OF REVELATION THE BEST THEY CAN FOR THEIR OWN UNDERSTANDING. ALSO NOTE: IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT MATURE CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND AND HAVE A CONCEPT OF THE 2ND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST AND OF THE END TIME EVENTS THAT PRECEDE HIS 2ND COMING AND IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT THAT MATURE CHRISTIANS ARE WILLING TO PLACE FELLOWSHIP AND CHURCH UNITY OVER AND ABOVE PERSONAL SPECULATION ABOUT THE END TIMES. Revelation 4:3-11 And He that sat was to look upon [multi-faceted] like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a [Heavenly] rainbow (earthly rainbow - Genesis 9:13) round about the Throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty (24) seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders [probably the leaders of the 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles] sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the Throne there was ***a sea of glass [where the Saints stand before the Throne of God] like unto crystal: and in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, were four beasts [lit. eternal spiritual beings - Zoon (Zoe), G2226] full of eyes [vision] before and behind. And the first beast [Spirit being] was like a lion {Gospel of Matthew}, and the second beast like a calf {Gospel of Mark}, and the third beast had a face as a man {Gospel of Luke}, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle {Gospel of John}. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy [Father], Holy [Son Jesus], Holy [Spirit], Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, who liveth forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the Throne, and Worship [give thanks for their life] Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns [accomplishments from on earth] before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive Glory and Honour and Power: for thou hast created all things, and **for Thy pleasure they are and were created. - Note: The Disciple John was for a brief time taken directly into Heaven and he personally observed and recorded some of the events continually taking place in Heaven around and about the Throne of God.

REVELATION 5 - THE EVENTS OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION ARE GOING TO BRING ABOUT THE FINAL RECONCILIATION BETWEEN HEAVEN [THRONE OF GOD] AND EARTH THE DWELLING OF MANKIND -- 'REVELATION 5:1-5 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 [RESTRAINTS - JUDGMENTS]. AND I SAW A STRONG ANGEL PROCLAIMING WITH A LOUD VOICE, WHO IS WORTHY TO OPEN THE BOOK, AND TO LOOSE THE SEALS [RESTRAINTS] THEREOF? AND NO MAN IN HEAVEN [ALONE], NOR IN EARTH [ALONE], NEITHER UNDER THE EARTH, WAS ABLE TO OPEN THE BOOK, NEITHER TO LOOK THEREON. AND I [DISCIPLE JOHN] WEPT MUCH, BECAUSE NO {ONE DIMENSIONAL} MAN WAS FOUND WORTHY TO OPEN AND TO READ THE BOOK, NEITHER TO LOOK THEREON. AND ONE OF THE ELDERS SAITH UNTO ME, WEEP NOT: BEHOLD, THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDA (JUDAH), THE ROOT [DESCENDANT] OF [KING] DAVID, HATH PREVAILED [BEING FROM HEAVEN AND

OVERCOMING ON EARTH] TO OPEN THE BOOK [TO RECONCILE AND UNITE

HEAVEN

AND EARTH], AND TO LOOSE THE SEVEN SEALS

THEREOF.'

With the Christian Church in Heaven the final reconciliation work between Heaven and earth begins to take place both in Heaven and on earth: Revelation 5:6-14 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the Throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain [Jesus being without sin resurrected in His physical body and the Disciple John was given a glimpse of Jesus as He had been slain on the cross], having seven horns [complete power] and seven eyes [complete vision], which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He [Jesus Christ] came and took the book out of the right hand of Him [Father God] that sat upon the Throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours [prayers of all saints], 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 [reconciling and reuniting Heaven and earth]: for thou wast slain [on earth], and hast redeemed ***us [Christians] to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and Nation; And hast ***made us unto our God Kings [rulers] and [Righteous - Melchizedek] Priests: and we shall reign on the earth [during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ]. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many Angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was [innumerable] ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, **Worthy is the Lamb [Jesus Christ] that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. **And every creature which is *in Heaven, and *on the earth, *and under the earth [hades], and such [demons] as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever (Romans 14:11). And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and Worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. - Note: The important sealed document (scroll)is probably much more than just a common title deed to the earth and whatever it is it was never in the possession of Satan as Satan has never had direct ownership of the earth. Adam and Eve were given 'dominion' (Genesis 1:26) over the earth but not inheritance (Matthew 5:5) or ownership. Adam and Eve lost dominion but the ownership of the actual earth has always remained (Psalms 24:1) a sole possession of God in Heaven.

REVELATION 6 - THE REVELATION JUDGMENTS OF JESUS CHRIST THE 7 SEAL JUDGMENTS BEGIN - EACH SEAL IS A RESTRAINT THAT HAS KEPT THE EVIL OF MANKIND WITHIN CERTAIN BOUNDARIES - WHAT JESUS CHRIST IS DOING IS BREAKING EACH BOUNDARY (SEAL) AND REMOVING CERTAIN RESTRAINTS ON MANKIND AND ALLOWING MANKIND TO MORE COMPLETELY BEHAVE THE WAY MANKIND WANTS TO BEHAVE

- THE 7 SEAL JUDGMENTS ARE OVERSEEN AND ADMINISTERED BY JESUS CHRIST - WHILE THE 7 TRUMPET JUDGMENTS ARE

OVERSEEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ADMINISTERED BY ANGELS - WHILE THE 7 VIAL (MEASURED BOWL) JUDGMENTS ARE OVERSEEN BY

GOD THE FATHER AND ARE ALSO ADMINISTERED BY ANGELS -- 'REVELATION 6:1 AND I SAW WHEN THE LAMB [JESUS CHRIST] OPENED ONE OF THE (7) SEALS, AND I HEARD, AS IT WERE THE NOISE OF THUNDER, ONE OF THE FOUR BEASTS [SPIRIT BEINGS] SAYING, COME AND SEE.' Revelation 6:2-17 And I saw, and behold [1st seal] a white horse: and he [probably the Antichrist] that sat on him [now unrestrained] had a bow {covenant - false peace treaty}; and a crown [accomplishment - Stephanos, G4735] was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer [over mankind]. And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth {false treaty is proven to be false}, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure [a daily food ration] of wheat for a penny [a full day of labor wages], and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the [abundant] oil and the wine [of the rich]. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and **Hell followed with him [just to die in the Tribulation is not a ticket into heaven - people still have to confess Jesus Christ to enter into Heaven]. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when He had opened the fifth seal [Martyred Saints of revelation], I saw under the altar the souls [separate from the Christian Church] of them that were **slain {first 3 Â˝ years of Tribulation} for **the Word of God, and for the Testimony [Jesus

Christ is God] which they held: And they [Martyred Saints] cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, Holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes [righteousness] were given unto every one of them [after their death of martyrdom]; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season {the second 3Â˝ years the Great Tribulation}, until their fellow servants [the other Martyred Saints of revelation] also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal {the 6th seal is probably opened with the 4th Trumpet judgment and 7th Vial (bowl) judgment}, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? - Note: The 7th Seal (Revelations 8:1) is silence in Heaven {and probably on earth} just moments before the conclusion of Heaven and earth becoming reconciled together once again. The 7 Seals, the 7 Trumpets and the 7 Vials all intermingle with one another it isn't all 7 seals then all 7 Trumpets concluded by the 7 Vials. The Bible explains the three judgments in three groups but parts of the judgments are occurring simultaneously in Heaven and on earth with all three judgments concluding in the same act of restoration and reconciliation of the earth with Heaven.

REVELATION 7 - THE 144,000 JEWISH 'FIRSTFRUITS' ARE SEALED AS WITNESSES OF JESUS CHRIST DURING THE TRIBULATION DAYS THE 144,000 ARE THE FIRST (FIRSTFRUITS)OF JEWISH SALVATION (REVELATION 14:4) - UP UNTIL THIS POINT IN TIME THE JEWS HAVE REDEMPTION OR BECAME CHRISTIANS AND RECEIVED CHRISTIAN SALVATION HOWEVER AT THIS POINT WITH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ERA HAVING ENDED THE JEWS NOW BEGIN TO RECEIVE SALVATION AS JEWS -- 'REVELATION 7:4 AND I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM WHICH WERE SEALED: AND THERE WERE SEALED AN HUNDRED AND FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND [144,000] OF ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.' Revelation 7:9-17 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude [the Tribulation Saints], which no man could number, [Gentiles] of all Nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the Throne, and before the Lamb, **clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, *Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the Angels stood round about the Throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the Throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest [John did not know who the Martyred Saints of Revelation were - it is a group separate and distinct from the 144,000, separate from the Jews and even separate and distinct from the Christian Church]. And he [Angel] said to me, These are they which came out of Great Tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. **Therefore are they before the Throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His Temple: and He that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. - Note: It is substantial that the Disciple and Apostle John [a Christian Church leader] did not know who the Martyred Saints were. John was unable to recognize the group because this is a group of redeemed and saved Gentiles who come to Jesus Christ after the rapture and close of the Christian Church. This group of Saints are clearly separate but closer to God [serving at the Throne of God] and distinct from the Christian Church, the Church seems to be located further out on the glassy sea. If the Martyred Saints were in any way affiliated with the Christian Church the Disciple John would have been able to recognize them.

REVELATION 8-9 - THE 7TH SEAL IS MENTIONED BEFORE THE JUDGMENTS HOWEVER IT APPEARS THAT THOUGH REVEALED IN

REVELATION OF THE

7 TRUMPET

JUDGMENTS AND THE

7 VIAL

SEPARATE GROUPS THE ACTUAL EVENTS OCCUR LARGELY IN ONE

COMINGLED AND CONTINUOUS GROUP OF JUDGMENTS -- 'REVELATION 8:1 AND WHEN HE [JESUS CHRIST] HAD OPENED THE SEVENTH

SEAL, THERE WAS SILENCE IN HEAVEN ABOUT THE SPACE OF HALF AN HOUR.' Revelation 8:2-6 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. ... Revelation 9:20-21 And the rest of the men [on earth] which were not killed by these plagues [7 Trumpets] **yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: **Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. - Note: The Tribulation events of Revelation are specifically designed by God to bring as many people as possible into repentance and Salvation though some will not repent a large "innumerable" number of people will repent and receive Salvation and eternity with God.

REVELATION 10 - WITH THE JUDGMENTS OF REVELATION BECOMING ACCOMPLISHED THE MYSTERY AND SEPARATION BETWEEN GOD AND MANKIND IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END AS ALL THE MANY HOLY PROPHETS HAVE BEEN PROPHESYING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF SIN AND SEPARATION -- 'REVELATION 10:5-7 AND THE ANGEL WHICH I SAW STAND UPON THE SEA AND UPON THE EARTH LIFTED UP HIS HAND TO HEAVEN, AND SWARE BY HIM THAT LIVETH FOREVER AND EVER, WHO CREATED HEAVEN, AND THE THINGS THAT THEREIN ARE, AND THE EARTH, AND THE THINGS THAT THEREIN ARE, AND THE SEA, AND THE THINGS WHICH ARE THEREIN, THAT THERE SHOULD BE [SEPARATION] TIME NO LONGER: BUT IN THE DAYS OF THE VOICE OF THE SEVENTH ANGEL, WHEN HE SHALL BEGIN TO SOUND, **THE MYSTERY [UNKNOWN SEPARATION] OF GOD SHOULD BE FINISHED, AS HE HATH DECLARED TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS.' Revelation 10:8-11 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book (scroll) which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat [internalize] it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter [digesting the bitter events of Tribulation], but it shall be in thy mouth sweet [tasting the soon reconciliation of Heaven and earth] as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. **And he [Angel] said unto me, ***Thou must prophesy again before *many peoples, *and Nations, and tongues, and Kings. - Note: The prophecies of the Book of Revelation affect all mankind and are addressed to all mankind.

REVELATION 11 - THE 3RD TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM IS MEASURED AND DESCRIBED - AT THE TIME THAT THE DISCIPLE JOHN WAS WRITING THIS IN ABOUT 95 A.D. THE 2ND TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM HAD ALREADY BEEN DESTROYED IN 70 A.D. BY THE LEGIONS OF FORCES OF ROME -- 'REVELATION 11:1-2 AND THERE WAS GIVEN ME A REED LIKE UNTO A ROD: AND THE ANGEL STOOD, SAYING, RISE, AND MEASURE THE TEMPLE OF GOD [3RD TEMPLE], AND THE ALTAR, AND THEM THAT WORSHIP THEREIN. BUT THE COURT WHICH IS WITHOUT THE TEMPLE LEAVE OUT, AND MEASURE IT NOT; FOR IT IS GIVEN UNTO THE GENTILES: AND THE HOLY CITY [JERUSALEM] SHALL THEY TREAD UNDER FOOT FORTY AND TWO MONTHS [3½ YEARS].' - NOTE: THERE ARE SEVERAL 3½ YEAR SEGMENTS IN THE TRIBULATION TIME PERIOD HOWEVER THEY ARE NOT ALL A PART OF THE SAME 7 YEAR PERIOD. THIS 42 MONTH PERIOD COULD BE WELL UNDER WAY BEFORE THE RAPTURE THEN THE 3½ YEARS OF THE TWO WITNESSES COULD OCCUR RIGHT AFTER THE RAPTURE AND AT THE START OF THE 7 YEARS OF TRIBULATION. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE 3½ YEAR PERIODS WITH DIFFERENT STARTING TIMES AND DIFFERENT COMPLETION TIMES. Revelation 11:3-13 And I [God] will give power unto my Two Witnesses [Two Prophets - possibly Moses and Elijah], and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1,260 days, 3½ years - 360 days in a Biblical prophetic year], clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth (Zechariah 4:3). And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them [the Two Witnesses], 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, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city [Jerusalem], which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations *shall see [via global television] their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood [resurrection] upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: **and *the *remnant were affrighted, and **gave glory to the God of heaven. The *second *woe [demonic infestation - demons from the bottomless pit] is past; and, behold, the third woe [Satan himself - Antichrist] cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign [the 8th Kingdom] forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the Nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in His Temple the Ark of His Testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. - Note: The 7th global Kingdom of mankind gives way to the Kingdom of God, the 8th Kingdom, the eternal Righteous Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

REVELATION 12 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN

VISIONS OF REVELATION GIVES A HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF REVELATION AS A WHOLE IS NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER -'REVELATION 12:1-5 AND THERE APPEARED A GREAT WONDER IN HEAVEN; A WOMAN [NATION OF ISRAEL] CLOTHED WITH THE SUN [IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD], AND THE MOON UNDER HER FEET [OBSERVING PROPER SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT], AND UPON HER HEAD A CROWN OF TWELVE STARS [12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL]: AND SHE BEING WITH CHILD [JESUS CHRIST] CRIED, TRAVAILING IN BIRTH, AND PAINED TO BE DELIVERED. AND THERE APPEARED ANOTHER WONDER IN HEAVEN; AND BEHOLD A GREAT RED DRAGON [SATAN], HAVING SEVEN HEADS [THE 7 GLOBAL GENTILE KINGDOMS] AND TEN HORNS (DANIEL 7:7), AND SEVEN CROWNS [KING'S CROWN - DIADEMA, G1238] UPON HIS HEADS. AND HIS [SATAN'S] TAIL DREW THE THIRD PART {THIS IS WHERE IT IS BELIEVED THAT 1/3 OF THE ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN} OF THE STARS OF HEAVEN, AND DID CAST THEM TO THE EARTH: AND THE DRAGON [SATAN] STOOD BEFORE THE WOMAN WHICH WAS READY TO BE DELIVERED, FOR TO DEVOUR HER CHILD [JESUS CHRIST (MATTHEW 2:16)] AS SOON AS IT WAS BORN. AND SHE [NATION OF ISRAEL] BROUGHT FORTH A MAN CHILD [JESUS CHRIST], WHO WAS TO RULE ALL NATIONS [8TH KINGDOM] WITH A ROD OF IRON: AND HER CHILD [JESUS CHRIST] WAS CAUGHT UP [RESURRECTION - ASCENSION (ACTS 1:9)] UNTO GOD, AND TO HIS THRONE.' WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE

PREVIOUS EVENTS FURTHER REVEALING THAT THE

VISION

The Disciple John is given an overview of End Time events, not from the Churches' perspective [the Christian Church has concluded by this time] but from the Nation of Israel's perspective: Revelation 12:6-17 And the woman [Nation of Israel] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days [3½ years]. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon [Satan - Lucifer]; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon [Satan] was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth [3rd Woe], and his [Satan's] angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, **Now is come salvation [on earth], *and strength [Righteousness], and the Kingdom of our God, and the power [authority] of His Christ: for the accuser [lit. devil] of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. ***And they [Saints] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, **and by the Word of their testimony; **and they loved not their lives unto the death. *Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. **Woe [3rd Woe] to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, *because he knoweth that he hath but a short time [3½ years]. And when the dragon saw that he was cast

unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [Nation of Israel] which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time (1), and times (2), and half a time (1/2)[3Â˝ years], from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. **And the earth helped the woman [Israel], and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with ***the remnant of her seed, which keep the Commandments of God, and have [Salvation] the Testimony of Jesus Christ. and the dragon was angry against the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the Commands of God, and having the Testimony of Jesus Christ.

REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST [ANTICHRIST, SATAN], THE FALSE PROPHET AND THE 666 [MYSTERY BABYLON, DEMONIC REALM] OF THE UNHOLY TRINITY -- 'REVELATION 13:1-4 AND I STOOD UPON THE SAND OF THE SEA, AND SAW A BEAST [ANTICHRIST] RISE UP OUT OF THE SEA [NATIONS, PEOPLE], HAVING SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, AND UPON HIS HORNS TEN CROWNS, AND UPON HIS HEADS THE NAME OF BLASPHEMY. ... AND I SAW ONE OF HIS HEADS AS IT WERE WOUNDED [ASSASSINATED] TO DEATH; AND HIS [FAKE] DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED [FAKE RESURRECTION]: AND ALL THE WORLD WONDERED AFTER THE [APPARENT ETERNAL LIFE OF THE] BEAST [ANTICHRIST]. AND THEY WORSHIPPED [GAVE THANKS FOR THEIR LIFE] THE DRAGON WHICH GAVE POWER UNTO THE BEAST [THE FAKE TRINITY]: AND THEY WORSHIPPED THE BEAST, SAYING, WHO IS [MESSIAH, CHRIST] LIKE UNTO THE BEAST? WHO IS ABLE TO MAKE WAR WITH [EVERLASTING LIFE] HIM?' The Antichrist Kingdom, the 7th global Kingdom of mankind wages a war against Jesus, against God and against the Saints of God still on the earth: Revelation 13:5-18 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things (Antichrist is the fulfillment of Nimrod the type the mighty hunter of sin, Genesis 10:9) and blasphemies; and power was given unto him [Antichrist] to continue forty and two months {the Antichrist has a 3 1/2 year Kingdom but according to Daniel (Daniel 12:11-2) the Antichrist kingdom [being complete destruction and human death] might last only 45 days}. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle [dwelling], **and them [Christians] that [now] dwell in heaven. ***And it was given unto him [Antichrist] to make war with the Saints [Martyred Saints of Revelation], and **to overcome them [the Christian Church is not to be overcome but the Martyred Saints of Revelation will be quickly overcome (Matthew 16:18)]: and power was given him [Antichrist, 7th Kingdom] over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. **And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, [those] whose names are not written in the *Book of Life of the Lamb [Jesus Christ] slain [before the world began] from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He [NWO, 7th Kingdom participant] that leadeth [others] into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword (Galatians 6:7). **Here [during Tribulation] is the patience and the faith of the Saints. And I beheld another beast [false Prophet - of the unholy trinity] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb [like a Christian], and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly [assignation] wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth (1 Kings 18:24-38) in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should *make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life [lit. spirit, breath - Pneuma, G4151] unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth **all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark [identifier] in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark [identifier], or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six [666]. - Note: The Mark of the Beast is comprised of three components. 1. An image or stature of the Antichrist. 2. A demonic initiation, seemingly a demonic counterfeit spirit to the real 'born again' spirit of Jesus Christ. 3. An identifying mark on the hand or forehead readily revealing those who have been initiated [mated, married] into the demonic spirits. As a side note those who do not have the identifier cannot buy or sell [participate in the economy] the actual mark [identifier] itself has nothing to do with buying or selling, the mark is not a unique to each person mark it is not a computer chip (though everyone may already be chipped, it is a separate issue from the mark of the beast and 666) the mark of the beast is the same [identifier] mark for everyone and essentially those who do not

have the mark their personal economy [previously implanted computer chip]will be blacklisted and unable to function properly in the existing 7th Kingdom Antichrist economy.

BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG: WHAT IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST 666 - THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE ASPECTS TO THE MARK OF THE BEAST AS EXPLAINED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION There are at least three aspects to the Mark of the Beast as explained in the book of Revelation. It is an actual mark or marking and it is also an Image (Icon) a representation of the Antichrist (Satan) himself and it is represented in his personal name of, emptiness, which is referenced by the number 666. [link]

REVELATION 14 - THE 144,000 JEWISH SAINTS OF JESUS CHRIST -- 'REVELATION 14:1-5 AND I LOOKED, AND, LO, A LAMB [JESUS CHRIST] STOOD ON THE MOUNT SION (ZION) [JERUSALEM], AND WITH HIM AN HUNDRED FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND [144,000], HAVING HIS FATHER'S NAME WRITTEN IN THEIR FOREHEADS. AND I HEARD A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, AS THE VOICE OF MANY WATERS, AND AS THE VOICE OF A GREAT THUNDER: AND I HEARD THE VOICE OF HARPERS HARPING WITH THEIR HARPS [PRAISE]: **AND THEY [144,000] SUNG AS IT WERE A NEW SONG BEFORE THE THRONE, AND BEFORE THE FOUR BEASTS, AND THE ELDERS: AND [IT IS A SEPARATE AND EXCLUSIVE GROUP] NO MAN COULD LEARN THAT SONG BUT THE HUNDRED AND FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND, WHICH WERE REDEEMED [JEWISH] FROM THE EARTH. THESE ARE THEY WHICH WERE NOT DEFILED WITH WOMEN; FOR THEY ARE VIRGINS. THESE ARE THEY WHICH FOLLOW THE LAMB WHITHERSOEVER HE GOETH. THESE WERE REDEEMED [JEWISH] FROM AMONG MEN, BEING THE FIRSTFRUITS [JEWISH SALVATION] UNTO GOD AND TO THE LAMB. AND IN THEIR MOUTH WAS FOUND NO GUILE: FOR THEY ARE WITHOUT FAULT BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD.' With the Christian Church in Heaven and no longer a direct witness on the earth and the Martyred Saints of Revelation being quickly overcome the holy Angels of Heaven now take on a more open and active role in the events and redemption of mankind: Revelation 14:6-13 And I saw another [holy] Angel fly in the midst of heaven, **having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, **Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and Worship [give thanks for your life to] Him that made [created] heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another [holy] Angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third [holy] Angel followed them, **saying with a loud voice, If any man worship [ask for eternal life from] the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: **and they have no rest day nor night, **who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. ***Here is the patience of the Saints: here are they that keep the Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, **Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and **their works [on earth] do follow them [as rewards in Heaven]. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another [holy] Angel came out of the Temple [in Heaven], crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time [the great End Time harvest of souls] is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He [Jesus Christ] that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another [holy] angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another [holy] angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the [holy] Angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without [outside] the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Isaiah 63:3, Revelation 19:15).

REVELATION 15-16 - THE MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION CONTINUE TO ASSEMBLE IN HEAVEN - THE 7 VIAL (MEASURED) JUDGMENTS, THE FINAL JUDGMENTS OF REVELATION ARE REVEALED -- 'REVELATION 15:1-4 AND I SAW ANOTHER SIGN IN HEAVEN, GREAT AND MARVELLOUS, SEVEN ANGELS HAVING THE SEVEN *LAST PLAGUES [THE 7 MEASURED BOWL JUDGMENTS]; FOR IN THEM IS FILLED UP THE WRATH [LIT. PASSION FOR JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS] OF GOD. AND I SAW AS IT WERE A SEA OF GLASS {NOW} MINGLED WITH FIRE {THE EARLIER VIEW WHILE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WAS PRESENT (REVELATION 4:6) WAS WITHOUT THE GREAT TRIBULATION WRATH FIRE}: AND THEM [MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION] THAT HAD GOTTEN THE VICTORY OVER THE BEAST [ANTICHRIST, SATAN], AND OVER HIS IMAGE, AND OVER HIS MARK, AND OVER THE NUMBER [666, INCOMPLETE, A TRINITY OF EMPTINESS] OF HIS NAME, STAND ON THE SEA OF GLASS, HAVING THE HARPS OF GOD. AND THEY [MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION HAVING NOT YET EXPERIENCED THE "FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS" THE BEING 'BORN AGAIN' BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM 'ABOVE' WITHIN THE PROMISE LAND - HEAVEN] SING THE (REDEMPTION/SALVATION) **SONG OF MOSES (EXODUS 15:1-18) THE SERVANT OF GOD, AND THE SONG OF THE LAMB [JESUS CHRIST], SAYING, GREAT AND MARVELLOUS ARE THY WORKS, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; JUST AND TRUE ARE THY WAYS, THOU **KING OF SAINTS [MARTYRED SAINTS]. WHO SHALL NOT FEAR THEE, O LORD, AND GLORIFY THY NAME? FOR THOU ONLY ART HOLY: FOR ALL NATIONS SHALL COME AND WORSHIP (GIVE THANKS FOR ETERNAL LIFE) BEFORE THEE; FOR THY JUDGMENTS ARE MADE MANIFEST [VISIBLE].' - NOTE: THE MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION [GENTILES] COMING THROUGH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD [WITH REDEMPTION (REVELATION 6:11) BUT NOT YET SALVATION] HAVE MORE IN COMMON WITH MOSES AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [JEWS] THEN THEY DO WITH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH THAT DID POSSESS SALVATION WHILE UPON THE EARTH (BEFORE THE RAPTURE). The 7 Vial Judgments of Revelation are poured out primarily on the Demonic realm however the Demonic realm, the earth and the human realm have all intermingled at this point in time regarding human events: Revelation 16:1-21 And I heard a great voice out of the Temple [in Heaven] saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials [measured bowels] of the Wrath wrath [lit. passion for justice and righteousness] of God upon the earth. And the first [Angel] went, and poured out his vial upon the earth [demonic infestation]; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark [demonic mating] of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea [demonic habitation]; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers [demonic streams] and fountains [demonic teachings] of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun [demonic astrology]; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat (earth) [throne] of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. *And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Mystery Babylon], and out of the mouth of the beast [Antichrist], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [the all Satanic unholy trinity - see also: Zechariah 11:8]. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world [7th Kingdom], to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. **Blessed is he [Saints] that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he [Antichrist] gathered them [armies of the world, also the 6th Trumpet judgment] together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air [Satan's realm (Ephesians 2:2)]; and [after the 7th Vial, then the 6th Seal, an earthquake (Revelation 6:12)] there came a great voice out of the Temple of Heaven, from the Throne, saying, ***It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake (6th Seal), such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the Nations fell: ***and great Babylon [Satanic mystery system] came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island [faraway place] fled away, and the mountains [governments] were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the

weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail [rocks, stones]; for the plague [stoning of blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16)] thereof was exceeding great.

REVELATION 17 - THE GREAT MYSTERY BABYLON [THE HIDDEN INVISIBLE UNHOLY SPIRITUAL REALM] IS REVEALED -- 'REVELATION 17:1-2 AND THERE CAME ONE OF THE SEVEN ANGELS WHICH HAD THE SEVEN VIALS, AND TALKED WITH ME [DISCIPLE JOHN], SAYING UNTO ME, COME HITHER [NEAR]; I WILL SHEW UNTO THEE THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT WHORE THAT SITTETH UPON MANY WATERS [NATIONS]: WITH WHOM THE KINGS OF THE EARTH HAVE COMMITTED FORNICATION [UNFAITHFULNESS], AND THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH HAVE BEEN MADE DRUNK WITH THE WINE [SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES] OF HER FORNICATION.' The great Mystery Babylon, the hidden invisible unholy spiritual realm that is so affecting mankind and the earth is to come to an end in a great and final destruction at the judgment of God: Revelation 17:3-18 So he [Angel] carried me [Disciple John] away in the spirit into the wilderness [empty place]: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. **And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints [of all human history], and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [bewilderment]. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition [eternal damnation]: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains [governments - the kingdoms of the world], on which the woman sitteth. **And there are seven kings [Nimrod (Tower of Babel), Pharaoh Akhenaten (Egypt), Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), Cyrus (Persia), Alexander the Great (Greece), Julius Caesar (Rome), Antichrist (Satan)]: five [Nimrod, Egypt, ancient Babylon, Persia, Greece] are fallen, and one [Roman Empire] is, and the other [Antichrist] is not yet come; and when he [Antichrist] cometh, he must continue a short space [3 1/2 years, the Ministry of Jesus Christ was 3 1/2 years on earth but the Antichrist his kingdom being so violent (Matthew 24:21-22) might only end up with about 45 days (Daniel 12:11-2)]. And the beast [Antichrist] that was [ruling], and is not [Antichrist is assassinated], even he [antichrist] is the eighth [resurrected, fake demonic contrived resurrection], *and is of the seven [the seventh guy (antichrist) becomes Antichrist, Satan incarnate in Satan's contrived eternal life, creation, resurrection], and [Antichrist] goeth into perdition [eternal damnation]. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten [region] kings, which have received no kingdom as yet [not until the End Time]; but receive power as kings one hour [for a very short time] with the beast. *These [puppets] have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb [Jesus Christ], and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He [Jesus Christ] is Lord of lords, and King of kings: **and they [Saints] that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he [Angel] saith unto me, *The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, *are peoples, and multitudes, and Nations, and tongues. And the ten horns [global government] which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore [false religious system], and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, **and to agree [willingly - 7 of the 10 give their kingdom willingly to the Antichrist 3 are forced to do so (Daniel 7:8)], and give their kingdom unto the beast [forming the 7th Global Kingdom on earth], **until the Words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great [invisible - spiritual] city [Mystery Babylon], which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

REVELATION 18 - THE SINS OF MYSTERY BABYLON WILL RESULT IN THE PLAGUES OF GOD UPON MYSTERY BABYLON -- 'REVELATION 18:1-5 AND AFTER THESE THINGS I SAW ANOTHER ANGEL [MESSENGER] COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING GREAT POWER; AND THE EARTH WAS LIGHTENED WITH HIS GLORY [JESUS CHRIST]. AND HE CRIED MIGHTILY WITH A STRONG VOICE, SAYING, BABYLON THE GREAT IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN, AND IS BECOME THE HABITATION OF DEVILS, AND THE HOLD OF EVERY FOUL SPIRIT, AND A CAGE OF EVERY UNCLEAN AND HATEFUL BIRD. FOR ALL NATIONS HAVE DRUNK OF THE WINE OF THE WRATH OF HER FORNICATION [UNFAITHFULNESS], AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH HAVE COMMITTED FORNICATION WITH HER, AND THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH ARE WAXED RICH THROUGH THE ABUNDANCE OF HER DELICACIES. **AND I HEARD ANOTHER VOICE FROM HEAVEN, SAYING, COME OUT OF HER, MY

PEOPLE, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YE RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES. FOR HER SINS

(GENESIS 11:4) HAVE

REACHED UNTO HEAVEN, AND GOD HATH REMEMBERED HER INIQUITIES [INTENTIONAL SINS].'

Mystery Babylon is to be judged and destroyed all in a single day: Revelation 18:6-10 Reward her [Mystery Babylon] even as she rewarded [betrayed] you [humans], and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. *Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ... Revelation 18:20-24 Rejoice over her [Mystery Babylon], thou Heaven, and ye Holy Apostles and Prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty Angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down (Jeremiah 51:63), and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. **And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

REVELATION 19 - THE GREAT ETERNAL CONGREGATION OF SAINTS IN HEAVEN ALL WORSHIP AND PRAISE GOD AT THE SAME TIME AND IN THE SAME PLACE -- 'REVELATION 19:1-5 AND AFTER THESE THINGS I HEARD A GREAT VOICE OF MUCH PEOPLE IN HEAVEN, SAYING, ALLELUIA; SALVATION, AND GLORY, AND HONOR, AND POWER, UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD: FOR TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ARE HIS JUDGMENTS: FOR HE HATH JUDGED THE GREAT [UNFAITHFUL] WHORE, **WHICH DID CORRUPT THE EARTH WITH HER FORNICATION, AND HATH AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS AT HER HAND. AND AGAIN THEY SAID, ALLELUIA. AND HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOREVER AND EVER. AND THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS AND THE FOUR BEASTS FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPPED GOD THAT SAT ON THE THRONE, SAYING, AMEN; ALLELUIA. AND A VOICE CAME OUT OF THE THRONE, SAYING, PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL YE HIS SERVANTS, AND YE THAT FEAR HIM, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT.' The Lord Jesus Christ begins to take physical possession of the earth to reign and rule on the earth for His Millennial (1,000 year) Kingdom on earth: Revelation 19:6-21 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent [all powerful] reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: *for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife [the Christian Church] hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [in Jesus Christ] of Saints. And he saith unto me, **Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb {probably occurring shortly after Revelation 4:1 and before the first Seal is broken}. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him [Angel]. And he [Angel] said unto me, See thou *do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the Testimony of Jesus: ***worship [only] God: **for the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse [the true conquering King Jesus]; and He [Jesus Christ] that sat upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in *righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were [judgment] as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns [authorities]; and He [also] had a [personal] Name written, **that no man knew, but [only] He himself {this unknown Name is a reference to God's creation (mankind) being at war with God, even after the cross of Jesus and no man can possibly know the agony of the experience of having to eternally judge mankind that God loves so much}. And He was clothed with a vesture [garment] dipped in [human] blood {we are offered to wear Jesus' shed blood for our eternal life covering but those who reject it God will shed their blood}: and His Name [Jesus] is called The Word of God. And the armies [various dispensations] which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword [word of God], that with it He should smite the Nations: and He shall rule [8th Kingdom] them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture [garment] and on His thigh a Name [we will all know] written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,

saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. **And the beast [Antichrist] was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. **These both [two parts of the unholy trinity ] were cast alive [directly] into a lake of fire burning with brimstone [skipping the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11)]. And the [unholy] remnant were slain with the sword [Word] of Him [Jesus Christ] that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

REVELATION 20 - SATAN IS TO BE INCARCERATED FOR THE ENTIRE 1,000 YEAR KINGDOM REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH -'REVELATION 20:1-3 AND I SAW AN ANGEL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING THE KEY OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT (REVELATION 9:1) AND A GREAT CHAIN IN HIS HAND. AND HE LAID HOLD ON THE DRAGON, THAT OLD SERPENT, WHICH IS THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, AND BOUND HIM A THOUSAND YEARS, AND CAST HIM INTO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, AND SHUT HIM UP, *AND SET A SEAL UPON HIM, THAT HE SHOULD DECEIVE THE NATIONS NO MORE, TILL THE THOUSAND YEARS [KINGDOM REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH, 8TH KINGDOM] SHOULD BE FULFILLED: AND AFTER THAT HE [SATAN] MUST BE LOOSED A LITTLE SEASON. - NOTE: THE HUMAN ELEMENTS OF SATAN'S 7TH KINGDOM THE HUMAN ANTICHRIST AND THE HUMAN FALSE PROPHET HAVE AT THIS POINT ALREADY BEEN SENTENCED TO THE ETERNAL LAKE OF FIRE. SATAN IS HELD IN CHAINS FOR THE 1,000 YEARS AND THEN HE IS RELEASED FOR A BRIEF FINAL TEMPTATION ON MANKIND.' Revelation 20:4-15 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and *which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; **and they [saints Martyred during the Tribulation period] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. *But the rest of the dead [all the unsaved] lived [manifested] not again until the thousand years were finished. **This is the first resurrection [the resurrection of the Holy Saints of Jesus Christ]. **Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: **on such the second death [judgment] hath no power, but they shall be [Righteous, Melchizedek] Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, *Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the Nations [the new nations established or re-established during the 1,000 reign of Jesus Christ] which are in the four quarters of the earth, *Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:1-23), to gather them [sinners from the 1,000 Kingdom] together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed [encircled] the Camp of the Saints about, and the beloved city [Jerusalem]: and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them. And the devil [Satan] that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. ***And [later the 1,00 years] I saw a Great White Throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. {Note: during the Great White Throne judgment there is no earth and no sky, and the people being judged are naked disembodied spirits - so apparently if they want to contend with God [and smirk and insult] during their judgment it will be more than a bit awkward for them having no body and even no planet to stand on.} And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the [judgment] books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, **according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead [demons] which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the [spiritual] dead [fallen angels] which were in them: and they were judged every man {human, demon and fallen angel} according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. **This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. - Note: After the Church age and after the Revelation [Martyred Saints, 144,000] Tribulation age there is then the 1,000 year Kingdom age. The testing by Satan after the 1,000 year Kingdom age is only for the people of the 1,000 year Kingdom age. The resurrected Saints are not judged again (Hebrews 9:27) not judged continually. A Saint that was with Moses in the desert and once resurrected that Old Testament Saint is not judged during the Church era and the Church is not judged in the Martyred Saints of Revelation era and only the people physically alive in the 1,000 year Kingdom reign are in a position to receive or reject their eternal salvation. Once a Saint receives resurrection [adoption as a Son of

God] then it is eternal and being eternal it is secure. It is not even the remotest possibility [no longer even having a sin nature] that resurrected Christian Saints or resurrected Old Testament Saints could even rebel against God and then hypothetically need to be judged and removed from God's eternal Kingdom at any given point in time in the Kingdom. Once a Saint [we are born with a sin nature and die with our sin nature but we are resurrected without a sin nature] is in the resurrected Kingdom of God and God being faithful and love God does not ever turn against His own people (and again resurrected Saints will not even have a sin nature) so the eternal Kingdom of God is in all actuality, and in all reality, and for all purposes - eternity - and eternity with God is security and that is eternal.

REVELATION 21 - THE EARTH AND SKY ARE GOING TO PASS AWAY AS HUMANITY ENTERS INTO A NEW EARTH AND A NEW SKY IN THE ETERNAL STATE WITH GOD -- 'REVELATION 21:1-5 AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN (SKY) AND A NEW EARTH: FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN (SKY) AND THE FIRST EARTH WERE PASSED AWAY; AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA. AND I JOHN SAW THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN, PREPARED AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND. AND I HEARD A GREAT VOICE OUT OF HEAVEN SAYING, BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE [DWELLING] OF GOD [THE FATHER] IS WITH MEN, AND HE [THE FATHER] WILL DWELL WITH THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND GOD [JESUS] HIMSELF SHALL BE WITH THEM, AND BE THEIR GOD. AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: **FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY. AND HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE SAID, BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, WRITE: **FOR THESE WORDS [BEING FROM GOD] ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.' The New Jerusalem, the new Holy City on the new earth is revealed and the gates of the Holy City are permanently open inviting all the eternal Saints to freely enter into the eternal city to bring in their glory and honor in worship and praise to God: Revelation 21:6-8 And He [God] said unto me [Disciple John], It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, *the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, ***and he shall be My [adopted] Son. *But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. ... Revelation 21:22-27 And [in the New Jerusalem, the new Holy City on earth] I saw no Temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the Glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. **And the Nations of *them *which *are *saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings [mighty] of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the Nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but [only] they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. - Note: There appears to remain a societal structure for mankind (Saints) complete with individual Nations, cities and towns even out into the eternal state.

REVELATION 22 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN IS SHOWN THE ETERNAL STATE OF THE SAINTS WITH THE NEW JERUSALEM CONTAINING THE ETERNAL THRONE OF GOD [FATHER, SON JESUS (LAMB), HOLY SPIRIT] ON EARTH - THE BELOVED DISCIPLE JOHN CLOSES THE GREAT REVELATION OF THE BELOVED JESUS CHRIST BY SEALING (THE 8TH SEAL) IT WITH A PROMISE, THIS FINAL SEAL IS AN UNBREAKABLE PROMISE FROM JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF TO RETURN QUICKLY, WHEN IT IS TIME (OPENED) AND WHEN THE 8TH SEAL IS OPENED JESUS WILL RETURN ACCORDING TO ALL OF HIS PROMISES - THE DISCIPLE JOHN THEN PRAYS IN AGREEMENT WITH JESUS CHRIST AND REQUESTS THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST - THE DISCIPLE JOHN THEN FINALIZES ALL HOLY BIBLE SCRIPTURE WITH A BLESSING FROM JESUS CHRIST TO ALL THE BELOVED SAINTS IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'REVELATION 22:1-6 AND HE [ANGEL] SHEWED ME A PURE RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, PROCEEDING OUT OF THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [IN THE NEW JERUSALEM]. IN THE MIDST OF THE STREET OF IT, AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, WAS THERE *THE TREE OF LIFE (GENESIS 2:9), WHICH BARE TWELVE MANNER OF FRUITS, AND YIELDED HER FRUIT EVERY MONTH: AND **THE LEAVES OF THE TREE WERE FOR THE HEALING [WELLBEING] OF THE NATIONS. AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE: BUT THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [JESUS CHRIST] SHALL BE IN IT; AND HIS SERVANTS SHALL SERVE HIM: AND THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE; AND HIS NAME SHALL BE IN THEIR FOREHEADS. AND THERE SHALL BE NO NIGHT THERE; AND THEY NEED NO CANDLE, NEITHER LIGHT OF THE SUN; FOR THE LORD GOD GIVETH THEM LIGHT: AND THEY SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, THESE SAYINGS ARE FAITHFUL AND TRUE: **AND THE LORD GOD OF THE

HOLY PROPHETS **SENT HIS ANGEL [MESSENGER] **TO SHEW UNTO HIS SERVANTS [CHRISTIANS - SAINTS] THE THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY BE DONE [ACCOMPLISHED].'

The Bible's book of Revelation concludes completing the Holy Bible: Revelation 22:7-21 Behold, I [Jesus Christ] come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I [Jesus Christ] come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine Angel [messenger] to testify unto you these things in the Churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the [Holy] Spirit and the Bride [Christian Church] say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the Words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. He [Jesus Christ] which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Source: www.BasicChristian.org David Anson Brown 07:57, 20 August 2012 (MST)

Christian Church History From Common Christian Faith: Wiki

Basic Christian: blog History Study - Christian Church History COMPLETED: THE BASIC CHRISTIAN BLOG HISTORY STUDY IS NOW COMPLETED! -- THIS COMPLETES BOTH STUDIES - THE BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY (2009-2010) - THE BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG HISTORY STUDY (2010-2012) -- THANK YOU, TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDIES AND ALSO TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE STILL READING THE STUDIES - GOD BLESS EVERYONE! ~ DAVID ANSON BROWN Update: Currently there are several projects in process regarding the Basic Christian Ministry. Among the next projects will probably be a Biblical study of the End Times and also it is my hope to present a Holiness Summit via website postings. Also the new Basic Christian Research Wiki page has begun and is well underway. The Holiness Summit would be an excellent opportunity to look at Holiness Doctrines to see where the Holiness Movement historically has been and also to see what changes can be made in order to better present the movement, revitalize the movement for today and help move it on into the future. -- Coming Soon: Holiness Summit 2012!! and Basic Christian: End Times!! [link]

THE 'BLOG HISTORY STUDY' IS DEDICATED TO THE GLORY OF GOD, THE SON, THE SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! Heavenly Father, I pray for Your blessing upon this study that we might better know You through Your tremendous, faithful and historical works that You have accomplished and in what You continue to accomplish throughout Your Glorious Christian Church Age, the one True Church, the Church of God on earth and in Heaven, Jesus Christ being the foundation the beginning and the eventual conclusion of His Church. - Amen! [link]

BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG HISTORY STUDY - CHRISTIAN CHURCH HISTORY - THE 8 KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD (PDF) Nimrod, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, [Revised Rome - NWO] Antichrist, Millennial (1,000 year) Kingdom Reign of Jesus Christ and the complete Christian Church History. [link]

BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG CHURCH HISTORY STUDY 0 A.D. - 312 A.D. -- Birth of Jesus and the Early Church Age 313 A.D. - 1521 A.D. -- Birth of Revised Rome and the Holy Roman Empire 1522 A.D. - 1880 A.D. -- Indigenous Bible Translations and Doctrines Era - The Reformation - Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, etc. 1881 A.D. - Present (2012) -- Corrupt modern bible translations and compromised Seminaries and Universities - The modern Emergent [return to occult/paganism] Era - Westcott and Hort (1881), NIV (1972) Zondervan, NKJV (1979) Thomas Nelson Inc., ESV (2001) Crossway, etc. [link]

1881 A.D. - Present (2012) UPDATE: 1881 A.D. TO PRESENT (2012) - CORRUPT MODERN BIBLE TRANSLATIONS AND COMPROMISED SEMINARIES AND UNIVERSITIES - THE FOURTH AND FINAL SECTION OF THIS CHURCH HISTORY STUDY ISN'T GOING TO BE QUITE AS STRAIGHT FORWARD AS THE PREVIOUS THREE SECTIONS WHERE - IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE LONGER TO BRING MATERIAL TOGETHER FOR THIS PART OF THE PROJECT - THIS LAST SECTION ISN'T SOMETHING THAT I HAVE RESEARCHED OUT THE WAY THAT I HAD THE PREVIOUS SECTIONS - I HAVE AN IDEA OR TWO OF WHERE TO GO IN THIS STUDY BUT I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS NEEDED OR OF HOW AVAILABLE IT IS TO FORM THE POSTINGS THAT ARE GOING TO NEED TO COME TOGETHER FOR THIS LAST SECTION - THIS LAST SECTION IS STILL A CHURCH HISTORY SECTION AND NOT A CURRENT EVENTS SECTION AND THEREFORE THE INTENTION OF THIS LAST SECTION IS TO RESEARCH AND EXAMINE HOW WE AS A CHURCH HAVE GOTTEN TO WHERE WE ARE AT TODAY, BUT THANKFULLY, NOT REALLY TO EXAMINE THE EVENTS OF TODAY - IN EXAMINING THIS LAST SECTION IT'S POSSIBLE, THOUGH NOT INTENDED, THAT A COUPLE OF TOES COULD GET STEPPED ON ALONG THE WAY - IF YOUR FAVORITE PASTOR, TEACHER, OR DENOMINATION GETS DINGED IN THIS SECTION AND ONLY A FEW WILL BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY GOING TO LOOK AT A COUPLE OF ALMOST GENERIC CASE STUDIES AND ANY TOES THAT ARE STEPPED ON IS AN UNINTENDED BYPRODUCT OF THE STUDY - IF YOUR FAVORITE PASTOR OR TEACHER DOES GET DINGED A LITTLE IN THIS STUDY SECTION IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT -- GOD BLESS EVERYONE ~ DAVID ANSON BROWN

The concept of this section is going to be to look at the phenomenon of the rise [and fall] of the Christian Church Denominations, a practice that is almost exclusive to this period of Church history. Most Denominations if not all originally started with the best of intentions but what is it that has continually and systematically gone so wrong with the Church Denominational system? The following posts are going to be a look at a system, a flawed system, that quite possibly might have been more of an intentionally designed faulty system. A system where the flaws are built in and perpetuated simply in order to benefit one class of people at the expense and discomfort of the majority of the others. A system though where in actuality the desires and designs of a few greedy men have actually outpaced the built in flaws of the system itself. The problem with Denominations is that though they might start out well not a single one has been able to finish well. -- Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it [finish well]. [link]

HOLINESS MOVEMENT AT A CROSSROADS - BY THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, THE WESLEYAN-HOLINESS MOVEMENT FLOUNDERED AT THE EDGE OF A SECTARIAN SNAKEPIT, DIVIDED BY RACE, REGION, AND NATIONAL BOUNDARIES - YET FROM THIS DOUBTFUL SETTING, THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE AROSE -- NAZARENES REFLECT ON THEIR PAST: THEY SHARED A DREAM BY STAN INGERSOL, DENOMINATIONAL ARCHIVIST Early in the 19th century, Sarah Lankford combined the women's prayer groups of two Methodist in New York City to create the Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness. That action, coupled with the publication of Boston pastor Timothy Merritt's Guide to Christian Perfection, marked the Holiness Movement's advent. ... John Inskip, J.A. Wood, and other Methodist clergy initiated a new phase of the movement after the Civil War. The National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness fostered specialized meetings throughout the United States. But Inskip was dead by 1890, while Wood had retired to California and preached occasionally from Phineas Bresee's pulpit. A democratic spirit pervaded the Holiness Movement. Bishops could control Methodist clergy but not the laity who led many local, county, and state Holiness associations. Some were headed by women excluded from leadership in other areas. Independent-minded evangelicals defied the Methodist Discipline and used a local preacher's license as authority to conduct revivals, even competing with local pastors. By century's end, the Wesleyan-Holiness Movement included sectarian "come-outers," "put-outers" dismissed from their churches, and Methodist loyalists. The fragmenting Holiness revival posed daunting questions: would anyone--could anyone--gather the pieces? [link]

DID THE DENOMINATIONAL NAME BEGIN ON SHAKY GROUND? - HE GOES ON TO WRITE THAT THE NAMING OF THE (NAZARENE) CHURCH WAS THE WORK OF JOSEPH WIDNEY - "FOR WIDNEY, THE NAME "CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE" **CONVEYED NOTHING EXPLICIT ABOUT THE METHODIST DOCTRINE OR THE EXPERIENCES OF CONVERSION AND ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION - IT WAS MUCH MORE

AN EXPRESSION OF LATE-NINETEENTH-CENTURY "JESUS OF HISTORY" THEOLOGY, WHICH PREFERRED THE NAME "JESUS" TO THE MORE EXALTED NAME "JESUS CHRIST" - THE "JESUS OF HISTORY" [JESUS OF NAZARETH] WAS NOT SO MUCH THE ETERNAL SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY WHO ON THE CROSS MADE A FULL, PERFECT, AND SUFFICIENT SACRIFICE, OBLATION, AND SATISFACTION FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD" AS HE WAS THE HUMAN PERSON REMEMBERED FOR WORDS AND DEEDS WHOM CHRISTIANS WERE TO FOLLOW AS TEACHER AND EXAMPLE

- WIDNEY'S SUBSEQUENT RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE BEARS OUT THE CONNOATION OF LOW CHRISTOLOGY, AND ALSO LOW ECCLESIOLOGY, THAT THE TERM SUGGESTED" -- 'CONCERNED NAZARENES' FACEBOOK PAGE Did the Denominational name begin on shaky ground? At the beginning of TCotN [The Church of the Nazarene] both Phineas Bresee and Joseph Widney were made general superintendent "for life". This info is from the book by Carl Bangs "Phineas F. Bresee", 1995, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. p. 196-197; He goes on to write that the naming of the Church was the work of Joseph Widney. "For Widney, the name "Church of the Nazarene" conveyed nothing explicit about the Methodist doctrine or the experiences of conversion and entire sanctification. It was much more an expression of late-nineteenth-century "Jesus of history" theology, which preferred the name "Jesus" to the more exalted name "Jesus Christ." The "Jesus of history" was not so much the eternal Second Person of the Trinity who on the Cross made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world," as He was the human Person remembered for words and deeds whom Christians were to follow as Teacher and Example. Widney's subsequent religious pilgrimage bears out the connoation of low Christology, and also low ecclesiology, that the term suggested." It is suggested that Bresee accepted the Name because he did not know Widney's true theology. To Bresee the name "Nazarene" represented Jesus association with the common man. So what was the outcome with Widney? He became increasing seperated from the Nazarenes and eventually started his own church. "He wrote a number of books on the borderline of politics, history, and culture. These were laced with mysticism and with a core theme of Aryan racial theory (Q. Nazism?). He developed a syncetistic religion followed by relatives and friends in his privately built "Beth-El", A Chapel and Manse of the Church of the All-Father" (or "All Fader")." (P. 214). Notice that this was not someone outside the Naz. throwing mud. This was published by Beacon Hill. Are we seeing sowing and reaping? It is amazing to me how quickly things seemed to change. Yet as we see from the origins our name, one of our first Generals began on shaky ground. -- posted by Robert Bruce Fruehling at 'Concerned Nazarenes' Facebook Page [link]

THE CALVARYCHAPELABUSE.COM WEBSITE - SUE SAYS -- JANUARY 4, 2012 AT 7:48 PM, 4 YEARS AGO I READ "PAGAN CHRISTIANITY" BY FRANK VIOLA AND IT WAS A VERY FREEING BOOK - ALSO ANOTHER BOOK THAT'S REALLY HELPED ME HEAL IS "THE SUBTLE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE" BY DAVE JOHNSON AND JEFF VANVONDEREN Reaching4Truth says: January 3, 2012 at 3:01 pm -- Hanna, you said: "I still keep my hopes up that we will find a church, but as I have said before..in our town it is all about who can have the biggest church, who can draw the largest crowd, who can own more hotels and claim more territory on the monopoly board. People have no idea what the Pastor is purchasing in terms of real estate and investments, and they don't really even care because they trust him completely." - This is not just a phenomenon in your town, but is widespread everywhere. Because in this era, pastors have been given celebrity status and encouraged to build their kingdoms, their resume, on ideas borrowed from the business realm. Over time they've been seduced by numerous voices from without and within the evangelical world, to produce measurably "effective" and "successful" ministries.. Pursuing and inculcating worldly business values and methodologies and wrongly applying them to the church and the realm of ministry. And basically it turns out to be an abandonment of their allegiance to the Lord in exchange for the approval of men and the respect of men, both in the church and in the world. -- Pastors and ministry leaders have been seduced by things appealing to their pride to pursue accomplishments and a measure of renown - respectability - for themselves. To be someone that others in the community (church and beyond) look up to and speak well of. -- Through many avenues and means, Christian pastors and ministry leaders have received worldly advice dressed up in acceptable Christian language, and coming from trusted "christian" sources. I employ the quotes because to look at the nature of what has come to be accepted as wise Christian insight and counsel, through resources such as Leadership Journal and Christianity Today, just to name two among a plethora of resources with a large readership among pastors, is to find, if one compares the "wisdom" offered from such sources, they wander quite a distance from sound spiritual wisdom or true compatibility with the word of God. -- Our pastors have been drinking from poisoned wells, even from what have been in the past trusted Christian sources. But, minus the requisite discretion and discernment that is expected of those we trust, a scourge has set upon the churches. Having listened to

and consulted the voices of so many Pied Pipers in the business realm, there is very little left now of truly Holy Spiritinspired leadership. We have been in the business of exchanging the truth of God for a lie for so long that we can barely distinguish the difference. Church and ministry leaders, in their efforts to win the worldly (yes I mean "worldly") to Christ through clever means, have drunk deeply from the wells of "vain philosophy and empty deceit". And we are sadly observing the results of that exchange. -- Clever wolves have entered in, and/or risen up from our midst, and had their effect upon the churches. I have observed with great sadness and sobriety the Christian establishment being given over to a host of clever lies and the spirit of the world. -- And hero worship has had a lot to do with it. A WHOLE lot to do with it. I think it's for lack of (or for need of) a hero in our lives that we (pastors and their flocks) have become worshippers of admired Christian men, inclined to enshrine them in a sort of "holy glow" - a sort of spiritual 'static' where we assume they will always and forever continue in a faithful path, as if they can do no wrong and, like their Lord, were immaculately conceived of the Holy Spirit. -- We have been, the whole lot of us - pastors and others alike - led onto deceptive paths because of having given our unquestioning trust to men with feet of clay. I believe we have entered a time of the Lord cleaning house, and waking His people up from a long slumber, a longer slumber than we would guess, wherein the enemy has now effectively infiltrated the mustard tree and overspread the churches. -- Jesus was careful to warn us that these days would come, and tremendous deception all around us was given as a key sign of the nearness of His return. He led with "See to it THAT NO MAN DECEIVES YOU." It was much more a matter of having our eyes/hearts exercised to recognize cleverly cloaked deception and delusion than it was ever a call to make an idol of earthly Jerusalem, for instance. JESUS is to be our focus; ALWAYS JESUS. We were instructed not to put our trust in man, but only IN HIM. -- So… pastors are to blame, for having wandered from the scriptures as their sole source of spiritual light, life and guidance, and succumbing to spiritual blindness… but so are we. We are living in a time of strong hero worship, leading to strong delusion, with sobering effect. The sooner we return our affection to the LORD and away from faulty leaders, the better for all of us. -- Chuck Smith is simply one example of what hero worship - the desire to elevate a hero in our midst (besides Jesus) can lead to. By giving our indiscriminate trust to men we admire, we forget that they can be just as prone to sin and error as the rest of us. The mercy of God is a great need in all of our lives, and our relationship with Him is to be first and foremost. I need these reminders as much as the next person. --- Lord, I'm thankful for your MERCY and your GREAT, GREAT kindness to us. Help us wind our way out of this mess we find ourselves in and into singlehearted allegiance to You and affection for your word. Clean us up and restore the broken places? and rekindle our love for YOU. [link]

THE SUBTLE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE BY DAVID JOHNSON AND JEFF VANVONDEREN (BETHANY HOUSE, 1991, 2005) 235 PAGES -- THE SUBTLE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE DISCUSSES UNHEALTHY SPIRITUAL PATTERNS IN A CONSTRUCTIVE AND HELPFUL WAY THERE ARE MANY BOOKS THAT ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS VARIOUS UNHEALTHY SPIRITUAL PATTERNS, BUT OFTEN WITH THE GOAL OF STIGMATIZING THEM AND PROMOTING THE CHURCHES OR BELIEF SYSTEMS OF THE AUTHORS - I HAVE READ A NUMBER OF THESE TYPE OF BOOKS AND FOUND THESE MORE INTERESTED IN PUTTING DOWN PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT BELIEFS THAN ANYTHING ELSE - THAT'S NOTHING NEW IN RELIGIOUS LITERATURE-THE "I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE A HERETIC" APPROACH HAS BEEN AROUND FOR NEARLY 2000 YEARS, THE 21ST CENTURY VERSION IS "I'M RIGHT, YOU'RE A CULT" - SOME OF THESE BOOKS MAY HELP PEOPLE IDENTIFY WITH SOME TROUBLING PRACTICES AND DISCUSS RECOVERY STRATEGIES, BUT THE OVER-GENERALIZING, DEMONIZING, BUILDING OF COMPOSITE STORIES (WHICH MAKE THINGS LOOK MUCH WORSE) AND THEOLOGICAL BIASES GET IN THE WAY OF MAKING THE BOOKS REALLY HELPFUL TOWARDS SOLVING ANY PROBLEMS

But this book by Johnson and Vanvonderen is different. Drawing upon years of ministry experience as pastor and counselor (respectively), they examine the fine line between Biblical leadership and abuse. Without mentioning groups or demonizing those involved, they discuss how well-intentioned leadership can have abusive effects. This "high road" approach is highly helpful in identifying some of the critical factors that have led to harsh and harmful leadership in churches. -- Marks of a Spiritually Unhealthy Environment: For example, the authors identify the marks of a spiritually unhealthy system. I'd like to include these here as a sample of how the authors address these issues. (The following consists of verbatim citations of copyrighted material from Chapter 5,6 of "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.") -- 1. Power-Posturing: Power-posturing simply means leaders spend a lot of time focused on their own authority and reminding others of it, as well. They spend a lot of energy posturing about how much authority they have and how much everyone else is supposed to submit to it. The fact that they are eager to place people under them-- under their word, under their "authority"-- is one easy-to-spot clue that they are operating in their own authority. -- 2. Performance

Preoccupation: In abusive spiritual systems, power is postured and authority is legislated. Therefore, these systems are preoccupied with the performance of their members. Obedience and submission are two important words often used. The way to tell if someone is doing the right thing for the wrong reason is if they are keeping track of it. Let's say that another way. If obedience and service is flowing out of you as a result of your own dependence on God alone, you won't keep track of it with an eye toward reward, you'll just do it. But if you're preoccupied with whether you've done enough to please God, then you're not looking at Him, you're looking at your own works. And you're also concerned about who else might be looking at you, evaluating you. What would anyone keep track of their godly behavior unless they were trying to earn spiritual points because of it? For many reasons, followers sometimes obey or follow orders to avoid being shamed, to gain someone's approval, or to keep their spiritual status or position intact. This is not true obedience or submission, it is compliant self-seeking. When behavior is simply legislated from the outside, instead of coming from a heart that loves God, it cannot be called obedience. It is merely weak compliance to some form of external pressure. -3. Unspoken Rules: In abusive spiritual systems, people's lives are controlled from the outside in by rules, spoken and unspoken. Unspoken rules are those that govern unhealthy churches or families but are not said out loud. Because they are not said out loud, you don't find out that they're there until you break them. The most powerful of all unspoken rules in the abusive system is what we have already termed the "can't talk" rule. The "can't talk" [rule] has this thinking behind it: "The real problem cannot be exposed because then it would have to be dealt with and things would have to change; so it must be protected behind walls of silence (neglect) or by assault (legalistic attack). If you speak about the problem, you are the problem. -- 4. Lack of Balance: The fourth characteristic of a spiritual abusive system is an unbalanced approach to living out the truth of the Christian life. This shows itself in two extremes: Extreme Objectivism The first extreme is an empirical approach to life, which elevates objective truth to the exclusion of valid subjective experience. This approach to spirituality creates a system in which authority is based upon the level of education and intellectual capacity alone, rather than on intimacy with God, obedience and sensitivity to His Spirit. Extreme Subjectivism - The other manifestation of lack of balance is seen in an extremely subjective approach to the Christian life. What is true is decided on the basis of feelings and experiences, giving more weight to them than what the Bible declares. In this system, people can't know or understand truths (even if they really do understand or know them) until the leaders "receive them by spiritual revelation from the Lord" and "impart" them to the people. In such systems, it is more important to act according to the word of a leader who has "a word" for you than to act according to what you know to be true from Scripture, or simply from your spiritual growth-history. As with the extreme objective approach, Christians who are highly subjective also have a view of education-- most often, that education is bad or unnecessary. There is almost a pride in not being educated, and a disdain for those who are. Everything that is needed is taught through the Holy Spirit. ("After all, Peter and Timothy didn't go to college or seminary...") -- 5. Paranoia: In the church that is spiritually abusive, there is a sense, spoken or unspoken, that "others will not understand what we're all about, so let's not let them know-- that way they won't be able to ridicule or persecute us." There is an assumption that (1) what we say, know, or do is a result of our being more enlightened that others; (2) others will not understand unless they become one of us; and (3) others will respond negatively. In a place where authority is grasped and legislated, not simply demonstrated, persecution sensitivity builds a case for keeping everything within the system. Why? Because of the evil, dangerous, or unspiritual people outside of the system who are trying to weaken or destroy "us." This mentality builds a strong wall or bunker around the abusive system, isolates the abusers from scrutiny and accountability, and makes it more difficult for people to leave-- because they will then be outsiders too. While it is true that there is a world of evil outside of the system, there is also good out there. But people are misled into thinking that the only safety is in the system. Ironically, Jesus and Paul both warned that one of the worst dangers to the flock was from wolves in the house (Matthew 10:16, Acts 20:29-30). -- 6. Misplaced Loyalty: The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We're not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader. Once again, because authority is assumed or legislated (and therefore not real), following must be legislated as well. A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God. "We Alone Are Right" There are three factors that come into place here, adding up to a misplaced loyalty. First, leadership projects a "we alone are right" mentality, which permeates the system. Members must remain in the system if they want to be "safe," or to stay "on good terms" with God, or not be viewed as wrong or "backslidden." - Scare Tactics - The second factor that brings about misplaced loyalty is the use of "scare tactics." We're already seen this in some of the paranoia described in the last section. Scare tactics are more serious. This is more than just the risk of being polluted by the world. We have counseled many Christians who, after deciding to leave their church, were told horrifying things. "God is going to withdraw His Spirit from you and your family." "God will destroy

your business." "Without our protection, Satan will get your children." "You and your family will come under a curse." This is spiritual blackmail and it's abuse. And it does cause people to stay in abusive places. - Humiliation - The third method of calling forth misplaced loyalty is the threat of humiliation. This is done by publicly shaming, exposing, or threatening to remove people from the group. Unquestionably, there is a place for appropriate church discipline. In the abusive system, it is the fear of being exposed, humiliated or removed that insures your proper allegiance, and insulates those in authority. You can be "exposed" for asking too many questions, for disobeying the unspoken rules, or for disagreeing with authority. People are made public examples in order to send a message to those who remain. Others have phone campaigns launched against them, to warn their friends and others in the group about how "dangerous" they are. -- 7. Secretive: When you see people in a religious system being secretive-- watch out. People don't hide what is appropriate; they hide what is inappropriate. One reason spiritual abusive families and churches are secretive is because they are so image conscious. People in these systems can't even live up to their own performance standards, so they have to hide what is real. Some believe they must do this to protect God's good name. So how things look and what others think becomes more important than what's real. They become God's "public relations agents." The truth is, He's not hiring anyone for this position. Another reason for secrecy in a church is that the leadership has a condescending, negative view of the laity. This results in conspiracies on the leadership level. They tell themselves, "People are not mature enough to handle truth." This is patronizing at best. Conspiracies also develop among the lay people. Since it is not all right [sic] to notice or talk about problems, people form conspiracies behind closed doors and over the telephone as they try to solve things informally. But since they have no authority, they solve, and solve, and solve-- but nothing really gets solved. And all the while, building God's true kingdom is put on hold. -- Conclusion: I hope that what I have cited gets your attention and motivates you to read this book. The subtle patterns of unhealthy characteristics are discussed in a way that actually helps people identify them, resist them, and recover from them. Copyright ÂŠ 2000 John Engler. All rights reserved. The Barnabas Ministry [link]

PAGAN CHRISTIANITY (BY FRANK VIOLA

GEORGE BARNA) REVIEWED - LIKE MOST REFORMERS, VIOLA MANAGES TO EXPRESS SOME VALID ISSUES THAT NEED ATTENTION - HE WELL STATES THE CLERGY-LAITY DISTINCTION - HE IS CLEAR ABOUT THE DISASTROUS DOMINATION OF CLERGYMEN, THE OFFICIAL FUNCTION OF "PASTORS" WHO ENFORCE DENOMINATIONAL CREED AND TRADITION, AND EVEN SPEAKS WITH VALIDITY AGAINST THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT AND ITS' IMPACT IN MODERN WORSHIP "STYLES" - I BELIEVE THERE IS VENERATION OF RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE THAT CAN CRIPPLE US BOTH SPIRITUALLY AND FINANCIALLY, THOUGH VIOLA GOES AND

WAY BEYOND QUESTIONING AN EXPEDIENCY

I understand the "excessive and pathological dependence on the clergy," but I'm not willing to classify all preaching within that condemnation. (This is the same old stuff - human abuse is cited as the reason to cast out something legitimate when used properly.) When we tell people what the Word of God says and challenge the right response, there is no excess or pathology in that! Let's expose and condemn the real problem, without throwing out the legitimate. -- And I'm wondering about something. Frank Viola has written a book. What is it that lifts his book out of the condemned category? What if someone read his book to a group of people (he does affirm his book to be needed truth)? Would the reading of his book stifle spiritual health and create a pathological dependence on his writings or books in general? Nonsense. -- Don't overlook, Viola is a high school teacher. When he speaks to a class in a building with attention focused on him, does he consider that to be an exercise that is passive, tradition bound and pagan? Likewise, he "speaks at church-life conferences!" Apparently the kind of speaking he does he values in some way. Yet he reacts with outrage when someone stands before an audience and directs their attention to the text of Scripture in an orderly form without interruption. This is the excess and decoration of a militant reformer, who is in bondage to his system while attacking another. It is gimmickry and passion born in the contention of a reformers narrow mentality, not based on the content of Scripture. -- Behind the charm and sophistry of these reformers there is an arrogant spirit. Mr. Viola wants us to know that "the NT is not a manual for church practice." Yet, he wants us to be led by "the light that is within you!" When all of that has been said, the footnote on the last page of the book is truly the bottom line. He says in this small print entry: "If you plan to leave the institutional church, I strongly recommend that you read the next volume in this series: So You Want To Start A House Church? First-Century Styled Church Planting For Today. It will give you the next step." -- Unbelievable! He steers us away from the New Testament, then recommends his next book as our next step. Now here is my recommendation. Don't let any man dictate "the next step." Not Viola, Berkley or any man. Open the Bible. Read what it says, and let God direct your steps (Psa. 37:23; 119:133). --- Good Recently Published Resources

To Study The House Church Movement: "The House Church Movement," Harry Osborne; in The Renewing Of Your Mind, 2004 Truth Magazine Lectures, GOT Foundation, 2004. "The House Church Movement," Jim Deason; True Worship, 2205 FC Lectures. By Warren E. Berkley The Front Page From Expository Files 13.1 January 2006. [link]

WHAT IS A PROTESTANT [PRO-WITNESS CHRISTIANITY] AND WHY THE PROTEST - THE ENGLISH WORD 'PROTESTANT' COMES FROM THE LATIN AND IS MADE UP FROM TWO WORDS, PRO-FOR, AND TESTARI-WITNESS - AND IT HAS COME TO MEAN TO WRITE OR SPEAK STRONGLY AGAINST - THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL [PRO-WITNESS] DOCTRINES ARE: THE PROTESTANT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE WORD OF GOD FOR INSTRUCTIONS, AND TO THE THRONE OF GRACE IN HIS/HER DEVOTION; WHILE THE PIOUS ROMAN CATHOLIC CONSULTS THE TEACHINGS OF HIS/HER CHURCH, AND PREFERS TO OFFER PRAYERS THROUGH THE MEDIUMS OF THE VIRGIN MARY AND SAINTS, (NOTE HERE THAT THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT THE DEAD KNOW NOT ANYTHING AND NECROMANCY, THE TALKING OR PRAYING TO THE DEAD, IS AN ABOMINATION PS.106:28; COL.2:8) --- ***FROM THIS GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF EVANGELICAL [BIBLICAL TRUTH] FREEDOM, AND DIRECT INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIP [BELIEVERS' PRIESTHOOD] OF THE BELIEVER TO (JESUS) CHRIST, COMES THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL [PRO-WITNESS] DOCTRINES OF PROTESTANTISM: 1.) THE BIBLE ONLY 2.) BY GRACE ONLY 3.) THE GENERAL PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS -- {NOTE: JESUS TOLD BOTH THE PHARISEES AND HIS DISCIPLES (LUKE 16:26) THAT THERE IS A DIVIDED DIMENSION "A GREAT GULF" BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD AND THAT THE TWO GROUPS CANNOT COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT IN ANY WAY WITH EACH OTHER, BECAUSE

GOD

HAS A DIVISION BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

ANY

INTERACTION WITH THE LIVING THAT FEINTS

INTERACTION AS FROM THE DEAD SHOULD BE HIGHLY SUSPECT AS BEING DECEPTIVE IN NATURE AND POSSIBLY EVEN OF DEMONIC ORIGIN.}

By the Bible only, is meant that we do not need extra revelations nor dogmas that contradict the 'Holy Word of God'. When the Bishop of Rome was elevated to the throne of Caesar in 538 A.D. as head of the Empire, he continued the same persecution against the Christian Church that Caesar began. See Revelation 17:6 "I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints." (Note here that a woman symbolizes a church and every bible believer is called a saint by virtue of Christ's righteousness being credited to them). Sainthood is not conferred onto the persecutors. [link]

WHY BAPTISTS ARE NOT PROTESTANTS BY DR. VERNON C. LYONS - THE 'PROTESTANT' REFORMATION IS USUALLY DATED FROM OCTOBER 31, 1517, WHEN MARTIN LUTHER NAILED HIS 95 THESES TO THE DOOR OF THE CASTLE CHURCH IN WITTENBURG, GERMANY - HOWEVER, THIS WAS ONLY ONE OF A SERIES OF ACTS THAT LED TO THE OPEN RUPTURE WITH ROME - PROTESTANTS DATE FROM THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY (1517) - THEY ARE THE LUTHERANS, THE REFORMED, AND OTHERS WHO WERE ONCE ROMAN CATHOLICS AND LEFT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH TO START DENOMINATIONS OF THEIR OWN - THE BAPTISTS NEVER LEFT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AS DID LUTHER, CALVIN AND ZWINGLI -- **THEY (BAPTISTS) NEVER LEFT BECAUSE THEY WERE NEVER IN -- THEY DID NOT BEGIN THEIR EXISTENCE AT THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION, BUT HUNDREDS OF YEARS PRIOR TO THE REFORMATION Baptists make no effort to trace a historical succession back to the age of the Apesties. Their only claim is that at every age in church history there have been groups that have held to the same doctrines that Baptists hold today. These groups may or may not have been connected and they have been known by various names. There were the Montanists (150 A.D.), the Novatians (240 A.D.), Donatists (305 A.D.), Albigenses (1022 A.D.), Waldensians (1170 A.D.), and the name Anabaptists came into prominence just before the time of the Protestant Reformation. Full historical data immediately refutes the view that there was only one religious group -- the Roman Catholic church -until the time of Martin Luther. Anyone who claims this simply has not done his homework. ... It is also evident that the Baptists were not Protestants because they were fiercely persecuted by the Protestant Reformers and their followers. Uncounted thousands of them lost their goods, their lands, and their lives in these persecutions. Konred Grebel died in prison in 1526. Felix Manz was drowned by the authorities at Zurich in 1527. Noted Baptist leader Baithauser Hubmaier was burned alive at the stake in Vienna March 10, 1528. Three days later his wife was drowned by being thrown over the Danube bridge with a stone tied to her neck. The facts abundantly attest that historically Baptists are not Protestants. [link]

METHODIST [METHOD CHRISTIANITY] BEGINNINGS - JOHN WESLEY WAS A PRIEST IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, BUT DID NOT HAVE A PERSONALLY MOVING EXPERIENCE OF THE FORGIVENESS OF HIS OWN SINS UNTIL MAY 24, 1738 - HE THEN EMBARKED ON A CAREER OF BRINGING OTHERS TO THIS EXPERIENCE THROUGH PREACHING, AND THE ORGANIZATION OF SMALL GROUPS FOR SPIRITUAL ENCOURAGEMENT - AFTER HIS DEATH, HIS FOLLOWERS FORMED A NEW PROTESTANT DENOMINATION, KNOWN AS THE METHODISTS [METHOD CHRISTIANITY] - WESLEY BEGAN SENDING PREACHERS TO THE AMERICAN COLONIES IN 1771.AS IN ENGLAND, HE HAD A TEAM OF LAY PREACHERS WHO RODE FROM SOCIETY TO SOCIETY, MONITORING THE BELIEFS AND EFFORTS AT HOLINESS OF EACH SOCIETY MEMBER - BECAUSE OF THE HOSTILITY OF MANY AMERICANS TOWARD THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, AND BECAUSE OF THE GREAT DISTANCE FROM ENGLAND, WESLEY ALLOWED METHODISTS IN AMERICA TO FORM A SEPARATE DENOMINATION - AT THE "CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE" IN BALTIMORE IN 1784-85 DR. THOMAS COKE (WHO HAD BEEN ORDAINED AS A SUPERINTENDENT OR BISHOP BY WESLEY) AND FRANCIS ASBURY FORMED THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND BEGAN TO ORDAIN MINISTERS WHO COULD OFFER THE SACRAMENTS [COMMUNION] AS WELL AS PREACH Wesley agreed with the great Protestant Reformers Martin Luther (1483-1546), Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), and John Calvin (1509-1564) that people were saved by the free grace of God's forgiveness of sin, and that there was nothing one could do to merit such forgiveness-it was simply a gift.This is the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. -Wesley's theology was distinctive in that he argued that this justifying grace was preceded by a grace that prepared individuals and allowed them to accept or reject justifying grace freely ("prevenient grace"), and that, in addition to justifying grace, they are given additional grace that leads them on toward a life of sinless perfection ("sustaining grace").Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin had argued that individuals are not free to accept or reject God's grace-if offered, it is an offer that cannot be refused.Further, they argued that though one could not lose this grace, sinless perfection was not possible-though their sins are forgiven Christians always remain sinners. -- Wesley saw his movement as an effort to revitalize the Church of England.He required his followers to attend church services at their local parishes, and he did not allow his lay preachers to administer sacraments.While his use of lay preachers, his willingness to preach not just from pulpits but on street corners and in fields, and his eventual willingness to allow women leadership roles in his movement caused tension with some in the Church of England, Methodism remained part of the Church of England in England for as long as Wesley was alive. [link]

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH - PRIMITIVE METHODISM BEGAN IN ENGLAND, IN THE EARLY 1800'S, AS AN ATTEMPT TO RESTORE THE METHODIST REVIVAL BEGUN UNDER THE MINISTRY OF JOHN WESLEY - IN AMERICA, METHODIST PREACHERS INVENTED A NEW FORM OF EVANGELISM, **THE CAMP MEETING [AKA REVIVAL MEETINGS, TENT MEETINGS, EVANGELISM OUTREACH, CRUSADES] ON MAY 31, 1807, THESE TWO LEADERS CALLED FOR AND AGGRESSIVELY PROMOTED [IN ENGLAND] AN AMERICAN STYLE CAMP MEETING, AN ALL DAY PRAYER, SONG, AND PREACHING EVENT - MANY PEOPLE WERE CONVERTED TO CHRIST AT THAT MEETING, NOW CALLED: "MOW COP" - JOHN WESLEY [HAD] WON MANY TO CHRIST PREACHING OUTDOORS, BUT THE LEADERS OF THE [ENGLISH] WESLEYAN CHURCH OF THAT DAY FOUND THIS [AMERICAN] INNOVATION UNBEARABLE - THEY FIRMLY REFUSED TO ALLOW ANY OF THE MOW COP CONVERTS TO JOIN THEIR CHURCHES - THEY DISMISSED HUGH BOURNE AND WILLIAM CLOWES FOR THEIR INNOVATION WITHOUT PERMISSION - FOR TWO YEARS, THESE ENTHUSIASTIC CONVERTS WAITED IN VAIN FOR ACCEPTANCE BY THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH - FINALLY, THEY DECIDED TO FORM THEIR OWN SOCIETY - THEY NAMED IT "THE SOCIETY OF PRIMITIVE METHODISTS" BECAUSE THEY DESIRED TO RETURN TO THE ROOTS OF THE METHODIST MOVEMENT OUR BEGINNINGS: Primitive Methodism began in England, in the early 1800's, as an attempt to restore the Methodist Revival begun under the ministry of John Wesley. In America, Methodist preachers invented a new form of Evangelism, the Camp Meeting. Such a preacher, Lorenzo Dow, visited England. He told of many converts being won to the Lord in these outdoor meetings. He spoke of John Wesley, and his Field preaching. Hugh Bourne and William Clowes listened. On May 31, 1807, these two leaders called for and aggressively promoted an American style Camp Meeting, an all day prayer, song, and preaching event. Many people were converted to Christ at that meeting, now called: "Mow Cop". -- At the left is an artist rendition of a rock outcropping of the remains of a castle that is located on the top of a hill that is known as Mow Cop. The artist is Carol Kropp. Her husband is Rev. George Kropp and he is the pastor of the Laurel Run Primitive Methodist Church. You may click on the following link to go to a web site with much information about the hill and castle known as "Mow Cop", as well as information pertaining to early Primitive Methodism. -- John Wesley won many to Christ preaching outdoors, but the leaders of the Wesleyan church of that day found this innovation

unbearable. They firmly refused to allow any of the Mow Cop converts to join their churches. They dismissed Hugh Bourne and William Clowes for their innovation without permission. For two years, these enthusiastic converts waited in vain for acceptance by the established Church. Finally, they decided to form their own society. They named it "The Society of Primitive Methodists" because they desired to return to the Roots of the Methodist movement. In 1829, a group of missionaries arrived in America to minister to English and Welsh Immigrants living in the industrial and mining areas. Their ministries thrived and their Churches grew. On September 16, 1840, the "American Primitive Methodist Church" was established. [link]

GEORGE WHITEFIELD (1714-1770) -- GEORGE WHITEFIELD WAS A RENOWNED ENGLISH PREACHER, CONSIDERED TO BE MUCH MORE ELOQUENT THAT JOHN WESLEY - HE PERSUADED JOHN WESLEY TO PREACH IN THE FIELDS - GEORGE WHITEFIELD [CALVINISM] AND JOHN WESLEY [ARMINIANISM] DID NOT SEE EYE-TO-EYE ON A THEOLOGY OF GRACE HOWEVER - THEY PARTED WAYS BUT MANAGED, IN THE END, TO MAINTAIN A RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER IN THAT THEIR HEARTS WERE THE SAME IN TERMS OF UNITY IN JESUS CHRIST George Whitefield and John Wesley did not see eye-to-eye on a theology of grace however. In 1740 Wesley published "Free Grace," saying that God's grace was extended to all. Wesley rejected the concept of divine election. Whitefield was a Calvinist. He once wrote, "God, himself, I find, teaches my friends the doctrine of election. If I mistake not, my dear and honored Mr. Wesley will hereafter be convinced of it also." -- The two men were never to agree on divine election. Whitefield thought Wesley's was preaching universal redemption whereas Wesley thought Whitefield's preaching implied Christians need not take moral responsibility. They parted ways but managed, in the end, to maintain a respect for each other in that their hearts were the same in terms of unity in Jesus Christ. After Whitefield's death, John Wesley preached a memorial sermon. -- Wesley said: "Let my last end be like his!" How many of you join in this wish? Perhaps there are few of you who do not, even in this numerous congregation! And O that this wish may rest upon your minds! - that it may not die away till your souls also are lodged "where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest!" [link]

JOHN WESLEY (1707-1788) -- ENGLISH

PREACHER,

THEOLOGIAN

AND

FOUNDER

THE

METHODIST CHURCH

The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who worked together in the rise of Methodism in the British Isles during the 18th century. They were among the ten children surviving infancy born to Samuel Wesley (1662 - 1735), Anglican rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, and Susanna Annesley Wesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister. -- John Wesley was born June 28, 1703, died Mar. 2, 1791, and was the principal founder of the Methodist movement. His mother was important in his emotional and educational development. John's education continued at Charterhouse School and at Oxford, where he studied at Christ Church and was elected (1726) fellow of Lincoln College. He was ordained in 1728. -- After a brief absence (1727 - 29) to help his father at Epworth, John returned to Oxford to discover that his brother Charles had founded a Holy Club composed of young men interested in spiritual growth. John quickly became a leading participant of this group, which was dubbed the Methodists. His Oxford days introduced him not only to the rich tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual classics like Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, and William Law's Serious Call. -- In 1735 both Wesleys accompanied James Oglethorpe to the new colony of Georgia, where John's attempts to apply his then high-church views aroused hostility. Discouraged, he returned (1737) to England; he was rescued from this discouragement by the influence of the Moravian preacher Peter Boehler. At a small religious meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed." After this spiritual conversion, which centered on the realization of salvation by faith in Christ alone, he devoted his life to evangelism. Beginning in 1739 he established Methodist societies throughout the country. He traveled and preached constantly, especially in the London-Bristol-Newcastle triangle, with frequent forays into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. He encountered much opposition and persecution, which later subsided. -- Late in life Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a widow. He continued throughout his life a regimen of personal discipline and ordered living. He died at 88, still preaching, still traveling, and still a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1784, however, he had given the Methodist societies a legal constitution, and in the same year he ordained Thomas Coke for ministry in the United States; this action signaled an independent course for Methodism. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JOHN WESLEY (JUNE 28, 1703 - MARCH 2, 1791) -- A CHURCH OF ENGLAND CLERIC AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIAN WESLEY IS LARGELY CREDITED, ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER CHARLES WESLEY, AS FOUNDING THE METHODIST MOVEMENT WHICH BEGAN WHEN HE TOOK TO OPEN-AIR PREACHING IN A SIMILAR MANNER TO GEORGE WHITEFIELD - IN CONTRAST TO GEORGE WHITEFIELD'S CALVINISM, WESLEY EMBRACED THE ARMINIAN DOCTRINES THAT WERE DOMINANT IN THE 18TH-CENTURY CHURCH OF ENGLAND - METHODISM IN BOTH FORMS WAS A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, WHICH ENCOURAGED PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE JESUS CHRIST PERSONALLY -- WESLEY'S TEACHINGS, KNOWN AS WESLEYANISM, PROVIDED THE SEEDS FOR BOTH THE MODERN METHODIST MOVEMENT, **THE HOLINESS MOVEMENT, PENTECOSTALISM, THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT, AND NEO-CHARISMATIC CHURCHES, WHICH ENCOMPASS NUMEROUS DENOMINATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD -- IN ADDITION, HE REFINED ARMINIANISM WITH A STRONG EVANGELICAL EMPHASIS ON THE REFORMED DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

Doctrines and theology: The 20th century Wesley scholar Albert Outler argued in his introduction to the 1964 collection John Wesley that Wesley developed his theology by using a method that Outler termed the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. In this method, Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture; and the Bible was the sole foundational source of theological or doctrinal development. The centrality of Scripture was so important for Wesley that he called himself "a man of one book"-meaning the Bible-although he was well-read for his day. However, he believed that doctrine had to be in keeping with Christian orthodox tradition. So, tradition was considered the second aspect of the Quadrilateral. -- Wesley contended that a part of the theological method would involve experiential faith. In other words, truth would be vivified in personal experience of Christians (overall, not individually), if it were really truth. And every doctrine must be able to be defended rationally. He did not divorce faith from reason. Tradition, experience and reason, however, were subject always to Scripture, Wesley argued, because only there is the Word of God revealed "so far as it is necessary for our salvation." -- The doctrines which Wesley emphasised in his sermons and writings are prevenient grace, present personal salvation by faith, the witness of the Spirit, and sanctification. Prevenient grace was the theological underpinning of his belief that all persons were capable of being saved by faith in Christ. Unlike the Calvinists of his day, Wesley did not believe in predestination, that is, that some persons had been elected by God for salvation and others for damnation. He understood that Christian orthodoxy insisted that salvation was only possible by the sovereign grace of God. He expressed his understanding of humanity's relationship to God as utter dependence upon God's grace. God was at work to enable all people to be capable of coming to faith by empowering humans to have actual existential freedom of response to God. -- Wesley defined the witness of the Spirit as: "an inward impression on the soul of believers, whereby the Spirit of God directly testifies to their spirit that they are the children of God." He based this doctrine upon certain Biblical passages (see Romans 8:15-16 as an example). This doctrine was closely related to his belief that salvation had to be "personal." In his view, a person must ultimately believe the Good News for himself or herself; no one could be in relation to God for another. -- Sanctification he described in 1790 as the "grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called `Methodists'." Wesley taught that sanctification was obtainable after justification by faith, between justification and death. He did not contend for "sinless perfection"; rather, he contended that a Christian could be made "perfect in love". (Wesley studied Eastern Orthodoxy and particularly the doctrine of Theosis). This love would mean, first of all, that a believer's motives, rather than being self-centred, would be guided by the deep desire to please God. One would be able to keep from committing what Wesley called, "sin rightly so-called." By this he meant a conscious or intentional breach of God's will or laws. A person could still be able to sin, but intentional or wilful sin could be avoided. -- Secondly, to be made perfect in love meant, for Wesley, that a Christian could live with a primary guiding regard for others and their welfare. He based this on Christ's quote that the second great command is "to love your neighbour as you love yourself." In his view, this orientation would cause a person to avoid any number of sins against his neighbour. This love, plus the love for God that could be the central focus of a person's faith, would be what Wesley referred to as "a fulfilment of the law of Christ." Wesley believed that this doctrine should be constantly preached, especially among the people called Methodists. In fact, he contended that the purpose of the Methodist movement was to "spread scriptural holiness across England." -Advocacy of Arminianism: Wesley entered controversies as he tried to enlarge church practice. The most notable of his controversies was that on Calvinism. His father was of the Arminian school in the church. Wesley came to his own conclusions while in college and expressed himself strongly against the doctrines of Calvinistic election and reprobation. -- Whitefield inclined to Calvinism. In his first tour in America, he embraced the views of the New England School of Calvinism. When in 1739 Wesley preached a sermon on Freedom of Grace, attacking the Calvinistic understanding of

predestination as blasphemous, as it represented "God as worse than the devil," Whitefield asked him not to repeat or publish the discourse, as he did not want a dispute. Wesley published his sermon anyway. Whitefield was one of many who responded. The two men separated their practice in 1741. Wesley wrote that those who held to unlimited atonement did not desire separation, but "those who held 'particular redemption' would not hear of any accommodation." -- Whitefield, Harris, Cennick, and others, became the founders of Calvinistic Methodism. Whitefield and Wesley, however, were soon back on friendly terms, and their friendship remained unbroken although they travelled different paths. In 1770 the controversy broke out anew with violence and bitterness, as people's view of God related to their views of men and their possibilities. Augustus Montague Toplady, Rowland, Richard Hill, and others were engaged on the one side, and Wesley and Fletcher on the other. Toplady was editor of The Gospel Magazine, which had articles covering the controversy. In 1778 Wesley began the publication of The Arminian Magazine, not, he said, to convince Calvinists, but to preserve Methodists. He wanted to teach the truth that "God willeth all men to be saved." A "lasting peace" could be secured in no other way. His system of thought has become known as Wesleyan Arminianism, the foundations of which were laid by Wesley and Fletcher. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JONATHAN EDWARDS (1703-1778) -- AN AMERICAN PREACHER, THEOLOGIAN, AND MISSIONARY TO NATIVE AMERICANS. EDWARDS "IS WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE AMERICA'S MOST IMPORTANT AND ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGIAN," AND ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST INTELLECTUALS - EDWARDS'S THEOLOGICAL WORK IS VERY BROAD IN SCOPE, BUT HE IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH HIS DEFENSE OF REFORMED THEOLOGY/CALVINISM - EDWARDS PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN SHAPING THE FIRST GREAT AWAKENING, AND OVERSAW SOME OF THE FIRST FIRES OF REVIVAL IN 1733-1735 AT HIS CHURCH - FIRST CHURCH IN NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS - EDWARDS DELIVERED THE **SERMON "SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD", PREACHED AT ENFIELD, JULY 8, 1741, A CLASSIC OF EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE {NOTE: THE SERMON "SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD" IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE BEST SERMON EVER GIVEN BY AN AMERICAN PREACHER.} Great Awakening: On July 7, 1731, Edwards preached in Boston the "Public Lecture" afterwards published under the title "God Glorified - in Man's Dependence," which was his first public attack on Arminianism. The emphasis of the lecture was on God's absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation: that while it behooved God to create man pure and without sin, it was of his "good pleasure" and "mere and arbitrary grace" for him to grant any person the faith necessary to incline him or her toward holiness; and that God might deny this grace without any disparagement to any of his character. -- In 1733, a religious revival began in Northampton and reached such intensity in the winter of 1734 and the following spring as to threaten the business of the town. In six months, nearly three hundred were admitted to the church. The revival gave Edwards an opportunity for studying the process of conversion in all its phases and varieties, and he recorded his observations with psychological minuteness and discrimination in A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton (1737). A year later, he published Discourses on Various Important Subjects, the five sermons which had proved most effective in the revival, and of these, none, he tells us, was so immediately effective as that on the Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners, from the text, "That every mouth may be stopped." Another sermon, published in 1734, A Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God set forth what he regarded as the inner, moving principle of the revival, the doctrine of a special grace in the immediate, and supernatural divine illumination of the soul. -- By 1735, the revival had spread-and popped up independently-across the Connecticut River Valley, and perhaps as far as New Jersey. However, criticism of the revival began, and many New Englanders feared that Edwards had led his flock into fanaticism. Over the summer of 1735, religious fervor took a dark turn. A number of New Englanders were shaken by the revivals but not converted, and became convinced of their inexorable damnation. Edwards wrote that "multitudes" felt urgedpresumably by Satan-to take their own lives. At least two people committed suicide in the depths of their spiritual duress, one from Edwards's own congregation-his uncle, Joseph Hawley II. It is not known if any others took their own lives, but the suicide craze effectively ended the first wave of revival, except in some parts of Connecticut. -- However, despite these setbacks and the cooling of religious fervor, word of the Northampton revival and Edwards's leadership role had spread as far as England and Scotland. It was at this time that Edwards was acquainted with George Whitefield, who was traveling the Thirteen Colonies on a revival tour in 1739-1740. The two men may not have seen eye to eye on every detail-Whitefield was far more comfortable with the strongly emotional elements of revival than Edwards was-but they were both passionate about preaching the Gospel.They worked together to orchestrate Whitefield's trip, first through Boston, and then to Northampton. When Whitefield preached at Edwards's church in Northampton, he

reminded them of the revival they had experienced just a few years before. This deeply touched Edwards, who wept throughout the entire service, and much of the congregation too was moved. Revival began to spring up again, and it was at this time that Edwards preached his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in Enfield, Connecticut in 1741. This sermon has been widely reprinted as an example of "fire and brimstone" preaching in the colonial revivals, though the majority of Edwards's sermons were not this dramatic. Indeed, he used this style deliberately. As historian George Marsden put it, "Edwards could take for granted...that a New England audience knew well the Gospel remedy. The problem was getting them to seek it." -- **Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, A Sermon Preached at Enfield, July 8, 1741, by Rev. Jonathan Edwards. Published at Boston, 1741 -- The movement met with opposition from conservative Congregationalist ministers. In 1741, Edwards published in its defense The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, dealing particularly with the phenomena most criticized: the swoonings, outcries and convulsions. These "bodily effects," he insisted, were not distinguishing marks of the work of the Spirit of God one way or another; but so bitter was the feeling against the revival in the more strictly Puritan churches that, in 1742, he was forced to write a second apology, Thoughts on the Revival in New England, his main argument being the great moral improvement of the country. In the same pamphlet, he defends an appeal to the emotions, and advocates preaching terror when necessary, even to children, who in God's sight "are young vipersâ&#x20AC;Ś if not Christ's." He considers "bodily effects" incidental to the real work of God, but his own mystic devotion and the experiences of his wife during the Awakening (which he gives in detail) make him think that the divine visitation usually overpowers the body, a view in support of which he quotes Scripture. In reply to Edwards, Charles Chauncy wrote Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England in 1743 and anonymously penned The Late Religious Commotions in New England Considered in the same year. In these works he urged conduct as the sole test of conversion; and the general convention of Congregational ministers in the Province of Massachusetts Bay protested "against disorders in practice which have of late obtained in various parts of the land." -- In spite of Edwards's able pamphlet, the impression had become widespread that "bodily effects" were recognized by the promoters of the Great Awakening as the true tests of conversion. To offset this feeling, Edwards preached at Northampton, during the years 1742 and 1743, a series of sermons published under the title of Religious Affections (1746), a restatement in a more philosophical and general tone of his ideas as to "distinguishing marks." In 1747, he joined the movement started in Scotland called the "concert in prayer," and in the same year published An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth. In 1749, he published a memoir of David Brainerd who had lived with his family for several months and had died at Northampton in 1747. Brainerd had been constantly attended by Edwards's daughter Jerusha, to whom he was rumored to have been engaged to be married, though there is no surviving evidence for this. In the course of elaborating his theories of conversion Edwards used Brainerd and his ministry as a case study, making extensive notes of his conversions and confessions. [link]

SERMONAUDIO: SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD (MP3) "Great Sermon!" This particular reading of the "greatest sermon ever preached on American soil", scared the hell out of me. Even as a regenerated Christian, I was trembling throughout the entire sermon. The actor who performed the reading of this certainly outdid himself. I would recommend this particular reading (produced by cloudaudio.com) over all the others. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CHARLES FINNEY (FINNEY (AUGUST 29, 1792 - AUGUST 16, 1875) -- AN AMERICAN PREACHER AND LEADER IN THE SECOND GREAT [AMERICAN] AWAKENING - HE HAS BEEN CALLED THE FATHER OF MODERN REVIVALISM [ALTER CALLS AND THE 'SINNERS PRAYER'] - FINNEY WAS BEST KNOWN AS AN INNOVATIVE REVIVALIST, AN OPPONENT OF OLD SCHOOL PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGY, AN ADVOCATE OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTIONISM, A PIONEER IN SOCIAL REFORMS IN FAVOR OF WOMEN AND BLACKS, A RELIGIOUS WRITER, AND PRESIDENT AT OBERLIN COLLEGE -- {NOTE: CHARLES FINNEY (1792 -1875) WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. -- FINNEY WAS A PRIMARY INFLUENCE ON THE "REVIVAL" STYLE OF THEOLOGY WHICH EMERGED IN THE 19TH CENTURY (1800'S). THOUGH COMING FROM A CALVINISTIC BACKGROUND, FINNEY REJECTED (SHEPHERDING) TENETS OF "OLD DIVINITY" CALVINISM "OLD SCHOOL PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGY" WHICH HE FELT WERE UNBIBLICAL AND COUNTER TO EVANGELISM AND THE CHRISTIAN MISSION. - WIKI.COM}

Theology: Finney was a primary influence on the "revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century. Though coming from a Calvinistic background, Finney rejected tenets of "Old Divinity" Calvinism which he felt were unbiblical and counter to evangelism and Christian mission. -- Finney's theology is difficult to classify, as can be observed in his masterwork, Religious Revivals. In this work, he emphasizes the involvement of a person's will in salvation. Whether he believed the will was free to repent or not repent, or whether he viewed God as inclining the will irresistibly (as in Calvinist doctrine, where the will of an elect individual is changed by God so that they now desire to repent, thus repenting with their will and not against it, but not being free in whether they choose repentance since they must choose what their will is inclined towards), is not made clear. Finney, like most Protestants, affirmed salvation by grace through faith alone, not by works or by obedience. Finney also affirmed that works were the evidence of faith. The presence of unrepentant sin thus evidenced that a person had not received salvation. -- In his Systematic Theology, Finney remarks that "I have felt greater hesitancy in forming and expressing my views upon this Perseverance of the saints, than upon almost any other question in theology." At the same time, he took the presence of unrepented sin in the life of a professing Christian as evidence that they must immediately repent or be lost. Finney draws support for this position from Peter's treatment of the baptized Simon (see Acts 8) and Paul's instruction of discipline to the Corinthian church (see 1 Corinthians 5). This type of teaching underscores the strong emphasis on personal holiness found in Finney's writings. -- Finney's understanding of the atonement was that it satisfied "public justice" and that it opened up the way for God to pardon people of their sin. This was the so-called New Divinity which was popular at that time period. In this view, Christ's death satisfied public justice rather than retributive justice. As Finney put it, it was not a "commercial transaction." This view of the atonement is typically known as the governmental view or government view. -- Princeton Theological Seminary Professor Albert Baldwin Dod reviewed Finney's 1835 book Lectures on Revivals of Religion and rejected it as theologically unsound from a Calvinistic perspective, not necessarily from a Christian perspective. Dod was a defender of Old School Calvinist orthodoxy (see Princeton theologians) and was especially critical of Finney's view of the doctrine of total depravity. [link]

CHARLES FINNEY REVIVALS - CHARLES FINNEY MESSAGES - SERMONS FROM THE PENNY PULPIT (RESOURCES) CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE: LECTURES TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS (1836-37). DELIVERED IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 1836 AND 1837. BY CHARLES G. FINNEY - What is the gospel, and what is Christianity? Are there false converts in the church? What is the real difference between true and false converts? Why do Christians struggle to live a life of obedience, and to win the lost to Christ? Does salvation really produce holiness? Does Christ actually make us holy so that we can enter heaven? Is this the message of the gospel? And how can we ourselves become HOLY? [link]

CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE: TOZER DEVOTIONAL, THOUGHTS ON COMMUNION - TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2011 - WHAT A SWEET COMFORT TO US THAT OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS ONCE KNOWN IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD - IN EARLIER CHRISTIAN TIMES, BELIEVERS CALLED THE COMMUNION "THE MEDICINE OF IMMORTALITY," AND GOD GAVE THEM THE DESIRE TO PRAY - BUT DO NOT THEN DEPART; SAVIOR, ABIDE WITH US AND SPREAD THY TABLE **IN OUR HEART [NOT JUST IN OUR MIND] THOUGHTS ON COMMUNION: What a sweet comfort to us that our Lord Jesus Christ was once known in the breaking of the bread. In earlier Christian times, believers called the Communion "the medicine of immortality," and God gave them the desire to pray: Be known to us in breaking bread, But do not then depart; Savior, abide with us and spread Thy table **in our heart [not just in our mind]. Some churches have a teaching that you will find God only at their table-and that you leave God there when you leave. I am so glad that God has given us light. We may take the Presence of the table with us. We may take the Bread of life with us as we go. Then sup with us in love divine, Thy body and Thy blood; That living bread and heavenly wine Be our immortal food! In approaching the table of our Lord, we dare not forget the cost to our elder Brother, the Man who was from heaven. He is our Savior; He is our Passover! [link]

REVIVAL HYMN A CALL TO ACTION (VIDEO & MP3 DOWNLOADS) Have We No Tears for Revival? "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Ps. 126:5). This is the divine edict. This is more than preaching with zeal. This is more than scholarly exposition. This is more than delivering sermons of exegetical exactitude and homiletic perfection. Such a man, whether preacher or pew dweller, is appalled at the shrinking authority of the Church in the present drama of cruelty in the world. And he cringes with sorrow that men turn a deaf ear to the Gospel and willingly risk eternal hell in the process. Under this complex burden, his heart is crushed to tears. The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church, grieved at the blindness of the Church, grieved at the corruption in the Church, grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil. He is embarrassed that the Church folks no longer cry in their despair before a devil-ridden, sin-mad society, "Why could we not cast him out?" (Matt. 17:19). [link]

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS (1466-1536) - ERASMUS' BIBLE VERSION THE 'TEXTUS RECEPTUS' MEANING THE 'RECEIVED TEXTS' - IN CONSIDERING THE EXPERIENCES OF LINACRE AND COLET, THE GREAT SCHOLAR ERASMUS WAS SO MOVED TO CORRECT THE CORRUPT LATIN VULGATE, THAT IN 1516 A.D., WITH THE HELP OF PRINTER JOHN FROBEN, HE PUBLISHED A GREEK-LATIN PARALLEL NEW TESTAMENT - THE LATIN PART WAS NOT THE CORRUPT VULGATE, BUT HIS OWN FRESH RENDERING OF THE TEXT FROM THE MORE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE GREEK, WHICH HE HAD MANAGED TO COLLATE FROM A HALF-DOZEN PARTIAL OLD GREEK NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS HE HAD ACQUIRED - THIS MILESTONE WAS THE FIRST NON-LATIN VULGATE TEXT OF THE SCRIPTURE TO BE PRODUCED IN A MILLENNIUMâ&#x20AC;Ś AND THE FIRST EVER TO COME OFF A PRINTING PRESS - THE 1516 GREEK-LATIN NEW TESTAMENT OF ERASMUS FURTHER FOCUSED ATTENTION ON JUST HOW CORRUPT AND INACCURATE THE LATIN VULGATE HAD BECOME, AND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO GO BACK AND USE THE ORIGINAL GREEK (NEW TESTAMENT) AND ORIGINAL HEBREW (OLD TESTAMENT) LANGUAGES TO MAINTAIN ACCURACY {NOTE: THE KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE PUBLISHED IN 1611 A.D. IS AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT AND HEBREW OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS ASSEMBLED BY ERASMUS THAT HE PUBLISHED IN 1516 A.D. AS THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS. THE 1611 KJV BIBLE IS FOR THE MOST PART A WORD FOR WORD TRANSLATION AND NOT A PARAPHRASE SO THE ACCURACY OF THE 1611 KJV TRANSLATION CAN EASILY BE CHECKED FOR ERRORS OR CORRUPTIONS BY SIMPLY COMPARING IT TO THE GREEK AND HEBREW OF THE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED (1516 A.D.) TEXTUS RECEPTUS. THE SCHOLARSHIP OF THE KJV TRANSLATION WAS THE VERY BEST THE WORLD HAD TO OFFER AT THAT TIME, OR POSSIBLY OF ANY TIME SINCE THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES AND AS THE BEST SCHOLARS THEY DIDN'T WRITE THE BIBLE OR EVEN RE-WRITE THE BIBLE THEY ONLY TRANSLATED THE ALREADY WRITTEN BIBLE FROM THE ORIGINAL GREEK AND HEBREW INTO THE ENGLISH OF OUR DAY AND NATIONALITY.} Writings of Erasmus: His more serious writings begin early with the Enchiridion Militis Christiani, the "Manual (or Dagger) of the Christian Gentleman" (1503). In this little volume Erasmus outlines the views of the normal Christian life which he was to spend the rest of his days in elaborating. The key-note of it all is sincerity. The chief evil of the day, he says, is formalism, a respect for traditions, a regard for what other people think essential, but never a thought of what the true teaching of Christ may be. Another of Erasmus's books worthy of mention was, Praise of Folly, dedicated to his friend Sir Thomas More. -- While in England Erasmus began the systematic examination of manuscripts of the New Testament to prepare for a new edition and Latin translation. This edition was published by Froben of Basel in 1516 and was the basis of most of the scientific study of the Bible during the Reformation period. It was the first attempt on the part of a competent and liberal-minded scholar to ascertain what the writers of the New Testament had actually said. The Greek text produced by Erasmus is known as textus receptus and was the basis for the King James Version of the New Testament. Erasmus dedicated his work ironically, to Pope Leo X., and he justly regarded this work as his chief service to the cause of a sound Christianity. Immediately after he began the publication of his Paraphrases of the New Testament, a popular presentation of the contents of the several books. These, like all the writings of Erasmus, were in Latin, but they were at once translated into the common languages of the European peoples, a process which received the hearty approval of Erasmus himself. [link]

SIR FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626) -- (OCCULT) PHILOSOPHER AND STATESMAN, WAS THE YOUNGEST SON OF SIR NICHOLAS BACON, LORD KEEPER, BY HIS SECOND WIFE - IN 1596 HE WAS MADE A QUEEN'S COUNSEL, BUT MISSED THE APPOINTMENT OF MASTER OF THE ROLLS, AND IN THE NEXT YEAR (1597), HE PUBLISHED THE FIRST EDITION OF HIS ESSAYS, TEN IN NUMBER, COMBINED WITH SARCED MEDITATIONS AND THE COULOURS OF GOOD AND EVIL - IN HIS GREAT OFFICE BACON SHOWED A FAILURE OF CHARACTER IN STRIKING CONTRAST WITH THE MAJESTY OF HIS INTELLECT - HE WAS CORRUPT ALIKE POLITICALLY AND JUDICIALLY - THENCEFORTH HE DEVOTED HIMSELF TO STUDY AND WRITING (AKA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) - IN 1622 APPEARED HIS HISTORY OF HENRY VII, AND THE 3RD PART OF THE INSTAURATIO; IN 1623, HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, THE DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTARUM, A LATIN TRANSLATION OF THE ADVANCEMENT, AND IN 1625 THE 3RD EDITION OF THE ESSAYS, NOW 58 IN NUMBER - HE ALSO PUBLISHED APOPHTHEGMS, **AND A TRANSLATION [HERE WE HAVE THE BEGINNINGS OF WHAT WE HAVE SO MUCH OF TODAY, MODERN OCCULTISTS TRANSLATING VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE] OF SOME OF THE PSALMS -- THE INTELLECT OF BACON WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND SEARCHING EVER POSSESSED BY MAN, AND HIS DEVELOPMENTS OF THE INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY REVOLUTIONISED THE FUTURE THOUGHT OF THE HUMAN RACE

Bacon, Francis, Lord Verulam, and Viscount St. Alban's, philosopher and statesman, was the youngest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper, by his second wife, a daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, whose sister married William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the great minister of Queen Elizabeth. He was born at York House in the Strand on Jan. 22, 1561, and in his 13th year was sent with his elder brother Anthony to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he first met the Queen, who was impressed by his precocious intellect, and was accustomed to call him "the young Lord Keeper." Here also he became dissatisfied with the Aristotelian philosophy as being unfruitful and leading only to resultless disputation. -- In 1576 he entered Gray's Inn, and in the same year joined the embassy of Sir Amyas Paulet to France, where he remained until 1579. The death of his father in that year, before he had completed an intended provision for him, gave an adverse turn to his fortunes, and rendered it necessary that he should decide upon a profession. He accordingly returned to Gray's Inn, and, after an unsuccessful attempt to induce Burghley to give him a post at court, and thus enable him to devote himself to a life of learning, he gave himself seriously to the study of law, and was called to the Bar in 1582. He did not, however, desert philosophy, and published a Latin tract, Temporis Partus Maximus (the Greatest Birth of Time), the first rough draft of his own system. -- Two years later, in 1584, he entered the House of Commons as member for Melcombe, sitting subsequently for Taunton (1586), Liverpool (1589), Middlesex (1593), and Southampton (1597). In the Parliament of 1586 he took a prominent part in urging the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. About this time he seems again to have approached his powerful uncle, the result of which may possibly be traced in his rapid progress at the Bar, and in his receiving, in 1589, the reversion to the Clerkship of the Star Chamber, a valuable appointment, into the enjoyment of which, however, he did not enter until 1608. -- About 1591 he formed a friendship with the Earl of Essex, from whom he received many tokens of kindness ill requited. In 1593 the offices of Attorney-general, and subsequently of Solicitorgeneral became vacant, and Essex used his influence on Bacon's behalf, but unsuccessfully, the former being given to Coke, the famous lawyer. These disappointments may have been owing to a speech made by Bacon on a question of subsidies. To console him for them Essex presented him with a property at Twickenham, which he subsequently sold for £1800, equivalent to a much larger sum now. -- In 1596 he was made a Queen's Counsel, but missed the appointment of Master of the Rolls, and in the next year (1597), he published the first edition of his Essays, ten in number, combined with Sarced Meditations and the Coulours of Good and Evil. By 1601 Essex had lost the Queen's favour, and had raised his rebellion, and Bacon was one of those appointed to investigate the charges against him, and examine witnesess, in connection with which he showed an ungrateful and indecent eagerness in pressing the case against his former friend and benefactor, who was executed on Feb. 25, 1601. This act Bacon endeavoured to justify in A Declaration of the Practices and Treasons, etc., of...the Earl of Essex, etc. His circumstances had for some time been bad, and he had been arrested for debt: he had, however, received a gift of a fine of £1200 on one of Essex's accomplices. -- The accession of James VI in 1603 gave a favourable turn to his fortunes: he was knighted, and endeavoured to set himself right with the new powers by writing his Apologie (defence) of his proceedings in the case of Essex, who had favoured the succession of James. In the first Parliament of the new king he sat for St. Alban's, and was appointed a Commissioner for Union with Scotland. In 1605 he published The Advancement of Learning, dedicated, with fulsome flattery, to the king. The following year he married Alice Barnham, the daughter of a London merchant, and in 1607 he was made SolicitorGeneral, and wrote Cogita et Visa, a first sketch of the Novum Organum, followed in 1609 by The Wisdom of the Ancients. -- Meanwhile (in 1608), he had entered upon the Clerkship of the Star Chamber, and was in the enjoyment of a large income; but old debts and present extravagance kept him embarrassed, and he endeavoured to obtain further

promotion and wealth by supporting the king in his arbitrary policy. In 1613 he became Attorney-General, and in this capacity prosecuted Somerset in 1616. The year 1618 saw him Lord Keeper, and the next Lord Chancellor and Baron Verulam, a title which, in 1621, he exchanged for that of Viscount St. Albans. Meanwhile he had written the New Atlantis, a political romance, and in 1620 he presented to the king the Novum Organum, on which he had been engaged for 30 years, and which ultimately formed the main part of the Instauratio Magna. -- In his great office Bacon showed a failure of character in striking contrast with the majesty of his intellect. He was corrupt alike politically and judicially, and now the hour of retribution arrived. In 1621 a Parliamentary Committee on the administration of the law charged him with corruption under 23 counts; and so clear was the evidence that he made no attempt at defence. To the lords, who sent a committee to inquire whether the confession was really his, he replied, "My lords, it is my act, my hand, and my heart; I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." He was sentenced to a fine of £40,000, remitted by the king, to be committed to the Tower during the king's pleasure (which was that he should be released in a few days), and to be incapable of holding office or sitting in parliament. He narrowly escaped being deprived of his titles. -- Thenceforth he devoted himself to study and writing. In 1622 appeared his History of Henry VII, and the 3rd part of the Instauratio; in 1623, History of Life and Death, the De Augmentis Scientarum, a Latin translation of the Advancement, and in 1625 the 3rd edition of the Essays, now 58 in number. He also published Apophthegms, and a translation of some of the Psalms. -His life was now approaching its close. In March, 1626, he came to London, and shortly after, when driving on a snowy day, the idea struck him of making an experiment as to the antiseptic properties of snow, in consequence of which he caught a chill, which ended in his death on 9th April 1626. He left debts to the amount of £22,000. At the time of his death he was engaged upon Sylva Sylvarum. -- The intellect of Bacon was one of the most powerful and searching ever possessed by man, and his developments of the inductive philosophy revolutionised the future thought of the human race. [link]

WHO WROTE THE BIBLE THAT YOU ARE READING? - SATAN, DEMONS, NECROMANCERS, DRUNKS, OCCULT AND BIBLE TRANSLATORS WRITING MODERN BIBLES - THE TWO MAIN PERPETRATORS OF THE CRIME OF MUTILATING THE WORD OF GOD ARE BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT AND FENTON JOHN ANTHONY HORT WHO LIVED IN THE 1880'S AND THEIR WORK HAS CAUSED A VIRTUAL DEATH BLOW TO THE PURE WORD OF GOD - JOHN R. KOHLENBERGER OF ZONDERVAN WHICH PUBLISHED THE NASB, LIVING BIBLE, AMPLIFIED BIBLE, NIV, AND RSV SAID THAT ALL VERSIONS THAT HAVE COME AFTER THE KING JAMES VERSION FROM THE RSV TO THE PRESENT VERSIONS HAVE COME FROM THE TEXT [OF WESTCOTT AND HORT] THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY THESE TWO SNAKES WHO FEIGN THEMSELVES TRANSLATORS OF THE PURE WORD OF GOD - WILBUR PICKERING, AUTHOR OF THE IDENTITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT STATES, "THE W-H (WESTCOTT-HORT) CRITICAL THEORY IS ERRONEOUS AT EVERY POINT" {NOTE: WHERE ERASMUS COMPILED THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS FROM KNOWN RELIABLE BYZANTIUM [THE REGION OF GALATIA WHERE THE APOSTLES TRAVELED, PREACHED AND WROTE SOME OF THEIR EPISTLES] SOURCES IN 1516 A.D. LATER IN 1881 A.D. WESTCOTT AND HORT WOULD FASHION TOGETHER A COUNTERFEIT GREEK N.T. VERSION DESIGNED TO SUPPLANT ERASMUS' FAMOUS TEXTUS RECEPTUS. THE 'SINIATICUS' TEXT OF WESTCOTT-HORT IS SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON GREEK TEXTS FROM MT. SINAI IN EGYPT [THE OTHER MT. SINAI] THOUGH THE SINIATICUS IS CLEARLY AN ALEXANDRIAN GNOSTIC TEXT.} I have just finished reading a fantastic book by G.A. Riplinger entitled, "New Age Bible Versions." Among other things, it details who the writers were of the Greek Text used to translate the NIV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NAB, REB, RSV, CEV, TEV, GNB LIVING, PHILLIPS, NEW JERUSALEM, and NEW CENTURY versions of the Bible. If you own one of these, you probably bought them because they supposedly come from the most ancient manuscripts and they are more accurate and authentic than the old standard King James Version of the Bible. WRONG!!!!! If you are reading one of these versions, it is a compilation of the work of Satan, Demons, drunks, necromancers, channelers, ghost followers, Nazi staff members, Lucifer worshipers, Plato, Origin, Philo, and many other NEW AGE (demon inspired) thinkers who want nothing more than to bring in a One World Government under a New World Order, with the Anti-Christ as the ruler of the world, and Marxism as the world political system. What angers me the most is that supposedly God fearing ministers of the Gospel have, like the Pied Piper, led their congregations by a passive attitude that will open up the door to the religion of the Anti-Christ one day. -- I just wrote an email to a good friend of mine, a minister, who sent me an email with a quote from one of these OCCULT translations of the bible. He is a good man and a soul-winner. I then realized that the Bible is true when it says that in the last days deceivers will come that will deceive, "if it were possible," the very elect. I then knew that it is happening right before our very eyes. People purchase Bibles thinking that there are godly men that have made these new translations with much care along with prayer and that they are delivering what is the most accurate copy of

the Word of God in existence today. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. Since the book that I cited above gives more evidence than I can possibly give here, I want to tell you about the men that did the translations of the revised Greek text and some of their friends and acquaintances. Once you have read this, if you can continue using one of these OCCULT versions of the Bible, God help your soul. [link]

LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING - LOOKING BACK AT 2011 AND LOOKING AHEAD AT 2012 - "HARPERCOLLINS BUYS THOMAS NELSON, WILL CONTROL 50% OF CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING MARKET" - AND MANY OF THE MORE ESTABLISHED CHRISTIAN PUBLISHERS HAVE BEEN BOUGHT OUT BY HUGE SECULAR CORPORATIONS GIVING THEIR MARKETING BUDGETS EVEN MORE CLOUT

As Lighthouse Trails Publishing (the publishing arm of Lighthouse Trails Research Project) soon nears the end of our 10th year (10 years this coming March), we'd like to take a moment to ponder 2011, which was a busy year for us. It's not easy being a small publisher in today's western society where book reading is being slowly squeezed out of many people's lives by the Internet, television, radio, and a host of other technological inventions. Not only that, small publishing houses must compete with the large houses that seem to have marketing budgets that keep them selling thousands, if not millions, of books. And many of the more established Christian publishers have been bought out by huge secular corporations giving their marketing budgets even more clout. An article in Christianity Today this past fall titled "HarperCollins Buys Thomas Nelson, Will Control 50% of Christian Publishing Market" is a case in point. HarperCollins bought Zondervan in 1988. Thomas Nelson and Zondervan are Christian publishing's two largest publishing house. -- But in spite of the huge challenge it is for small publishers to stay in business, Lighthouse Trails is still here after nearly a decade. We believe that God has continued to provide for us; and we thank Him for giving us the wisdom to keep our overhead small, live and work as simply and frugally as we can, and never lower our standards from what we believe they should be just so we can sell more books. We'll never be a Thomas Nelson or Zondervan (we think that might be a good thing considering their move toward contemplative and emerging), but we hope and pray we can be around another ten years and represent even more authors than we already have who have biblical and personal integrity. [link]

FIRESTORM GROWS OVER 'CHRISTIAN HERESY' BOOK - "A BOOK ABOUT HEAVEN, HELL, AND THE FATE OF EVERY PERSON WHO EVER LIVED" WAS HEADING TOWARDS UNIVERSALISM (I.E. EVERYONE GOES TO THEIR OWN VERSION OF HEAVEN REGARDLESS OF THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF THE CROSS, WORKS AND SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST) - THE BOOK WAS SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED MARCH 29, 2011 BUT HARPER ONE [HARPERCOLLINS] PUSHED THE RELEASE UP TO MARCH 15 [IDES OF MARCH] - NEXT TUESDAY {POSSIBLY INTENTIONALLY BEING RELEASED ON THE 15TH OF MARCH TO COMMEMORATE YET ANOTHER NWO ACCOMPLISHED AGENDA AND STAB IN THE BACK TO TRADITIONAL CHRISTIANITY.} He said the controversy swirling is unlike anything else he has seen in this category of books. "I'm not sure I've ever seen this amount of anticipation," he said. "Love Wins" is Bell's first book since his break from Zondervan, the Christian publisher based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that published Bell's first four books and also publishes the New International Version [NIV] of the Bible, one of the most popular translations of the Bible among evangelicals. Bell's split from Zondervan came in part over this new book. "The break with Zondervan was amicable," Tauber said. "In the end the president of Zondervan made the decision. The proposal came in and they said, 'This proposal doesn't fit in with our mission.'" Zondervan would not discuss its relationship with Bell but released a statement: Zondervan has published four books by Rob Bell, as well as numerous Nooma videos in which Rob was featured. We published these titles because we believed they were consistent with Zondervan's [fooling of Christians - occult] mission statement and publishing philosophy. We still believe these titles are impactful with their message and positive contribution and intend to continue to publish them. Tauber said when he got the call that Bell's new book was up for bid, HarperOne jumped at the chance. "There were at least four or five major publishers that were involved in bidding for this book," he said. *When pressed for financial figures of the deal, he said, "We're talking a six-figure deal for the advance, but I can't say more than that." Tauber said HarperOne had been "keeping an eye on him" since Bell's first [ghost authored - actually written by an anonymous, interested, agenda driven, vested 3rd party] book, "Velvet Elvis," came in as a proposal. That book went on to sell 500,000 copies. Bell skyrocketed to prominence with the the Nooma series, which were short

teachings by Bell, away from the pulpit and with indie film sensibilities. The high production values and quick releases of the short films made them a hit in [easily deceived] evangelical circles. In them Bell honed his trademark style of asking tough traditional questions about faith and exploring them from angles other than traditional answers. [link]

SATANIC BIBLE BY ANTON LA VEY (CALLED "THE BLACK POPE") -CHANNEL OWNER RUPERT MURDOCH

FROM

HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS

OWEND BY

FOX NEWS

Called "The Black Pope" by many of his followers, Anton La Vey began the road to High Priesthood of the (lurch of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival: ... From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966 -- Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft -LaVey shaved his head in the tradition of Ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man's body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration. [link]

MORE THAN A WIZARD: L. FRANK BAUM BY CAT RAMBO PUBLISHED MAY 2009 -- POLITICALLY, BAUM WAS A FLAMING LIBERAL HIS WIFE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF SUFFRAGE LEADER MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE, ** [THEOSOPHIST - OCCULT] AUTHOR OF THE WOMEN'S BIBLE AND COMPANION TO SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON Lyman Frank Baum, author of Ozma of Oz, didn't just write one of the most popular children's books in history. He also produced thirteen other Oz books as well as over 40 other novels, 82 short stories, hundreds of poems, and an unknown number of scripts. -- As a young man, Baum was a printer, producing several amateur newspapers, a poultry breeder specializing in the Hamburg chicken, and a theater lover. Despite working as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods store, he found time to perform in plays until eventually his father, who owned numerous opera houses and theaters, built him a theater on his 24th birthday. Baum wrote plays, including the highly successful musical "The Maid of Arran," and composed music for them as well. Two years later he married Maud Gage, and moved with her a few years later to Aberdeen in the Dakota Territory, where he operated a store called "Baum's Bazaar." In 1890 the store failed, and Baum turned to newspaper writing and working as a traveling salesman. -- He believed deeply in the power of children's literature, saying "Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams with your eyes wide open - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization." -- Politically, Baum was a flaming liberal. His wife was the daughter of suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, author of The Women's Bible and companion to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Baum wrote editorials trying to convince the public to vote for women's suffrage and served as secretary of Aberdeen's Women Suffrage Club. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE (1826 - 1898) -- GAGE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE MORE RADICAL THAN EITHER SUSAN B. ANTHONY OR ELIZABETH CADY STANTON (WITH WHOM SHE WROTE HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE) - ALONG WITH STANTON, SHE WAS A VOCAL CRITIC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, WHICH PUT HER AT ODDS WITH CONSERVATIVE SUFFRAGISTS SUCH AS FRANCES WILLARD AND THE WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION - DESPITE HER OPPOSITION TO THE CHURCH, GAGE WAS IN HER OWN WAY DEEPLY RELIGIOUS [OCCULT - THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY], AND **SHE JOINED STANTON'S REVISING COMMITTEE TO WRITE 'THE WOMAN'S BIBLE' - SHE BECAME A THEOSOPHIST AND ENCOURAGED HER CHILDREN AND THEIR SPOUSES TO DO SO, SOME OF WHOM DID

Family: A daughter of the early abolitionist Hezekiah Joslyn, Gage was the wife of Henry Hill Gage, with whom she had five children: Charles Henry (who died in infancy), Helen Leslie, Thomas Clarkson, Julia Louise, and Maud. Gage maintained residence in Fayetteville, New York for the majority of her life. Though Gage was cremated, there is a memorial stone at Fayetteville Cemetery that bears her slogan "There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven. That word is Liberty." -- Maud, who was ten years younger than Julia, initially horrified her mother when she chose to marry The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum at a time when he was a struggling actor with only a handful of plays (of which only The Maid of Arran survives) to his writing credit. However, a few minutes after the initial

announcement, Gage started laughing, apparently realizing that her emphasis on all individuals making up their own minds was not lost on her headstrong daughter, who gave up a chance at a law career when the opportunity for women was rare. Gage spent six months of every year with Maud and Frank, and died in the Baum home in Chicago, Illinois in 1898. -- Gage's son Thomas Clarkson Gage and his wife Sophia had a daughter named Dorothy Louise Gage, who was born in Bloomington, IL, on June 11, 1898 and died just five months later on November 11, 1898. The death so upset the child's aunt Maud, who had always longed for a daughter, that she required medical attention. Thomas Clarkson Gage's child was the namesake of her uncle Frank Baum's famed fictional character, Dorothy Gale. In 1996, Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, a biographer of Matilda Joslyn Gage, located young Dorothy's grave in Bloomington. A memorial was erected in the child's memory at her gravesite on May 21, 1997. This child is often mistaken for her cousin of the same name, Dorothy Louise Gage (1883-1889), Helen Leslie (Gage) Gage's child. As theosophists, both the Baums and the Gages believed in reincarnation, and thought this child might have been Matilda Joslyn Gage, whose personal spark is apparently written into the character. -- In The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, Gage was played by Rue McClanahan, whose relationship with Frank was wrongly portrayed as antagonistic, and falsely presented Gage as the inspiration for the Wicked Witch of the West. Annette O'Toole played Maud, and Nancy Morgan and Pat Skipper played Helen and Charles, respectively. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: THE WOMAN'S BIBLE - THE WOMAN'S BIBLE IS A TWO-PART BOOK, WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND A COMMITTEE OF 26 WOMEN, AND PUBLISHED IN 1895 AND 1898 TO CHALLENGE THE TRADITIONAL POSITION OF RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY THAT WOMAN SHOULD BE SUBSERVIENT TO MAN - BY PRODUCING THE BOOK, STANTON WISHED TO PROMOTE A RADICAL LIBERATING THEOLOGY, ONE THAT STRESSED SELF-DEVELOPMENT - THE BOOK ATTRACTED A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROVERSY AND ANTAGONISM AT ITS INTRODUCTION - ALTHOUGH IT WAS NEVER ACCEPTED BY BIBLE SCHOLARS AS A MAJOR WORK, IT BECAME A POPULAR BEST-SELLER Many women's rights activists who worked with Stanton were opposed to the publication of The Woman's Bible; they felt it would harm the drive for women's suffrage. Although it was never accepted by Bible scholars as a major work, it became a popular best-seller, much to the dismay of suffragists who worked alongside Stanton within the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Susan B. Anthony tried to calm the younger suffragists, but they issued a formal denunciation of the book, and worked to distance the suffrage movement from Stanton's broader scope which included attacks on traditional religion. Because of the widespread negative reaction, including suffragists who had been close to her, publication of the book effectively ended Stanton's influence in the suffrage movement. -- In 1881, 1885 and 1894, the Church of England published a Revised Version of the Bible, the first new English version in over two centuries. Stanton was dissatisfied with the Revised Version's failure to include recent scholarship from Bible expert Julia Smith. ... Stanton assembled a "Revising Committee" to draft commentary on the new Bible version. Many of those she approached in person and by letter refused to take part, especially scholars who would be risking their professional reputations. Some 26 people agreed to help. Sharing Stanton's determination, the committee wished to correct biblical interpretation which was biased against women, and to bring attention to the small fraction of the Bible which discussed women. They intended to demonstrate that it was not divine will that humiliated women, but human desire for domination. The committee was made up of women who were not Bible scholars, but who were interested in biblical interpretation and were active in women's rights. Among the more famous members of the international committee were Augusta Jane Chapin, Lillie Devereux Blake, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Olympia Brown, Alexandra Gripenberg, Ursula Mellor Bright and Irma von Troll-Borostyรกni. -- Reaction: At its introduction, The Woman's Bible was widely criticized in editorials and from the pulpit. Stanton wrote that "the clergy denounced it as the work of Satan ..." Some were put off just by its prejudicial, sacrilegious title, especially those who did not take the time to read the book. Others countered the book's more extreme conclusions one by one in public fora such as letters to the editor. One female reader of The New York Times wrote to decry The Woman's Bible for its radical statements that the Trinity was composed of "a Heavenly Mother, Father, and Son", and that prayers should be addressed to an "ideal Heavenly Mother". Mary Seymour Howell, a member of the Revising Committee, wrote to The New York Times in defense of the book, saying that its title could be better understood as "The Woman's Commentary on the Women of the Bible". Stanton countered attacks by women readers, writing "the only difference between us is, we say that these degrading ideas of woman emanated from the brain of man, while the church says that they came from God." -- Susan B. Anthony, Stanton's best and most faithful collaborator, concluded after years of working for women's rights that the concentration on one issue-

votes for women-was the key to bringing success to the movement. The women's organizations had too varied a membership to agree on anything more complex. Stanton insisted, however, that the women's rights conventions were too narrowly focused; she brought forward a variety of challenging concepts in the form of essays for Anthony to read to the audiences. When Stanton made known her interest in completing The Woman's Bible, Anthony was unhappy at the futility of the effort, a harmful digression from the focused path which led to woman suffrage. Anthony wrote to Clara Colby to say of Stanton "of all her great speeches, I am always proud-but of her Bible commentaries, I am not proudeither of their spirit or letter ... But I shall love and honor her to the end-whether her Bible please me or not. So I hope she will do for me." -- At the NAWSA convention January 23-28, 1896, Corresponding Secretary Rachel Foster Avery led the battle to distance the organization from The Woman's Bible. After Susan B. Anthony opened the convention on January 23, Avery surprised Anthony by stating to the more than 100 members of the audience: During the latter part of the year the work has been in several directions much hindered by the general misconception of the relation of the socalled "Woman's Bible" to our association. As an organization we have been held responsible for the action of an individual ... in issuing a volume with a pretentious title, covering a jumble of comment ... without either scholarship or literary value, set forth in a spirit which is neither reverent nor inquiring. Avery called for a resolution: "That this Association is non-sectarian, being composed of persons of all shades of religious opinion, and that it has no connection with the so-called 'Woman's Bible', or any theological publication." The motion was tabled until later, and motions were made to strike Avery's comments from the official record. A complete account of Avery's remarks were reported the next day in The New York Times. The opinion of NAWSA delegate Laura Clay, expressed in her Southern Committee report on January 27 that "the South is ready for woman suffrage, but it must be woman suffrage and nothing else," was typical of responses to The Woman's Bible conflict. Most suffragists wanted only to work on the right to vote, "without attaching it to dress reform, or bicycling, or anything else ..." On the afternoon of January 28, a list of Resolutions was put to a vote. The first seven were passed without comment. The eighth was Avery's proposed dissociation with The Woman's Bible, and its presence caused an active debate. Anna Howard Shaw, Alice Stone Blackwell, Henry Browne Blackwell, Carrie Chapman Catt and others spoke in favor, while Lillie Devereux Blake, Clara B. Colby, and more spoke against it. Anthony left her chair to join the debate against the resolution, and spoke at length, saying "Lucretia Mott at first thought Mrs. Stanton had injured the cause of woman's rights by insisting on the demand for woman suffrage, but she had sense enough not to pass a resolution about it ..." A majority of 53 to 41 delegates approved the resolution, an action which was seen as a censure of Stanton, and one which was never repealed. Avery's opening report of January 23 was adopted with the part about The Woman's Bible expunged. -- Legacy: Stanton wished for a greater degree of scholarship in The Woman's Bible, but was unable to convince Bible scholars of her day to take part in what was expected to be a controversial project. Scholars continued to avoid addressing the subject of sexism in the Bible until 1964 when Margaret Brackenbury Crook published Women and Religion, a study of the status of women in Judaism and Christianity. Subsequent works by Letty Russell and Phyllis Trible furthered the connection between feminism and the Bible. Today, biblical scholarship by women has come into maturity, with women posing new questions about the Bible, and challenging the very basis of biblical studies. Stanton herself was marginalized in the women's suffrage movement after publication of The Woman's Bible. From that time forward, Susan B. Anthony took the place of honor among the majority of suffragettes. Stanton was never again invited to sit in a place of honor on stage at the NAWSA convention. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: L. FRANK BAUM (1856 - 1919) -- WAS AN [OCCULT] AMERICAN AUTHOR OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS, BEST KNOWN FOR WRITING THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ - HE WROTE THIRTEEN NOVEL SEQUELS, NINE OTHER FANTASY NOVELS, AND A HOST OF OTHER WORKS (55 NOVELS IN TOTAL, PLUS FOUR "LOST" NOVELS, 82 SHORT STORIES, OVER 200 POEMS, AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF SCRIPTS, AND MANY MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS), AND MADE NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO BRING HIS WORKS TO THE STAGE AND SCREEN HIS WORKS PREDICTED SUCH CENTURY-LATER COMMONPLACES AS TELEVISION, LAPTOP COMPUTERS (THE MASTER KEY), WIRELESS TELEPHONES (TIK-TOK OF OZ), WOMEN IN HIGH RISK, ACTION-HEAVY OCCUPATIONS (MARY LOUISE IN THE COUNTRY), AND THE UBIQUITY OF ADVERTISING ON CLOTHING (AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT WORK) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: In 1900, Baum and Denslow (with whom he shared the copyright) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to much critical acclaim and financial success. The book was the best-selling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. ... His final Oz book, Glinda of Oz was published on July 10, 1920, a year after his death. The Oz series was

continued long after his death by other authors, notably Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote an additional nineteen Oz books. ... Baum also anonymously wrote The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile. -- Baum continued theatrical work with Harry Marston Haldeman's men's social group, The Uplifters, for which he wrote several plays for various celebrations. He also wrote the group's parodic by-laws. The group, which also included Will Rogers, was proud to have had Baum as a member and posthumously revived many of his works despite their ephemeral intent. Although many of these play's titles are known, only The Uplift of Lucifer is known to survive (it was published in a limited edition in the 1960s). Prior to that, his last produced play was The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (based on Ozma of Oz and the basis for Tik-Tok of Oz), a modest success in Hollywood that producer Oliver Morosco decided did not do well enough to take to Broadway. Morosco, incidentally, quickly turned to film production, as would Baum. -- In 1914, having moved to Hollywood years earlier, Baum started his own film production company, The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, which came as an outgrowth of the Uplifters. He served as its president, and principal producer and screenwriter. The rest of the board consisted of Louis F. Gottschalk, Harry Marston Haldeman, and Clarence R. Rundel. The films were directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, with casts that included Violet MacMillan, Vivian Reed, Mildred Harris, Juanita Hansen, Pierre Couderc, Mai Welles, Louise Emmons, J. Charles Haydon, and early appearances by Harold Lloyd and Hal Roach. Silent film actor Richard Rosson appeared in one of the films, whose younger brother Harold Rosson photographed The Wizard of Oz (1939). After little success probing the unrealized children's film market, Baum came clean about who wrote The Last Egyptian and made a film of it (portions of which are included in Decasia), but the Oz name had, for the time being, become box office poison and even a name change to Dramatic Feature Films and transfer of ownership to Frank Joslyn Baum did not help. Unlike with The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, Baum invested none of his own money in the venture, but the stress probably took its toll on his health. -- On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered from a stroke. He died quietly the next day, nine days short of his 63rd birthday. At the end he mumbled in his sleep, then said, "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands." He was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. ... Political: Women's suffrage advocate - Sally Roesch Wagner of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation has published a pamphlet titled The Wonderful Mother of Oz describing how Matilda Gage's radical feminist politics were sympathetically channeled by Baum into his Oz books. Much of the politics in the Republican Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer dealt with trying to convince the populace to vote for women's suffrage. Baum was the secretary of Aberdeen's Woman's Suffrage Club. When Susan B. Anthony visited Aberdeen, she stayed with the Baums. Nancy Tystad Koupal notes an apparent loss of interest in editorializing after Aberdeen failed to pass the bill for women's enfranchisement. Some of Baum's contacts with suffragists of his day seem to have inspired much of his second Oz story, The Marvelous Land of Oz. In this story, General Jinjur leads the girls and women of Oz in a revolt by knitting needles, take over, and make the men do the household chores. Jinjur proves to be an incompetent ruler, but a female advocating gender equality is ultimately placed on the throne. His Edith Van Dyne stories, including the Aunt Jane's Nieces, The Flying Girl and its sequel, and his girl sleuth Josie O'Gorman from The Bluebird Books, depict girls and young women engaging in traditionally masculine activities. ... Religion: Originally a Methodist (albeit a skeptical one), Baum joined the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen to participate in community theatricals. Later, he and his wife, encouraged by Matilda Joslyn Gage, became Theosophists, in 1897. Baum's beliefs are often reflected in his writing. The only mention of a church in his Oz books is the porcelain one which the Cowardly Lion breaks in the Dainty China Country in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Baums believed that religious decisions should be made by mature minds and sent their older sons to "Ethical Culture Sunday School" in Chicago, which taught morality, not religion. [link]

INTRODUCTION: IN THIS PART OF THE STUDY WE ARE GOING TO EXAMINE THE MODERN DAY PHENOMENON OF THE CHURCH DENOMINATION AND SPECIFICALLY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERSONALITY PREACHER (MALE OR FEMALE) - WHERE THE MINISTRIES ARE ORIENTED TO WHERE ONE INDIVIDUAL MOLDS AND SHAPES THE MINISTRY AFTER THEIR OWN PARTICULAR DESIRES USUALLY WITH THE UNSPOKEN GOAL OF INCREASING THEIR OWN PERSONAL FINANCIAL GAIN - IT IS IN PART A STUDY OF THE MISUSE AND COLLAPSE OF THE MODERN CHURCH SYSTEM, A SYSTEM THAT HAS NEGLECTED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND INSTEAD FAVORS ABUSE, NEGLECT AND LIES ALL CLEVERLY WRAPPED AND DELIVERED IN A CONTAINER OF ARROGANCE, FRAUD AND DECEIT - IN OTHER WORDS THIS IS SIMPLY THE PERILS THAT EXIST IN THE PRESENT DAY MODERN CHURCH

Note: even with the many problems that these and all the Denominations have both now and historically have had each of these churches (Pentecostal, Foursquare, SBC, Calvary Chapel, etc.) are still for the most part a valid place to worship and the reason is because God is not a respecter of persons. Even though the person in the pulpit is less than

honorable and possibly even a scoundrel at heart their limitations have not limited in any way the ability or desires of God to meet with a person desirous of having a personal, Biblical relationship with God. -- Romans 2:1-13 "But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: *For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." [link]

WILIPEDIA: 1906 AZUSA STREET REVIVAL - THE AZUSA STREET REVIVAL WAS A HISTORIC PENTECOSTAL REVIVAL MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AND IS THE ORIGIN OF THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT - IT WAS LED BY WILLIAM J. SEYMOUR, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PREACHER - IT BEGAN WITH A MEETING ON APRIL 14, 1906, AND CONTINUED UNTIL ROUGHLY 1915 - THE REVIVAL WAS CHARACTERIZED BY ECSTATIC SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES ACCOMPANIED BY MIRACLES, DRAMATIC WORSHIP SERVICES, SPEAKING IN TONGUES, AND INTER-RACIAL MINGLING - THE PARTICIPANTS WERE CRITICIZED BY THE SECULAR MEDIA AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIANS FOR BEHAVIORS CONSIDERED TO BE OUTRAGEOUS AND UNORTHODOX, ESPECIALLY AT THE TIME - TODAY, THE REVIVAL IS CONSIDERED BY HISTORIANS TO BE THE PRIMARY CATALYST FOR THE SPREAD OF PENTECOSTALISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY - THE APOSTOLIC FAITH MISSION ON 312 AZUSA STREET, NOW CONSIDERED TO BE THE BIRTHPLACE OF PENTECOSTALISM -- EVERY CHURCH MEMBER THAT IS CHARISMATIC OR PENTECOSTAL HAS ROOTS THAT STEM FROM THE 1906 AZUSA STREET REVIVAL! (THEAZUSASTREETREVIVAL.COM) Background: Welsh Revival - In 1904, the Welsh Revival took place, during which approximately 100,000 people in Wales joined the movement. Internationally, evangelical Christians took this event to be a sign that a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Bible's book of Joel, chapter 2:23-29 was about to take place. Joseph Smale, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, went to Wales personally in order to witness the revival. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he attempted to ignite a similar event in his own congregation. His attempts were short-lived, and he eventually left First Baptist Church to found First New Testament Church, where he continued his efforts. During this time, other small-scale revivals were taking place in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. By 1905, reports of speaking in tongues, supernatural healings, and significant lifestyle changes accompanied these revivals. As news spread, evangelicals across the United States began to pray for similar revivals in their own congregations. -- Los Angeles: In 1905, William J. Seymour, the one-eyed 34 year old son of former slaves, was a student of well-known Pentecostal preacher Charles Parham and an interim pastor for a small holiness church in Houston, Texas. Neely Terry, an African American woman who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins in Los Angeles, made a trip to visit family in Houston late in 1905. While in Houston, she visited Seymour's church, where he preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and though he had not experienced this personally, Terry was impressed with his character and message. Once home in California, Terry suggested that Seymour be invited to speak at the local church. Seymour received and accepted the invitation in February 1906, and he received financial help and a blessing from Parham for his planned one-month visit. -- Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906, and within two days was preaching at Julia Hutchins' church at the corner of Ninth Street and Santa Fe Avenue. During his first sermon, he preached that speaking in tongues was the first biblical evidence of the inevitable baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the following Sunday, March 4, he returned to the church and found that Hutchins had padlocked the door. Elders of the church rejected Seymour's teaching, primarily because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching. Condemnation of his message also came from the Holiness Church Association of Southern California with which the church had affiliation. However, not all members of Hutchins' church rejected Seymour's preaching. He was invited to stay in the home of congregation member Edward S. Lee, and he began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings there. -- Seymour and his small group of new followers soon relocated to the home of Richard and Ruth Asberry at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street. White families from local holiness churches began to attend as well. The group would get together regularly and pray to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On April 9, 1906, after five weeks of Seymour's preaching and prayer, and three days into an intended 10-day fast, Edward S. Lee spoke in tongues for the first time. At the next meeting, Seymour shared Lee's testimony and preached a sermon on Acts 2:4 and soon six others began to speak in tongues as well, including Jennie Moore, who would later become Seymour's wife. A few days later, on April 12, Seymour spoke in tongues for the first time after praying all night long. -- News of the events at North Bonnie Brae St. quickly circulated among the African American, Latino and White residents of the city, and for several nights, various speakers would preach to the crowds of curious and interested onlookers from the front porch of the

Asberry home. Members of the audience included people from a broad spectrum of income levels and religious backgrounds. Hutchins eventually spoke in tongues as her whole congregation began to attend the meetings. Soon the crowds became very large and were full of people speaking in tongues, shouting, singing and moaning. Finally, the front porch collapsed, forcing the group to begin looking for a new meeting place. A resident of the neighborhood described the happenings at 214 North Bonnie Brae with the following words: They shouted three days and three nights. It was Easter season. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning there was no way of getting near the house. As people came in they would fall under God's power; and the whole city was stirred. They shouted until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt. -- Azusa Street: Conditions - The group from Bonnie Brae Street eventually discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church in what was then a black ghetto part of town. The rent was $8.00 per month. A newspaper referred to the downtown Los Angeles building as a "tumble down shack". Since the church had moved out, the building had served as a wholesale house, a warehouse, a lumberyard, stockyards, a tombstone shop, and had most recently been used as a stable with rooms for rent upstairs. It was a small, rectangular, flat-roofed building, approximately 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, totaling 4,800 square feet (450 m2), sided with weathered whitewashed clapboards. The only sign that it had once been a house of God was a single gothic-style window over the main entrance. -- Discarded lumber and plaster littered the large, barn-like room on the ground floor. Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. They held their first meeting on April 14, 1906. Church services were held on the first floor where the benches were placed in a rectangular pattern. Some of the benches were simply planks put on top of empty nail kegs. There was no elevated platform, as the ceiling was only eight feet high. Initially there was no pulpit. Frank Bartleman, an early participant in the revival, recalled that "Brother Seymour generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other. He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer. There was no pride there.... In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors..." -- The second floor at the now-named Apostolic Faith Mission housed an office and rooms for several residents including Seymour and his new wife, Jennie. It also had a large prayer room to handle the overflow from the altar services below. The prayer room was furnished with chairs and benches made from California Redwood planks, laid end to end on backless chairs. -- The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, now considered to be the birthplace of Pentecostalism. -- By mid-May 1906, anywhere from 300 to 1,500 people would attempt to fit into the building. Since horses had very recently been the residents of the building, flies constantly bothered the attendees. People from a diversity of backgrounds came together to worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated. People of all ages flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and a desire to participate. The intermingling of races and the group's encouragement of women in leadership was remarkable, as 1906 was the height of the "Jim Crow" era of racial segregation, and fourteen years prior to women receiving suffrage in the United States. -- Birth of Pentecostal movement: By the end of 1906, most leaders from Azusa Street had spun off to form other congregations, such as the 51st Street Apostolic Faith Mission, the Spanish AFM, and the Italian Pentecostal Mission. These missions were largely composed of immigrant or ethnic groups. The Southeast United States was a particularly prolific area of growth for the movement, since Seymour's approach gave a useful explanation for a charismatic spiritual climate that had already been taking root in those areas. Other new missions were based on preachers who had charisma and energy. Nearly all of these new churches were founded among immigrants and the poor. -- Many existing Wesleyan-holiness denominations adopted the Pentecostal message, such as the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the Church of God in Christ, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The formation of new denominations also occurred, motivated by doctrinal differences between Wesleyan Pentecostals and their Finished Work counterparts, such as the Assemblies of God formed in 1914 and the Pentecostal Church of God formed in 1919. An early doctrinal controversy led to a split between Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostals, the latter founded the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in 1916. -- Today, there are more than 500 million Pentecostal and charismatic believers across the globe and is the fastest-growing form of Christianity today. The Azusa Street Revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern-day Pentecostal Movement. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON (1890 - 1944) -- ALSO KNOWN AS SISTER AIMEE, WAS A CANADIAN-AMERICAN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA EVANGELIST AND MEDIA CELEBRITY IN THE 1920S AND 1930S - IN 1913, MCPHERSON EMBARKED UPON A PREACHING CAREER - MCPHERSON [INFILTRATED THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND PRETENDED TO SUPPORT FUNDAMENTAL VALUES] SOUGHT TO ERADICATE MODERNISM AND SECULARISM IN HOMES, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES AND DEVELOPED A STRONG FOLLOWING IN WHAT MCPHERSON TERMED "THE FOURSQUARE GOSPEL" **BY BLENDING CONTEMPORARY CULTURE WITH RELIGIOUS

- SHE FOUNDED THE FOURSQUARE CHURCH IN 1927 - MCPHERSON HAS BEEN NOTED AS A PIONEER IN THE USE OF MODERN MEDIA, ESPECIALLY RADIO, WHICH SHE DREW UPON THROUGH THE GROWING APPEAL OF POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT IN NORTH AMERICA - "MCPHERSON FOUND NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN HER REJECTION OF HOLLYWOOD VALUES FOR HER USE OF SHOW BUSINESS TECHNIQUES - SHE WOULD NOT HESITATE TO USE THE DEVIL'S TOOLS TO TEAR DOWN THE DEVIL'S HOUSE" COLLECTIONS WERE TAKEN AT EVERY MEETING, OFTEN WITH THE ADMONISHMENT, "NO COINS, PLEASE" - ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1931, MCPHERSON MARRIED AGAIN ... THE MARRIAGE ALSO CAUSED AN UPROAR WITHIN THE CHURCH: THE TENETS OF FOURSQUARE GOSPEL, AS PUT FORTH BY MCPHERSON HERSELF, HELD THAT ONE SHOULD NOT REMARRY WHILE THEIR PREVIOUS SPOUSE WAS STILL ALIVE, AS MCPHERSON'S SECOND HUSBAND STILL WAS - ON SEPTEMBER 26, 1944, MCPHERSON WENT TO OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, FOR A SERIES OF REVIVALS, PLANNING TO PREACH HER POPULAR "STORY OF MY LIFE" SERMON - WHEN MCPHERSON'S SON WENT TO HER HOTEL ROOM AT 10:00 THE NEXT MORNING, HE FOUND HER UNCONSCIOUS WITH PILLS AND A HALF-EMPTY BOTTLE OF CAPSULES NEARBY - SHE HAD BEEN TAKING SLEEPING PILLS FOLLOWING NUMEROUS HEALTH PROBLEMS-INCLUDING "TROPICAL FEVER" - AMONG THE PILLS FOUND IN THE HOTEL ROOM WAS THE DRUG SECONAL, A STRONG SEDATIVE WHICH HAD NOT BEEN PRESCRIBED FOR HER - IT WAS UNKNOWN HOW SHE OBTAINED THEM - THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF DEATH STILL OFFICIALLY LISTED AS UNKNOWN - THERE WAS SOME CONJECTURE OF SUICIDE BUT MOST SOURCES GENERALLY AGREE THE OVERDOSE WAS ACCIDENTAL AS PUT FORTH IN THE CORONER'S TEACHINGS

REPORT

Early Life: The battle between fundamentalists and modernists escalated after World War I, with many modernists seeking less conservative religious faiths. Fundamentalists generally believed their religious faith should influence every aspect of their lives. McPherson [infiltrated the Christian Church and pretended to support fundamental values] sought to eradicate modernism and secularism in homes, churches, schools and communities and developed a strong following in what McPherson termed "the Foursquare Gospel" by blending contemporary culture with religious teachings. -International Church of the Foursquare Gospel: Wearied by constant traveling and having nowhere to raise a family, McPherson had settled in Los Angeles, where she maintained both a home and a church. McPherson believed that by creating a church in Los Angeles, her audience would come to her from all over the country. This, she felt, would allow her to plant seeds of Gospel and tourists would take it home to their communities, still reaching the masses. For several years she continued to travel and raise money for the construction of a large, domed church building in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. The church would be named Angelus Temple. Raising more money than she had hoped, McPherson altered the original plans, and built a "megachurch" that would draw many followers throughout the years. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1923. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,300 people and was filled three times each day, seven days a week. At first, McPherson preached every service, often in a dramatic scene she put together to attract audiences. Eventually, the church evolved into its own denomination and became known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. The new denomination focused on the nature of Christ's character, that he was Savior, baptizer with the Holy Spirit, healer and coming King. There were four main beliefs: the first being Christ's ability to transform individuals' lives through the act of salvation; the second focused on a holy baptism; the third was divine healing; and the fourth was gospel-oriented heed to the premillennial return of Jesus Christ. -- In August 1925 and away from Los Angeles, McPherson decided to charter a plane so she would not miss giving her Sunday sermon. Aware of the opportunity for publicity, she arranged for at least two thousand followers and members of the press to be present at the airport. The plane failed after takeoff and the landing gear collapsed, sending the nose of the plane into the ground. McPherson boarded another plane and used the experience as the narrative of an illustrated Sunday sermon called "The Heavenly Airplane." The stage in Angelus Temple was set up with two miniature planes and a skyline that looked like Los Angeles. In this sermon, McPherson described how the first plane had the devil for the pilot, sin for the engine and temptation as the propeller. The other plane, however, was piloted by Jesus and would lead one to the Holy City (the skyline shown on stage). The temple was filled beyond capacity. On one occasion, she described being pulled over by a police officer, calling the sermon "Arrested for Speeding." McPherson employed a small group of artists, electricians, decorators and carpenters who built the sets for each Sunday's service. Religious music was played by an orchestra. Biographer Matthew Avery Sutton wrote, "McPherson found no contradiction between her rejection of Hollywood values for her use of show business techniques. She would not hesitate to use the devil's tools to tear down the devil's house." Collections were taken at every meeting, often with the admonishment, "no coins, please." -- Because Pentecostalism was not popular in the U.S. during the 1920s, McPherson avoided the label. She did, however, make demonstrations of speaking-in-tongues and faith healing in sermons. She kept a museum of crutches, wheelchairs and other paraphernalia. As evidence of her early influence by the Salvation Army, McPherson adopted a theme of "lighthouses" for the satellite churches, referring to the parent church as the "Salvation Navy." This was the beginning of

McPherson working to plant Foursquare Gospel churches around the country. McPherson published the weekly Foursquare Crusader along with her monthly magazine Bridal Call. She began broadcasting on radio in the early 1920s. McPherson was one of the first women to preach a radio sermon; and with the opening of Foursquare Gospel-owned KFSG on February 6, 1924, she became the second woman granted a broadcast license by the Department of Commerce, the agency that supervised broadcasting in the early 1920s. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: KATHRYN KUHLMAN (1907 - 1976) -- WAS AN AMERICAN FAITH HEALER AND EVANGELIST - KUHLMAN [MODELING HER CAREER IN THE MOLD OF HER IDOL AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON] TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY AROUND THE UNITED STATES AND IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES HOLDING "HEALING CRUSADES" BETWEEN THE 1940S AND 1970S - SHE HAD A WEEKLY TV PROGRAM IN THE 1960S AND 1970S CALLED I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES THAT WAS AIRED NATIONALLY THE FOUNDATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1954, AND ITS CANADIAN BRANCH IN 1970 - AFTER SHE DIED, HER WILL LED TO CONTROVERSY - SHE LEFT $267,500, THE BULK OF HER ESTATE, TO THREE FAMILY MEMBERS AND TWENTY EMPLOYEES - SMALLER BEQUESTS WERE GIVEN TO 19 OTHER EMPLOYEES - ACCORDING TO THE INDEPENDENT PRESS-TELEGRAM , HER EMPLOYEES WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT "SHE DID NOT LEAVE MOST OF HER ESTATE TO THE FOUNDATION AS SHE HAD DONE UNDER A PREVIOUS 1974 WILL - MANY ACCOUNTS OF HEALINGS WERE PUBLISHED IN HER BOOKS, WHICH WERE "GHOST-WRITTEN" BY AUTHOR JAMIE BUCKINGHAM OF FLORIDA, INCLUDING HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY, WHICH WAS DICTATED AT A HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS - BUCKINGHAM ALSO WROTE HIS OWN KUHLMAN BIOGRAPHY THAT PRESENTED AN UNVARNISHED ACCOUNT OF HER LIFE - MANY OTHER FAITH HEALERS, INCLUDING BENNY HINN, WHO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY KATHRYN KUHLMAN HAVE FACED SIMILAR SUSPICIONS ABOUT THEIR METHODS AND PRACTICES - KATHRYN KUHLMAN IS INTERRED [NEAR AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON] IN THE FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY IN GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA Early life: Kathryn Johanna Kuhlmun was born in Concordia, Missouri, to German-American parents. She was born-again at the age of 13 in the Methodist Church of Concordia, and began preaching in the West at the age of sixteen in primarily Baptist Churches. -- Career: Kuhlman traveled extensively around the United States and in many other countries holding "healing crusades" between the 1940s and 1970s. She had a weekly TV program in the 1960s and 1970s called I Believe In Miracles that was aired nationally. The foundation was established in 1954, and its Canadian branch in 1970. Following a 1967 fellowship in Philadelphia, Dr. William A. Nolen conducted a case study of 23 people who claimed to have been cured during her services. Nolen's long term follow-ups concluded there were no cures in those cases. Furthermore, one woman who was said to have been cured of spinal cancer took off her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the following day and she died four months later. -- By 1970 she moved to Los Angeles conducting faith healing for thousands of people each day as an heir to Aimee Semple McPherson. She became well-known despite, as she told reporters, having no theological training. In 1935, Kathryn met Burroughs Waltrip, an extremely handsome Texas evangelist who was eight years her senior. Despite the fact that he was married with two small boys, they soon found themselves attracted to each other. Shortly after his visit to Denver, Waltrip divorced his wife, left his family and moved to Mason City, Iowa, where he began a revival center called Radio Chapel. Kathryn and her friend and pianist Helen Gulliford came into town to help him raise funds for his ministry. It was shortly after their arrival that the romance between Burroughs and Kathryn became publicly known. -- Burroughs and Kathryn decided to wed. While discussing the matter with some friends, Kathryn had said that she could not "find the will of God in the matter." These and other friends encouraged her not to go through with the marriage, but Kathryn justified it to herself and others by believing that Waltrip's wife had left him, not the other way around. On October 18th, 1938, Kathryn secretly married "Mister," as she liked to call Waltrip, in Mason City. The wedding did not give her new peace about their union, however. After they checked into their hotel that night, Kathryn left and drove over to the hotel where Helen was staying with another friend. She sat with them weeping and admitted that the marriage was a mistake. She decided to get an annulment. -- In 1975, Kuhlman was sued by Paul Bartholomew, her personal administrator, who claimed she kept $1 million in jewelry and $1 million in fine art hidden away and sued her for $430,500 for breach of contract. Two former associates accused her in the lawsuit of diverting funds and illegally removing records, which she denied and said the records were not private. According to Kuhlman, the lawsuit was settled prior to trial. -- Death and legacy: In July 1975 her doctor diagnosed her with a minor heart flareup and she had a relapse in November while in Los Angeles. As a result, she had open heart surgery in Tulsa, Oklahoma from which she died in February 1976. Kathryn Kuhlman is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. A plaque in her honor is located in the main city park in Concordia, Missouri, a town located in central Missouri on Interstate Highway 70. -- After she died, her will led to controversy. She left $267,500, the bulk of her estate, to three

family members and twenty employees. Smaller bequests were given to 19 other employees. According to the Independent Press-Telegram , her employees were disappointed that "she did not leave most of her estate to the foundation as she had done under a previous 1974 will." The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation has continued, but in 1982 it terminated its nationwide radio broadcasting. She influenced faith healers Benny Hinn and Billy Burke. Hinn has adopted some of her techniques and wrote a book about her. -- Healing: Many accounts of healings were published in her books, which were "ghost-written" by author Jamie Buckingham of Florida, including her autobiography, which was dictated at a hotel in Las Vegas. Buckingham also wrote his own Kuhlman biography that presented an unvarnished account of her life. Many other faith healers, including Benny Hinn, who have been inspired by Kathryn Kuhlman have faced similar suspicions about their methods and practices. [link]

KATHRYN KUHLMAN MEDALLION COIN KEYCHAIN MEDAL - KATHRYN KUHLMAN MEDALLION KEYCHAIN WHICH WAS GIVEN OUT TO SPECIAL GUESTS IN 1972 TO COMMEMORATE HER 25 YEARS OF SERVICE IN PITTSBURG -- CLICK ON THE COIN PHOTO THEN CLICK ON THE RIGHT SIDE ARROW TO VIEW A PHOTO OF THE BACK SIDE OF THE COIN -- {NOTE: THERE IS QUITE A CONTROVERSY REGARDING THIS COIN IN THAT IN 1972 KATHRYN KUHLMAN HAD THIS COIN DESIGNED AND MINTED - THE COIN'S FACE (HEADS SIDE) FEATURES KATHRYN KUHLMAN ON IT IN HER HEALING POSE - WHILE REGULATED TO THE BACKSIDE (TAILS SIDE) OF THE COIN IS JESUS CHRIST ALSO IN A HEALING POSE, NO DOUBT CONDUCTING HIS HEALING IN A POSE AND FROM LESSONS THAT JESUS LEARNED FROM KATHRYN KUHLMAN AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT KATHRYN KUHLMAN SEEMS TO BE PORTRAYING IN THAT SHE IS THE MASTER AND JESUS HER STUDENT.} The sculpting was done by E. Frudakis (the Uncle of Dino Kartsonakis, her pianist). Condition = The medallion and keychain are both in great condition with no damage or other issues. The medallion is made of solid bronze or brass. SEE PICS [link]

KATHRYN KUHLMAN WITH DUANE PEDERSON, LONNIE FRISBEE AND CHUCK SMITH SR. OF CALVARY CHAPEL (YOUTUBE) Description: Take a trip back in time to 1971 with the kids from Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa as they meet on the set with Kathyrn Kuhlman. Includes rare footage of Chuck Smith, Duane Pederson, Lonnie Frisbee and early performances by Children of the Day, Love Song, Debby Kerner, Country Faith and all the Jesus People. (1971) [link]

CHUCK SMITH SR. AUTOBIOGRAPHY: A MEMOIR OF GRACE BY (AUTHORS) CHUCK SMITH SR. AND CHUCK SMITH JR. PUBLISHED IN 2009 - "I AM PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO PULL UP A CHAIR AND LISTEN AS MY PASTOR CHUCK TELLS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE." - {CHUCK SMITH SR. JUST LIKE AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON WITH HER "STORY OF MY LIFE" SERMON AND KATHRYN KUHLMAN WITH HER "KUHLMAN AND JESUS COIN" NOW PREACHES THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AND FORTUNATELY FOR US HE PUBLISHED IT IN A BOOK AND IT'S AVAILABLE FOR SALE (WITH THE UNSPOKEN ADMONISHMENT OF "NO COINS, JUST DOLLARS PLEASE") AND JUST LIKE KATHRYN KUHLMAN THE SELF-PROMOTING MR. SMITH MANAGES TO PUT HIMSELF BOTH ON THE COVER OF HIS BOOK AND ALSO IN THE DRIVER SEAT OF HIS FAVORITE CAR BUT WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH JESUS CHRIST AND MINISTRY IS A BIT UNCLEAR.} (BOOK) In times of trouble, trial, pain or loss, we often can’t see the value in what we’re experiencing. We don t realize what God is doing, or why He has allowed us to struggle. But there comes a day when we look back over the road map of our lives and we understand, finally. We see the dots laid out along the path, and the events God permitted in order to move us to our destination. I am pleased to invite you to pull up a chair and listen as my Pastor Chuck tells the story of his life. This book is presented to you with the prayer that what you read will help you see how God s grace is at work in your own life. Everything you have experienced in the past, everything you re going through now, and everything that awaits you on the path ahead is all part of God s plan. His will for you is perfect, and He knows just how to prepare you for your life s purpose. Everything is preparation for something else. [link]

KATHRYN KUHLMAN - THE INTERFAITH FAITH HEALER - I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST GIVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF THIS DIABOLICAL WOMAN PLEASE READ THIS, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT YOU KNOW WHO THIS WOMAN WAS AND HOW SHE HAS INFLUENCED HUNDREDS OF PASTORS OVER THE YEARS -- BENNT HINN PRAYING AT KUHIMAN'S GRAVE - THE SECRET TO HINN'S POWER IS HIS PECULIAR ANOINTING, WHICH HE CONNECTS WITH KATHRYN KUHLMAN AND AIMEE MCPHERSON, FOUNDER OF THE FOURSQUARE GOSPEL CHURCH - HE FIRST FELT THE "FULL POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT" ON HIM AT A KUHLMAN HEALING SERVICE IN 1973 - AND HER MANTLE HAS PRESUMABLY FALLEN UPON HINN - HE CONDUCTS HIS MEETINGS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE HERS - THOUGH IT TAKES HINN MUCH LONGER TO GET HIS AUDIENCE INTO THE EXPECTANT MOOD THAT SEEMS TO GENERATE PSYCHOSOMATIC "MIRACLES" - IN AN APRIL 7, 1991 SERMON, HINN REVEALED THAT HE PERIODICALLY VISITS KUHIMAN'S GRAVE AND THAT HE IS ONE OF THE FEW WITH A KEY TO GAIN ACCESS TO IT. HE ALSO VISITS AIMEE'S GRAVE, WHERE HE SAYS: "I FELT A TERRIFIC ANOINTING ... I WAS SHAKING ALL OVER ... TREMBLING UNDER THE POWER OF GOD ... 'DEAR GOD,' I SAID, **'I FEEL THE [DEMONIC] ANOINTING.' ... I BELIEVE THE ANOINTING HAS LINGERED OVER AIMEE'S BODY." - (DAVE HUNT, "SIGNS OF THE TIMES," CIB BULLETIN, JAN. 1992) The Life And Death Of Kathryn Kuhlman: "Her life was a mystery. Many events of her life were shadowed with halftruths, deception, confusion and misrepresentation. If the righteous or wicked die as they live, then her death was a proof of her disobedience and bondage by false spirits. In fact, of all the mysteries about her, her death was the most mysterious." - "On February 20, 1976, in a strange hospital, in a strange city, surrounded by people she hardly knew, with a man she once disdained standing in the wings ready to preach her funeral. The woman whom Time magazine called a 'veritable one-woman Shrine of Lourdes' was dead at the age of sixty-eight." (Daughter Of Destiny, Jamie Buckingham, pp. 1-2.) -- "In the second paragraph above he mentioned a statement by Time magazine in which she was called a "veritable one-woman Shrine of Lourdes." A second biography, written by Wayne E. Warner, entitled The Woman Behind The Miracles, stated that people often used monies saved to visit an apparition of Mary and instead visited a crusade being conducted by Kathryn Kuhlman. It was very apparent that her healing services were on the exact same level as a so-called mystical apparition of Mary." -- ""Although she had not mentioned marriage, everyone seemed to know. A ghastly hush fell over the congregation. All the rumors they had been hearing about Waltrip divorcing his wife in order to marry Kathryn - it was all true. Women began to sob. Several got up from the choir and walked out. Men sat stony faced in their pews, looking at Kathryn in disbelief. How could she do it? This woman, who had preached such dynamic messages about purity and holiness. This woman who had been such a model of decency and divine compassion." (Daughter Of Destiny, pp. 82-83.) -- Kathryn Kuhlman And "The One World Religion" -- Kahryn Kuhlman was apparently the first minister within the Evangelical/Pentecostal world that laid a foundation for the new unity movement of religions. It was said by her official biographer, Buckingham, that Miss Kuhlman did not like to conduct her services without Catholic priests on her platform. He stated, "She had a special love for doctors, and wanted them either on the stage or on the front rows of the auditorium. The same was true of priests and nuns - especially if they were 'in uniform'. Nothing thrilled Kathryn more than to have thirty or forty Catholic clergymen, especially if they wore clerical collars or, better yet, cassocks, sitting behind her while she ministered. Somehow it seemed to lend authenticity to what she was doing - and helped create the proper climate of a trust and understanding which was so necessary for a miracle service." (Daughter Of Destiny, p. 221.) -- She had a special affinity for the Catholic style of high church grandeur. When Kathryn went to Las Vegas for her crusade, the following was reported, "Kathryn had but one pass through Las Vegas, and she would deliver the gospel with power! Hundreds of people in Las Vegas as well as the faithful in Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Franklin had agreed to pray that the Holy Spirit would stir the city. Not far away a Roman Catholic priest said a Mass for the meeting the day before." (The Woman Behind The Miracles, pp. 229-230.) -- Please remember that a Catholic Mass is believed to be a time when the very bread and wine becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. Millions of Protestants died as martyrs because they rejected this blasphemous assertion. Did her affinity for Catholic dogmas help start the declension within the Pentecostal circles that has now become a watershed of deception and compromise? I certainly believe so! "Kathryn Kuhlman was an ecumenist without portfolio." (Ibid, p. 15.) Jamie Buckingham further stated, "In 1948 while ecumenists designed programs for denominational unity, Kathryn Kuhlman threw open the heavy old doors of north Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall. Streaming through the doors and scurrying for chairs came Protestants, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, and other groups, most related to churches but others not. And they were back the next week and the next." (Ibid, p. 15.) -- This certainly would have been acceptable if they were led out of these cold-dead churches to embrace a life of separation and New Testament lifestyle. That's certainly what Jesus did. On October 11, 1972, Pope Paul gave her a private audience at the Vatican. Mr. Warner stated, "Complimenting her on her 'admirable work,' he admonished her to 'do it well!' and gave her a gold, handmade

engraved medallion bearing a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit." (Ibid, p. 172.) -- Kathryn Kuhlman And Her Spirit Guides: I am personally convinced that Miss Kuhlman was controlled by a spirit guide masquerading as the Holy Spirit. There appears to be no other possible answer. Coming to this conclusion has been a very tough and heart-rending experience. The following quote from Benny Hinn's book, Good Morning, Holy Spirit, will give you a glance at her attachment to either the Holy Spirit or a spirit. "I looked up to see Kathryn burying her head in her hands as she began to sob. She sobbed and sobbed so loudly that everything came to a standstill. The music stopped. The ushers froze in their positions. "Everyone had their eyes on her. And for the life of me I had no idea why she was sobbing. I'd never seen a minister do that before. What was she crying about? It was told later that she had never done anything like that before, and members of her staff remember it to this day. "It continued for what seemed like two minutes. Then she thrust back her head. There she was, just a few feet in front of me. Her eyes were aflame. She was alive. "In that instant she took on a boldness I had never seen in any person. She pointed her finger straight out with enormous power and emotion - even pain. If the devil himself had been there, she would have flicked him aside with just a tap. "It was a moment of incredible dimension. Still sobbing, she looked out at the audience and said with such agony, 'Please.' She seemed to stretch out the word, 'Plee-ease, don't grieve the Holy Spirit.' "She was begging. If you can imagine a mother pleading with a killer not to shoot her baby, it was like that. She begged and pleaded. "'Please,' she sobbed, 'don't grieve the Holy Spirit.' "Even now I can see her eyes. It was as if they were looking straight at me. "And when she said it, you could have dropped a pin and heard it. I was afraid to breathe. I didn't move a muscle. I was holding on to the pew in front of me wondering what would happen next. "Then she said, 'Don't you understand? He's all I've got!' "I thought, 'What's she talking about?' "Then she continued her impassioned plea saying, 'Please! Don't wound Him. He's all I've got. Don't wound the One I love!'" (Good Morning, Holy Spirit, Benny Hinn, pp. 8-9.) -- Her words reveal a view of this spirit that is extremely unusual. She said, "Don't you understand? He's all I've got." Again, she said, "Please don't wound Him, He's all I've got. Don't wound the One I love." The Holy Spirit absolutely never speaks of Himself. He glorifies Jesus Christ in His church and in you and Jesus Christ alone. Jesus said, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14). She was enamored with this "spirit" that came upon her. Often she spoke of her fear that he would leave her. She would wait behind the stage, even at times while the service languished for this "spirit person" to manifest himself. When he came she was electric and performed as the greatest of actors. Hinn continued in his description of Kuhlman's emphasis on this spirit whom she called the Holy Spirit. He said, "In my church, the pastor talked about the Holy Spirit. But not like this. His references had to do with the gifts or tongues or prophecy - not "He's my closest, most personal, most intimate, most beloved friend." Kathryn Kuhlman was telling me about a person that was more real than you or I." (Ibid, p. 9.) Source: www.pawcreek.org/articles/endtimes/KathrynKuhlmanandHerSpiritGuide.htm [link]

ANOTHER JESUIT FOR ANOTHER GOSPEL - THE "EVANGELICAL" NON-DENOMINATION MOVEMENT WAS AND IS FUNDED BY SOCIALISTS, NAZI-SYMPATHIZERS, ANTI-COMMUNISTS, JESUITS, AND ALL IN ALL EVIL PEOPLE - WHAT DO BILL BRIGHT (CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST), BILLY GRAHAM (BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION), TIM LAHAYE (CNP FOUNDER, LEFT BEHIND CO-AUTHOR), AND CHUCK SMITH SR. (CALVARY CHAPEL) HAVE IN COMMON? What do Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ), Billy Graham (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association), Tim LaHaye (CNP founder, Left Behind co-author), and Chuck Smith Sr. (Calvary Chapel) have in common? They have all benefited financially from Nelson Bunker Hunt. Nelson Bunker Hunt is a business tycoon famous for trying to make a run on Silver (see here), an Equestrian, and something I've learned recently, a Jesuit for the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. The following information is an attempt to show the relationship between Nelson Bunker Hunt and "another gospel." The "Evangelical" Non-Denomination movement was and is funded by Socialists, Nazi-Sympathizers, Anti-Communists, Jesuits, and all in all evil people. There is a saying, "An enemy of my enemy is my friend." This thinking leads to 'frenemies' and an enemy who's a temporary friend ultimately will return to their natural state of being your enemy. God does not work this way. God's word tells us not to yoke with unbelievers. This group of Elitists believe it's okay to work with the enemy, to join hands, to make Covenants and oaths together for a common cause. Jesus did not have a separate gospel for Global Elites like some of the "Family" members would like to believe. I understand that all this information takes a turn down the shadowy world of conspiracy theories that the "New World Order" has Jesuits working for the return to Rome, but oddly enough, they really do have evil plans and they are increasingly revealing it themselves as though we should be grateful for their great ideas. You don't have to believe one thing in this post. It's not

up to me to convince you that what we have been told and sold as an "Act of God" via a "Jesus Movement" is truly a conceived fabrication of men leading men and deceiving generations of Jesus Christs' sheep. The good news is, if you're truly called of God He can reveal the truth to you (the truth is Christian Society has chosen to follow men and not Christ and has conversely allowed idol worship, blindness, and delusion to take root). [link]

ALL IN 'THE FAMILY' IS THIS POLITICS OR A CULT? - FIRST AND FOREMOST, THIS IS NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY, NOR A CONSPIRACY IN REALITY - WHAT IT IS, IS A HORRIBLE USE OF THE GOSPEL - SOMETHING THAT MEN HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE IT WAS FIRST LAID DOWN IT TAKES THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST AND TURNS IT INTO SOMETHING POLITICAL, SOMETHING DISGUSTING, SOMETHING HUMAN - INSTEAD OF CALLING [ADMITTING] TO SIN, THESE PEOPLE THINK THEMSELVES ABOVE THE MERCY OF CHRIST - IF WE ARE CHOSEN, THEN WE ARE CHOSEN TO REPENTANCE -- WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW: As I was watching some news last night, I saw this story on the Rachel Maddow show - and frankly, it's a bit creepy. I usually stop watching news by that late hour - else the children run screaming from the information overload. It concerns The Family, founded by Nazi-sympathizer, Abraham Vereide. As I was watching, I was figuring - 70 years ago? Um, right around the time all this gooblygook with William Branham started and the Manifest Sons of God. Actually, it is quite possible that these two crossed paths. (You may also want to check out this site as well.) -- Remember, these men who live in this house, all powerful, must surrender to being shepherded by another - and consider themselves 'chosen.' In other words, they may do as they choose for they are chosen for greatness in God, and will receive forgiveness. -Note, from the above article: "At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, George H.W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as "quiet diplomacy, I wouldn't say secret diplomacy," as an "ambassador of faith." Coe has visited nearly every world capital, often with congressmen at his side, "making friends" and inviting them back to the Family's unofficial headquarters, a mansion (just down the road from Ivanwald) that the Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation." -- One of the things that we must endeavor to do, is to make sure that we do not come off sounding like conspiracy theories. I detest them - they destroy when we should build up. They weaken us, because rarely ever are they true. First and foremost, this is not a conspiracy theory, nor a conspiracy in reality. What it is, is a horrible use of the gospel - something that men have been doing since it was first laid down. It takes the message of Christ and turns it into something political, something disgusting, something human. -- Instead of calling to sin, these people think themselves above the mercy of Christ. If we are chosen, then we are chosen to repentance. -- While the connection here between Ensign and Sandford will go unnoticed, it is well remembered that the Dominionists have stated time and time again that they seek to bring about a government of [Anti] Christ built on seven interconnected mountains - one of them being politics. Where else to start but politicians. [link]

INTRODUCTION - THE REFORMATION: 1522 A.D. TO 1880 A.D. INDIGENOUS BIBLE TRANSLATIONS AND CHURCH DOCTRINES ERA THE GLORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIGHT OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION THAT BEGAN SO SPECTACULARLY WITH WYCLIFFE, ERASMUS, TYNDALE, LUTHER, CRANMER AND OTHERS HAS UNFORTUNATELY MOSTLY FADED AND TODAY IT IS JUST THE FLICKERING OF A LIGHT LEFT BY FRANCIS SCHAEFFER AND A FEW OTHERS Francis Schaeffer, the last spark from the glorious flame of the reformation fire that at one time swept Europe and the New World. Schaeffer was a true Christian intellect in the mold of all the famous reformers. Frances Schafer was truly a unique and gifted man as such he was a person with a blessed spirit, a living soul and an awake mind. A spirit, a soul and an intellect that he used mightily to help bring about change in the portion of the world that he occupied. With his departing the Christian Church continues to morn as it laments the loss of a past era. [link]

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER (1912-1984) - AT ONE TIME AN AGNOSTIC, FRANCIS SCHAEFFER LATER BECAME A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER WITH AN ABILITY TO SEE HOW THE QUESTIONS OF MEANING, MORALS, AND VALUE BEING DEALT WITH BY PHILOSOPHY, WERE THE SAME QUESTIONS THAT THE BIBLE DEALT WITH

Francis Schaeffer was a Presbyterian minister with an ability to see how the questions of meaning, morals, and value being dealt with by philosophy, were the same questions that the Bible dealt with, only in different language. Once an agnostic, Schaeffer came to the conclusion that Biblical Christianity not only gave sufficient answers to the big questions, but that they were the only answers that were both self-consistent and livable. With this conviction he became a man of conversation. Schaeffer taught that God is really there and He is not silent. He had spoken to man in the Bible as and a result we could have "true truth" about God and man. Knowing the dignity of man created in God's image, he placed a high value on creativity as an expression of that image. He opened his Swiss home to travelers to discuss these things. Later he began lecturing in universities and writing a number of books. Perhaps no other Christian thinker of the twentieth century, besides C.S. Lewis, has had more influence on thinking people. [link]

FRANCIS A. SCHAEFFER: THE EARLY YEARS - MP3 LECTURES & RESOURCE LIST (FREE - MP3'S) Identification of the biblical emphasis in the thought and life of Francis and Edith Schaeffer, with a focus on the development of their early ministry in the United States and Europe and the founding of L'Abri. The course considers issues related to spiritual growth, the Christian family, the unity of the church, Christians and the arts, and various aspects of Christian ministry. [link]

FRANCIS A. SCHAEFFER: THE LATER YEARS - MP3 LECTURES & RESOURCE LIST (FREE - MP3'S) Continuation of material in Francis Schaeffer: The Early Years. An examination of the biblical emphasis in the thought and life of Francis and Edith Schaeffer, with focus on the developments in Schaeffer's theological, cultural, and social concerns from the time of L'Abri's founding until his death in 1984. [link]

WATERSHED OF THE EVANGELICAL WORLD BY FRANCIS SCHAEFER (MP3) Francis Schaefer shares how the society of North America has succumbed to the humanistic values and ideals. Christian values and standards according to Scripture has all become irrelevant in this type of society. There is a need more than ever to believe and live the standards of the Scriptures. [link]

CHURCH HISTORY FRANCIS SCHAEFFER 1912-1984 - FRANCIS SCHAEFFER, THE MISSIONARY TO THINKING PEOPLE, SHOWS US HOW TO COMBINE TRUTH AND LOVE IN REACHING THE LOST FOR CHRIST (MP3) "Great Sermon!" I've enjoyed the whole series of the lectures on church history by Rev Michael Phillips. these are all very well presented, not only very educational but also interesting and edifying. I recommend this series highly. [link]

DR. FRANCIS SCHAEFFER -- HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE? THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW MANKIND'S HOPE FOR A FUTURE -- (DVD) Wondering what the past teaches us about the present? Francis Schaeffer's sweeping series on the rise and decline of Western thought and culture surveys history -- from the Roman Empire through the 20th century -- and offers biblical answers to modern problems. Features an interview with the late Dr. Schaeffer and his wife, Edith. Includes study guide. Set includes 10 episodes on two DVDs with a total running time of approximately 6 hours. [link]

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - OSWALD CHAMBERS (1847-1917) CHAMBERS WAS BORN IN ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND, IN 1874, THE YOUNGEST SON OF A BAPTIST MINISTER - A GIFTED ARTIST AND MUSICIAN, CHAMBERS TRAINED AT LONDON'S ROYAL ACADEMY OF ART, SENSING GOD'S DIRECTION TO BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR CHRIST IN THE WORLD OF ART AND AESTHETICS - WHILE STUDYING AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (1895-96), HE DECIDED, AFTER AN AGONIZING INTERNAL BATTLE, TO STUDY FOR THE MINISTRY - HE DIED IN CAIRO ON NOVEMBER 15, 1917, OF COMPLICATIONS FOLLOWING AN EMERGENCY APPENDECTOMY - THE COMPLETE STORY OF HIS LIFE IS TOLD IN OSWALD CHAMBERS: ABANDONED TO GOD (1993)

Oswald Chambers sometimes startled audiences with his vigorous thinking and his vivid expression. Even those who disagreed with what he said found his teachings difficult to dismiss and all but impossible to ignore. Often his humor drove home a sensitive point: "Have we ever got into the way of letting God work, or are we so amazingly important that we really wonder in our nerves and ways what the Almighty does before we are up in the morning!" Oswald Chambers was not famous during his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1917 at the age of forty-three, only three books bearing his name had been published. Among a relatively small circle of Christians in Britain and the U.S., Chambers was much appreciated as a teacher of rare insight and expression, but he was not widely known. Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1874, the youngest son of a Baptist minister. He spent his boyhood years in Perth; then his family moved to London when Oswald was fifteen. Shortly after the move to London, Oswald made his public profession of faith in Christ and became a member of Rye Lane Baptist Church. This marked a period of rapid spiritual growth, along with an intense struggle to find God's will and way for his life. -- A gifted artist and musician, Chambers trained at London's Royal Academy of Art, sensing God's direction to be an ambassador for Christ in the world of art and aesthetics. While studying at the University of Edinburgh (1895-96), he decided, after an agonizing internal battle, to study for the ministry. He left the university and entered Dunoon College, near Glasgow, where he remained as a student, then a tutor for nine years. In 1906 he traveled to the United States, spending six months teaching at God's Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there, he went to Japan, visiting the Tokyo Bible School, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cowman. This journey around the world in 1906-1907 marked his transition from Dunoon College to fulltime work with the Pentecostal League of Prayer. During the last decade of his life, Chambers served as: • traveling speaker and representative of the League of Prayer, 1907-10 • principal and main teacher of the Bible Training College, London, 1911-15 • YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth soldiers in Egypt, 1915-17. He died in Cairo on November 15, 1917, of complications following an emergency appendectomy. The complete story of his life is told in Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God (1993). [link]

ABANDONED TO GOD: THE OSWALD CHAMBERS STORY (DVD) Abandoned to God: Oswald Chambers Story DVD - From locations in England and Scotland, David McCasland shows you some of the places and describes key events and people that influenced the young Scottish preacher. Also includes an interview with Chambers' daughter Kathleen who shares memories of her father. Come away with a better understanding of this influential man of God. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: GEORGE MÜLLER (27 SEPTEMBER 1805 - 10 MARCH 1898) -- A CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST AND DIRECTOR OF THE ASHLEY DOWN ORPHANAGE IN BRISTOL, ENGLAND, CARED FOR 10,024 ORPHANS IN HIS LIFE - HE WAS WELL-KNOWN FOR PROVIDING AN EDUCATION TO THE CHILDREN UNDER HIS CARE, TO THE POINT WHERE HE WAS ACCUSED OF RAISING THE POOR ABOVE THEIR NATURAL STATION IN LIFE - HE ALSO ESTABLISHED 117 SCHOOLS WHICH OFFERED CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TO OVER 120,000 CHILDREN, MANY OF THEM BEING ORPHANS - THE THEOLOGY THAT GUIDED GEORGE MÜLLER'S WORK IS NOT WIDELY KNOWN, BUT WAS SHAPED BY AN EXPERIENCE IN HIS MID TWENTIES WHEN HE "CAME TO PRIZE THE BIBLE ALONE AS HIS STANDARD OF JUDGEMENT" Youth: Müller was born in Kroppenstaedt (now Kroppenstedt), a village near Halberstadt in the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1810, the Müller family moved to nearby Heimersleben, where Müller's father was appointed a collector of taxes. He had an older brother, Friedrich Johann Wilhelm (1803 - 7 Oct 1838) and, after his widowed father remarried, a halfbrother, Franz (b 1822). His early life was not marked by righteousness - on the contrary, he was a thief, a liar and a gambler. By the age of 10, Müller was stealing government money from his father. While his mother was dying, he, at 14 years of age, was playing cards with friends and drinking. Müller's father hoped to provide him with a religious education that would allow him to take a lucrative position as a clergyman in the state church. He studied divinity in the University of Halle, and there met a fellow student (Beta) who invited him to a Christian prayer meeting. There he was welcomed, and he began regularly reading the Bible and discussing Christianity with the others who attended the meetings. After

seeing a man praying to God on his knees, he was convinced of his need for salvation. As soon as he got home he went to his bed where he knelt and prayed. He asked God to help him in his life and to bless him wherever he went and to forgive him of his sins. He immediately stopped drinking, stealing and lying, and began hoping to become a missionary. He began preaching regularly in nearby churches and continued meeting with the other churches. -- Early work: In 1828, Müller offered to work with Jews in England through the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but upon arriving in 1829, he fell ill, and did not think that he would survive. He was sent to Teignmouth to recuperate and, whilst there, met Henry Craik, who became his life-long friend. When he recovered, however, he dedicated himself to doing the will of God. He soon left the London Society, convinced that God would provide for his needs as he did Christian work. Craik invited him to become a minister with him in Teignmouth and he became the pastor of Ebenezer Chapel in Devon and soon after, married Mary Groves, the sister of Anthony Norris Groves. During his time as the pastor of the church, he refused a regular salary, believing that the practice could lead to church members giving out of duty, not desire. He also eliminated the renting of church pews, arguing that it gave unfair prestige to the rich (based primarily on James 2:1-9). -- Theology: The theology that guided George Müller's work is not widely known, but was shaped by an experience in his mid twenties when he "came to prize the Bible alone as [his] standard of judgement". He records in his Narratives that "That the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in our day, as well as in former times, he is the teacher of his people. The office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time. Indeed, of the office of each of the blessed persons, in what is commonly called the Trinity, I had no experimental apprehension. I had not before seen from the Scriptures that the Father chose us before the foundation of the world; that in him that wonderful plan of our redemption originated, and that he also appointed all the means by which it was to be brought about. Further, that the Son, to save us, had fulfilled the law, to satisfy its demands, and with it also the holiness of God; that he had borne the punishment due to our sins, and had thus satisfied the justice of God. And, further, that the Holy Spirit alone can teach us about our state by nature, show us the need of a Saviour, enable us to believe in Christ, explain to us the Scriptures, help us in preaching, etc. It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside commentaries, and almost every other book, and simply reading the word of God and studying it. The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours than I had done during a period of several months previously. But the particular difference was, that I received real strength for my soul in doing so. I now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were really of value." [link]

GEORGE MÜLLER - ROBBER OF THE CRUEL STREETS (DVD) George Müller (1805-1898) was a German playboy who found Christ and gave his life to serve Christ unreservedly. His mission was to rescue orphans from the wretched street life that enslaved so many children in England during the time of Charles Dickens and Oliver Twist. Müller did rescue, care for, feed, and educate such children by the thousands. The costs were enormous for such a great work. Yet, amazingly, he never asked anyone for money. Instead he prayed, and his children never missed a meal. This docu-drama presents his life story and shows how God answered prayer and met their needs. It is a story that raises foundational questions regarding faith and finances. Also included are two special documentaries on Müller and some of the lives affected by his work. [link]

GEORGE MULLER AUDIO BOOKS AS READ BY PETER-JOHN PARISIS (MP3S) Here you will find articles by or about George Muller, the man of faith, to encourage you to trust God for great things and to deepen your walk with God. We trust you will be encouraged to trust in the prayer-answering God for your needs. The Bible says "For all the promises of God in Him (Christ) are yea, and in Him (Christ) Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Cor. 1:20) and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JOHN NEWTON (JULY 24, 1725 - DECEMBER 21, 1807) -- A BRITISH SAILOR AND ANGLICAN CLERGYMAN - STARTING HIS

CAREER AT SEA, AT A YOUNG AGE, HE BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE SLAVE TRADE FOR A FEW YEARS - AFTER EXPERIENCING A RELIGIOUS CONVERSION, HE BECAME A MINISTER, HYMN-WRITER, AND LATER A PROMINENT SUPPORTER OF THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY - HE WAS THE AUTHOR OF MANY HYMNS, INCLUDING "AMAZING GRACE" AND "GLORIOUS THINGS OF THEE ARE SPOKEN"

Early life: John Newton was born in Wapping, London, in 1725, the son of John Newton Sr., a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth Newton (nĂŠe Seatclife), a Nonconformist Christian. His mother died of tuberculosis in July, 1732, about two weeks before his seventh birthday. Two years later, he went to live in Aveley, the home of his father's new wife. Newton spent two years at boarding school. At age eleven he went to sea with his father. Newton sailed six voyages before his father retired in 1742. Newton's father made plans for him to work at a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Instead, Newton signed on with a merchant ship sailing to the Mediterranean Sea. In 1743, while on the way to visit some friends, Newton was captured and pressed into the naval service by the Royal Navy. He became a midshipman aboard HMS Harwich. At one point, Newton attempted to desert and was punished in front of the crew of 350. Stripped to the waist, tied to the grating, he received a flogging of one dozen lashes, and was reduced to the rank of a common seaman. Following that disgrace and humiliation, Newton initially contemplated suicide. He recovered, both physically and mentally. Later, while Harwich was on route to India, he transferred to Pegasus, a slave ship bound for West Africa. The ship carried goods to Africa, and traded them for slaves to be shipped to England and other countries. Newton proved to be a continual problem for the crew of Pegasus. They left him in West Africa with Amos Clowe, a slave dealer. Clowe took Newton to the coast, and gave him to his wife Princess Peye, an African duchess. Newton was abused and mistreated along with her other slaves. It was this period that Newton later remembered as the time he was "once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in West Africa." Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had been asked by Newton's father to search for him. And he made it to freedom. In 1750 he married his childhood sweetheart in St. Margaret's Church, Rochester. -- Spiritual conversion: He sailed back to England in 1748 aboard the merchant ship Greyhound, which was carrying beeswax and dyer's wood, now referred to as camwood. During this voyage, he experienced a spiritual conversion. The ship encountered a severe storm off the coast of Donegal and almost sank. Newton awoke in the middle of the night and finally called out to God as the ship filled with water. After he called out, the cargo came out and stopped up the hole, and the ship was able to drift to safety. It was this experience which he later marked as the beginnings of his conversion to evangelical Christianity. As the ship sailed home, Newton began to read the Bible and other religious literature. By the time he reached Britain, he had accepted the doctrines of evangelical Christianity. The date was March 10, 1748, an anniversary he marked for the rest of his life. From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling, and drinking. Although he continued to work in the slave trade, he had gained a considerable amount of sympathy for the slaves. He later said that his true conversion did not happen until sometime later: "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards." Newton returned to Liverpool, England and, partly due to the influence of his father's friend Joseph Manesty, obtained a position as first mate aboard the slave ship Brownlow, bound for the West Indies via the coast of Guinea. During the first leg of this voyage, while in west Africa (1748-1749), Newton acknowledged the inadequacy of his spiritual life. While he was sick with a fever, he professed his full belief in Christ and asked God to take control of his destiny. He later said that this experience was his true conversion and the turning point in his spiritual life. He claimed it was the first time he felt totally at peace with God. Still, he did not renounce the slave trade until later in his life. After his return to England in 1750, he made three further voyages as captain of the slave-trading ships Duke of Argyle (1750) and African (1752-1753 and 1753-1754). He only gave up seafaring and his active slave-trading activities in 1754, after suffering a severe stroke, but continued to invest his savings in Manesty's slaving operations." -- Anglican priest: In 1755 Newton became tide surveyor (a tax collector) of the port of Liverpool, again through the influence of Manesty. In his spare time, he was able to study Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac. He became well known as an evangelical lay minister. In 1757, he applied to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England, but it was more than seven years before he was eventually accepted. Such was his frustration during this period of rejection that he also applied to the Methodists, Independents and Presbyterians, and applications were even mailed directly to the Bishops of Chester and Lincoln and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. -- Writer and hymnist: The vicarage in Olney where Newton wrote the hymn that would become "Amazing Grace". In 1767 William Cowper, the poet, moved to Olney. He worshipped in the church, and collaborated with Newton on a volume of hymns, which was eventually published as Olney Hymns in 1779. This work had a great influence on English hymnology. The volume included Newton's well-known hymns "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken", "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds!", "Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder", "Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare", "Approach, My Soul, the Mercy-seat", and "Faith's Review and Expectation", which has come to be known

by its opening phrase, "Amazing Grace". Many of Newton's (as well as Cowper's) hymns are preserved in the Sacred Harp. He also contributed to the Cheap Repository Tracts. [link]

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - LATER IN LIFE BACH BECAME BLIND - BACH DIED IN LEPZIG, GERMANY, JULY 28, 1750 A.D. - BACH WAS BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE, FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON, IN THE CHURCHYARD OF ST. JOHN'S {NOTE: IT WAS ALSO COMMON AT THAT TIME FOR FAMOUS AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE TO REQUEST TO BE BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE. JOHN BUNYAN (1806-1841) AUTHOR OF "PILGRIM'S PROGRESS" REQUESTED TO BE BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE. DESIRING THAT THEIR TOMB WOULD NOT BECOME A MONUMENT TO THEMSELVES BUT THAT THEIR LIFE'S WORK WOULD BE A MONUMENT TO JESUS CHRIST.} At age 15 Bach joined the choir at St. Michael's church. At age 19 Bach left St. Michael's and became a professional organist at St. Boniface. Bach studied music until 1703. In 1707, when Bach was 22 he married his cousin Maria Barbara. Maria had 7 children with Bach. Three of them died. In 1716, when Bach was thirty-one, he was put in jail for thirty-one days because people didn't believe that he shouldn't be writing that kind of music at that time. In those 31 days, Bach wrote five to ten musicals. Those five to ten musicals he wrote when he was in jail turned into two hundred musicals. In 1717 Bach became the court conductor at Anhalt-Cothen. 14 years later in 1721 Maria died leaving Bach to take care of four children. Bach was thirty-six at this time. One year later when Bach was thirty-seven in 1722 he married another woman. This woman's name was Anna Magdalina. Anna had thirteen children. ... Bach wrote 300 religious and nonreligious pieces called cantatas. Some people think that bach was the best composer of all time. Bach was a very religious man. Bach showed his religions in his music. Bach joined an orchestra at Weimar as a violinist. His home town was famous for music. One time when Bach was young, he walked thirty-five miles to a town named Hamburg to hear a concert. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (23 FEBRUARY 1685 - 14 APRIL 1759) -- WAS A GERMAN-BRITISH BAROQUE COMPOSER, FAMOUS FOR HIS OPERAS, ORATORIOS, ANTHEMS AND ORGAN CONCERTOS - AFTER HIS SUCCESS WITH MESSIAH (1742 A.D.) HE NEVER PERFORMED AN ITALIAN OPERA AGAIN - MESSIAH (HWV 56) IS AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE ORATORIO COMPOSED IN 1741 A.D. BY GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL, WITH A SCRIPTURAL TEXT COMPILED BY CHARLES JENNENS FROM THE KING JAMES BIBLE, AND FROM THE PSALMS INCLUDED WITH THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER -- MESSIAH EVENTUALLY BECOMING ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN AND MOST FREQUENTLY PERFORMED CHORAL WORKS IN WESTERN MUSIC - ALMOST BLIND, AND HAVING LIVED IN ENGLAND FOR ALMOST FIFTY YEARS, HE DIED A RESPECTED AND RICH MAN After his success with Messiah in 1742 A.D. he never performed an Italian opera again. Handel was only partly successful with his performances of English Oratorio on mythical or biblical themes, but when he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital (1750) the critique ended. The pathos of Handel's oratorio is an ethical one, they are hallowed not by liturgical dignity but by the moral ideals of humanity. Almost blind, and having lived in England for almost fifty years, he died a respected and rich man. -- Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, not only because of his Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. But since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and original instrument interest in Handel's opera seria has revived too. Handel composed forty operas in about thirty years; some are considered as masterpieces, with many sweeping arias and much admired improvisations. His operas contain remarkable human characterization, by a composer not known for his love affairs. -Messiah: (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer (which are worded slightly differently than their King James counterparts). It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: "THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS" WRITTEN BY JOHN BUNYAN (1678 A.D.) - THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME IS A CHRISTIAN ALLEGORY WRITTEN BY JOHN BUNYAN AND PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY, 1678 - IT IS REGARDED

AS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKS OF RELIGIOUS

ENGLISH

LITERATURE, HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO MORE THAN

200

LANGUAGES, AND HAS NEVER BEEN OUT OF PRINT

Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county gaol [jail] for violations of the Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England. Early Bunyan scholars like John Brown believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675, but more recent scholars like Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660-1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. -- The English text comprises 108,260 words and is divided into two parts, each reading as a continuous narrative with no chapter divisions. The first part was completed in 1677 and entered into the stationers' register on December 22, 1677. It was licensed and entered in the "Term Catalogue" on February 18, 1678, which is looked upon as the date of first publication. After the first edition of the first part in 1678, an expanded edition, with additions written after Bunyan was freed, appeared in 1679. The Second Part appeared in 1684. There were eleven editions of the first part in John Bunyan's lifetime, published in successive years from 1678 to 1685 and in 1688, and there were two editions of the second part, published in 1684 and 1686. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JOHN BUNYAN (1628 - 31 AUGUST 1688 A.D.) -- AN ENGLISH CHRISTIAN WRITER AND PREACHER, FAMOUS FOR WRITING THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, HE WAS A REFORMED BAPTIST, IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND - 1644 WAS AN EVENTFUL YEAR FOR THE BUNYAN FAMILY: IN JUNE, JOHN LOST HIS MOTHER AND, IN JULY, HIS SISTER MARGARET DIED - FOLLOWING THIS, HIS FATHER MARRIED (FOR THE THIRD TIME) TO ANNE PINNEY (OR PURNEY) AND A STEPBROTHER, CHARLES, WAS BORN - IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE ARRIVAL OF HIS STEPMOTHER THAT, FOLLOWING HIS 16TH BIRTHDAY, LED JOHN TO LEAVE THE FAMILY HOME AND ENLIST IN THE PARLIAMENTARY ARMY - FROM 1644 TO 1647 JOHN SERVED AT NEWPORT PAGNELL GARRISON - THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR (16421651) WAS THEN NEARING THE END OF THE FIRST STAGE - JOHN WAS PROBABLY SAVED FROM DEATH ONE DAY WHEN A FELLOW SOLDIER VOLUNTEERED TO GO INTO BATTLE IN HIS PLACE AND WAS KILLED WHILE WALKING SENTRY DUTY - AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WAS WON BY THE PARLIAMENTARIANS, BUNYAN RETURNED TO HIS FORMER TRADE -- IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, "GRACE ABOUNDING" BUNYAN WROTE THAT HE LED AN ABANDONED LIFE IN HIS YOUTH AND WAS MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE AS A RESULT - THE INCREASING AWARENESS OF HIS (IN HIS VIEW) UN-BIBLICAL LIFE LED HIM TO CONTEMPLATE ACTS OF IMPIETY AND PROFANITY; IN PARTICULAR, HE WAS HARASSED BY A CURIOSITY IN REGARD TO THE "UNPARDONABLE SIN" AND A PREPOSSESSION THAT HE HAD ALREADY COMMITTED IT - HE CONTINUALLY HEARD VOICES URGING HIM TO "SELL CHRIST" AND WAS TORTURED BY FEARFUL VISIONS - WHILE PLAYING A GAME OF TIP-CAT ON ELSTOW VILLAGE GREEN, BUNYAN CLAIMED TO HAVE HEARD A VOICE THAT ASKED: "WILT THOU LEAVE THY SINS AND GO TO HEAVEN OR HAVE THY SINS AND GO TO HELL?" Imprisonments: As his popularity and notoriety grew, Bunyan increasingly became a target for slander and libel; he was described as "a witch, a Jesuit, a highwayman" and was said to have mistresses and multiple wives. In 1658, aged 30, he was arrested for preaching at Eaton Socon and indicted for preaching without a licence. That same year his wife died leaving him with 4 children, one of which was blind. He continued preaching, however, and did not suffer imprisonment until November 1660, when he was taken to the County gaol in Silver Street, Bedford. In that same year, Bunyan married again, Elizabeth, by whom he had two more children, Sarah and Joseph. The Restoration of the monarchy by Charles II of England began Bunyan's persecution as England returned to Anglicanism. Meeting-houses were quickly closed and all citizens were required to attend their Anglican parish church. It became punishable by law to "conduct divine service except in accordance with the ritual of the church, or for one not in Episcopal orders to address a congregation." Thus, John Bunyan no longer had that freedom to preach which he had enjoyed under the Puritan Commonwealth. He was arrested on 12 November 1660, whilst preaching privately in Lower Samsell by Harlington, Bedfordshire, 10 miles south of Bedford. -- John was brought before the magistrate John Wingate at Harlington House and refused to desist from preaching. Wingate sent him to Bedford County Gaol, to consider his situation. After a month, Bunyan reports (in his own account of his imprisonment) that Wingate's clerk visited him, seeking to get him to change his mind. The clerk said that all the authorities wanted was for Bunyan to undertake not to preach at private gatherings, as it was suspected that these non-conformist meetings were in fact being used by people plotting against the king. In answer to the clerk, John argued that God's law obliged him to preach at any and every opportunity, and refused to consider the suggested compromise. -- In January 1661, Bunyan was brought before the quarter sessions in the Chapel of Herne, Bedford. His

prosecutor, Mr. Justice Wingate, despite Bunyan's clear breaches of the Religion Act of 1592, was not inclined to incarcerate Bunyan. But John's stark statement "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow" left the magistrates Sir John Kelynge of Southill, Sir Henry Chester of Lidlington, Sir George Blundell of Cardington, Sir Wllm Beecher of Howbury and Thomas Snagg of Milbrook - with no choice but to imprison him. So Bunyan was incarcerated for 3 months for the crimes of "pertinaciously abstaining" from attending mandatory Anglican church services and preaching at "unlawful meetings". -- Strenuous efforts were made by Bunyan's wife to get his case re-heard at the spring assizes but Bunyan's continued assertions that he would, if freed, preach to his awaiting congregation meant that the magistrates would not consider any new hearing. Similar efforts were made in the following year but, again, to no avail. In early 1664, an Act of Parliament the Conventicles Act made it illegal to hold religious meetings of five or more people outside of the auspices of the Church of England. -- It was during his time in Bedford County Gaol that John Bunyan conceived his allegorical novel: The Pilgrim's Progress. (Many scholars however believe that he commenced this work during the second and shorter imprisonment of 1675, referred to below.) Bunyan's incarceration was punctuated with periods of relative freedom - lax gaolers allowing him out to attend church meetings and to minister to his congregation. -- In 1666, John was briefly released for a few weeks before being re-arrested for preaching and sent back to Bedford's County gaol, where he remained for a further six years. During that time, he wove shoelaces to support his family and preached to his fellow prisoners - a congregation of about sixty. In his possession were two books, John Foxe's Book of Martyrs, the Bible, a violin he had made out of tin, a flute he'd made from a chair leg and a supply of pen and paper. Both music and writing were integral to John's Puritan faith. John Bunyan was released in January 1672, when Charles II issued the Declaration of Religious Indulgence. [link]

CHURCH HISTORY - 35 MESSAGES ON CHURCH HISTORY BY PASTOR PHILLIPS - PASTOR PHILLIPS TAKES US ON A TOUR OF SOME OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AFTER THE DEATH OF THE APOSTLE PAUL -- NOTE: CHURCH HISTORY **JOHN BUNYAN 1628 - SAVE THE "PLAY!" VERSION, OPEN IT IN A PLAYER AND SAVE IT THAT WAY, THE MP3 DOWNLOAD VERSION LINK MIGHT HAVE AN ERROR (MP3S) "WOW - what a great series!!" A couple years ago I followed the journey of the early church by a comprehensive study of the Acts of the Apostles, etc., and have wanted to fill in the gap of church history from that time to present, but don't have much time to read. I like to listen to sermons on the treadmill and in the tractor, so I searched for a series on church history. I found the first 3 and did extra time on the treadmill today so I could keep listening! Pastor Phillips has a way of telling the facts in a very interesting way and then finishes with application and lessons for today. After the 3rd sermon (on Augustine) I really wanted to hear more so I searched again. I was THRILLED to find 39 messages on church history by Pastor Phillips!! I plan to download all of them since spring seeding is coming up and I will be spending many hours in the tractor, and now I am looking forward to that! In the meantime, I'll keep at the treadmill. Thanks for posting all those great sermons! [link]

CCEL.ORG: "GRACE ABOUNDING TO THE CHIEF OF SINNERS" BY JOHN BUNYAN PUBLISHED IN 1666 A.D. - JOHN BUNYAN'S SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Grace Abounding To the Chief of Sinners is John Bunyan's spiritual autobiography. In it he tells of his conversion and struggle with faith. He wrote it while he was imprisoned for preaching without a license. His main issue was a kind of "spiritual obsessive compulsive disorder" as one reviewer puts it. Bunyan was constantly concerned about the state of his salvation and whether God deemed him worthy enough for eternal life. This story communicates the author's anguish over his sin, his confession, and the life-changing impact of God's saving grace. Bunyan's spiritual struggles will remind readers that even the great minds of faith had issues with belief, and his personal testimony will encourage anyone who is doubting the status of their salvation. [link]

- HE WAS CORRUPT ALIKE POLITICALLY AND JUDICIALLY - THENCEFORTH HE DEVOTED HIMSELF TO STUDY AND WRITING (AKA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) - IN 1622 APPEARED HIS HISTORY OF HENRY VII, AND THE 3RD PART OF THE INSTAURATIO; IN 1623, HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, THE DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTARUM, A LATIN TRANSLATION OF THE ADVANCEMENT, AND IN 1625 THE 3RD EDITION OF THE ESSAYS, NOW 58 IN NUMBER - HE ALSO PUBLISHED APOPHTHEGMS, **AND A TRANSLATION [HERE WE HAVE THE BEGINNINGS OF WHAT WE HAVE SO MUCH OF TODAY, MODERN OCCULTISTS TRANSLATING VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE] OF SOME OF THE PSALMS -- THE INTELLECT OF BACON WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND SEARCHING EVER POSSESSED BY MAN, AND HIS DEVELOPMENTS OF THE INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY REVOLUTIONISED THE FUTURE THOUGHT OF THE STRIKING CONTRAST WITH THE MAJESTY OF HIS INTELLECT

HUMAN RACE

failure of character in striking contrast with the majesty of his intellect. He was corrupt alike politically and judicially, and now the hour of retribution arrived. In 1621 a Parliamentary Committee on the administration of the law charged him with corruption under 23 counts; and so clear was the evidence that he made no attempt at defence. To the lords, who sent a committee to inquire whether the confession was really his, he replied, "My lords, it is my act, my hand, and my heart; I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." He was sentenced to a fine of £40,000, remitted by the king, to be committed to the Tower during the king's pleasure (which was that he should be released in a few days), and to be incapable of holding office or sitting in parliament. He narrowly escaped being deprived of his titles. -- Thenceforth he devoted himself to study and writing. In 1622 appeared his History of Henry VII, and the 3rd part of the Instauratio; in 1623, History of Life and Death, the De Augmentis Scientarum, a Latin translation of the Advancement, and in 1625 the 3rd edition of the Essays, now 58 in number. He also published Apophthegms, and a translation of some of the Psalms. -His life was now approaching its close. In March, 1626, he came to London, and shortly after, when driving on a snowy day, the idea struck him of making an experiment as to the antiseptic properties of snow, in consequence of which he caught a chill, which ended in his death on 9th April 1626. He left debts to the amount of £22,000. At the time of his death he was engaged upon Sylva Sylvarum. -- The intellect of Bacon was one of the most powerful and searching ever possessed by man, and his developments of the inductive philosophy revolutionised the future thought of the human race. [link]

SIR FRANCIS BACON (AKA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) - PROGRAM TO CHAOS - IN HEBREW V=6, THEREFORE (VV) OR W=66 IN KABBALISM (JEWISH OCCULTISM) IS THE NUMBER OF THE FALLEN ANGELS OR QLIPPOTH - MAKING A THIRD V THEREFORE EQUALING 666 THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST {IN THE BIBLE 6 = INCOMPLETE AND 6 EQUALS MAN AS MAN WITHOUT GOD IS INCOMPLETE. IN SHORT 6 = FALLEN MAN WITHOUT GOD, 66 = FALLEN ANGELS AND 666 = THE MOST INCOMPLETE ANTICHRIST. OCCULTIST LIKE SIR FRANCIS BACON (WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IS THE PEN NAME OF SIR FRANCIS BACON HE IS THE ACTUAL SHAKESPEARE. BACON USED THE W COMPOSED OF TWO V'S (VV) EQUATING HIMSELF AS A FALLEN ANGEL (NEPHILIM) [WILLIAM = CONQUER AND SHAKESPEARE = "SPEAR SHAKER" ONE ANGRY AND AT WAR WITH GOD (NIMROD GENESIS 10:9 - MIGHTY SPEAR SHAKER "HUNTER" AGAINST GOD). GEORGE W. BUSH USES HIS W IN THE SAME WAY TO EQUATE HIMSELF AS A FALLEN EVIL NEPHILIM.} I had recognized that, in Hebrew, V=6, therefore, W=66. 66 in kabbalism is the number of the fallen angels or qlippoth. Hitler was a kabbalist, as well, and incorporated the VV(66) of the fallen angels into the Volks-Wagon symbol; two V's interlaced, making a third, therefore equaling 666, the number of the beast. Can you spot the number of the beast in this photo? The beast, "W", had arrived, and I knew they would wait no longer. I felt they needed 2 weeks for public reaction, therefore something would need to happen in mid-September. I picked the date 9/11 because it was the date that HW(H stands for the Emperor) stated, "there will be a New World Order." Had I known that both the Pentagon, and the "Twin Towers" had begun construction on 9/11, I would have predicted the targets, as well. I did not feel prophetic, I felt that everything was going according to plan. But, who's plan? [link]

SIR FRANCIS BACON AKA WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE - MORE THAN TWENTY THOUSAND BOOKS AND ARTICLES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE "IDENTITY PROBLEM" REGARDING WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE - SO LETS START BY LOOKING AT THE ACTOR FROM STRATFORD: ALL THE KNOWN AUTOGRAPHS OF THE STRATFORD ACTOR READ "WILLIAM SHAKSPERE" NOT "WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE" - HIS PARENTS WERE ILLITERATE - SHAKSPERE'S DAUGHTER JUDITH WAS AN ILLITERATE - NO RECORD EXISTS OF WILLIAM SHAKSPERE AS HAVING EVER PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN THE FAMOUS DRAMAS HE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE WRITTEN - NONE OF HIS HEIRS WERE INVOLVED IN THE PRINTING OF THE FIRST FOLIO AFTER HIS DEATH, NOR DID THEY BENEFIT FINANCIALLY FROM IT - HIS WILL MENTIONS NO LITERARY PRODUCTIONS WHATSOEVER IT DOES HOWEVER MENTION HIS SECOND-BEST BED AND HIS "BROAD SILVER GILT BOWL" Let's look at Sir Francis Bacon: The content in the Shakespearian dramas are politically recognized viewpoints of Sir Francis Bacon (His "enemies" are frequently caricatured in the plays.) The religious, philosophic, and educational messages all reflect his personal opinions. Similarities in style and terminology exist in Bacon's writings and the Shakespearian plays. Certain historical and philosophical inaccuracies are common to both (such as identical misquotations from Aristotle.) Sir Francis Bacon possessed the range of general and philosophical knowledge necessary to write the Shakespearian plays. Sir Francis Bacon was a linguist and a composer. (Necessary to write the sonnets.) He

was a lawyer, an able barrister and a polished courtier and possessed the intimate knowledge of parliamentary law and the etiquette of the royal court revealed in the Shakespearian plays. Bacon furthermore visited many of the foreign countries forming the background for the plays (Necessary to create the authentic local atmosphere. There is no record of William Shakspere's ever having travelled outside of England). ... Why the secrecy? Manly Palmer Hall writes: "Sir Francis Bacon knew the true secret of Masonic origin and there is reason to suspect that he concealed this knowledge in cipher and cryptogram. Bacon is not to be regarded solely as a man but rather as the focal point between an invisible institution and a world which was never able to distinguish between the messenger and the message which he promulgated. This secret society, having rediscovered the lost wisdom of the ages and fearing that the knowledge might be lost again, perpetuated it in two ways: (1) by an organization (Freemasonry) to the initiates of which it revealed its wisdom in the form of symbols; (2) by embodying its arcana in the literature of the day by means of cunningly contrived ciphers and enigmas." [link]

WIKIPEDIA: NEW ATLANTIS [NORTH AMERICA - THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA WAS KNOWN TO THE CRUSADERS BEFORE THE 1492 A.D. VOYAGE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS] BY SIR FRANCIS BACON, PUBLISHED IN 1624 A.D. - NEW ATLANTIS IS A UTOPIAN [ILLUMINATI] NOVEL BY SIR FRANCIS BACON, PUBLISHED IN LATIN (AS NOVA ATLANTIS) IN 1624 AND IN ENGLISH IN 1627 - IN THIS WORK, BACON PORTRAYED A [SECULAR - OCCULT] VISION OF THE FUTURE OF HUMAN DISCOVERY AND KNOWLEDGE, EXPRESSING HIS ASPIRATIONS AND IDEALS FOR HUMANKIND - THE NOVEL DEPICTS THE CREATION OF A [SECULAR] UTOPIAN LAND [NORTH AMERICA] WHERE "GENEROSITY AND ENLIGHTENMENT, DIGNITY AND SPLENDOUR, [FALSE] PIETY AND PUBLIC SPIRIT" ARE THE COMMONLY HELD QUALITIES OF THE INHABITANTS OF "BENSALEM" (LIT. SON OF SALEM) - THE PLAN AND ORGANIZATION OF HIS IDEAL COLLEGE, "SALOMON'S HOUSE" (OR SOLOMON'S HOUSE) ENVISIONED THE MODERN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY IN BOTH APPLIED AND PURE SCIENCES {NOTE: NEW ATLANTIS BY SIR FRANCIS BACON, (AN UNFINISHED BOOK) IS A PRIMER, AN INSTRUCTION BOOKLET, SETTING OUT A PLAN IN HOW TO COLONIZE THE NEW WORLD (NORTH AMERICA) AS A SECULAR OCCULT [NON-CHRISTIAN] SOCIETY. THE OUTLINE OF SIR FRANCIS BACON'S PLAN WAS FOR A SECULAR SOCIETY TO DOMINATE BY GAINING AND CONTROLLING ALL ASPECTS OF SOCIETY; LAND, RESOURCES, KNOWLEDGE, WEALTH, POWER, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ETC. AND TO DO IT PRIMARILY BY INTRODUCING A [NON-CHRISTIAN] POPULATION GREATER IN NUMBERS AND MORE PRIVILEGED THAN THE COMMON CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. -- A PLAN THAT HAS BEEN CAREFULLY FOLLOWED AND HAS BEEN BY MOST ACCOUNTS A COMPLETE SUCCESS IN AMERICA AND THROUGHOUT ALL REACHES OF THE NEW WORLD.} Plot summary: The novel depicts a mythical island, Bensalem, which is discovered by the crew of a European ship after they are lost in the Pacific Ocean somewhere west of Peru. The minimal plot serves the gradual unfolding of the island, its customs, but most importantly, its state-sponsored scientific institution, Salomon's House, "which house or college ... is the very eye of this kingdom." On arriving to Bensalem, the travellers are initially instructed to leave without landing, but are successively quarantined to "the House of Strangers", then given greater leave to explore the island, and finally granted an explanation of Salomon's House. Their conversations with the inhabitants disclose how they in such isolation came to be Christian, how they came to know so much of the outside world (without themselves being known), the history and origin of the island's government and the establishment of Salomon's House by King Solamona, the Bensalemite customs regarding marriage and family, and purpose, properties, and activities of Salomon's House. The interlocutors include the governor of the House of Strangers, Joabin the Jew, and the Father of Salomon's House. -- Only the best and brightest of Bensalem's citizens are selected to join Salomon's House, in which scientific experiments are conducted in Baconian method in order to understand and conquer nature, and to apply the collected knowledge to the betterment of society. Near the end of the work, the Father of Salomon's House catalogues the activities of the institution's members: "For the several employments and offices of our fellows, we have twelve that sail into foreign countries under the names of other nations (for our own we conceal), who bring us the books and abstracts, and patterns of experiments of all other parts. These we call merchants of light. "We have three that collect the experiments which are in all books. These we call depredators. "We have three that collect the experiments of all mechanical arts, and also of liberal sciences, and also of practices which are not brought into arts. These we call mystery-men. "We have three that try new experiments, such as themselves think good. These we call pioneers or miners. "We have three that draw the experiments of the former four into titles and tables, to give the better light for the drawing of observations and axioms out of them. These we call compilers. "We have three that bend themselves, looking into the experiments of their fellows, and cast about how to draw out of them things of use and practice for man's life and knowledge, as well for works as for plain demonstration of causes, means of natural divinations, and the easy and clear discovery of the

virtues and parts of bodies. These we call dowry-men or benefactors. "Then after divers meetings and consults of our whole number, to consider of the former labours and collections, we have three that take care out of them to direct new experiments, of a higher light, more penetrating into nature than the former. These we call lamps. "We have three others that do execute the experiments so directed, and report them. These we call inoculators. "Lastly, we have three that raise the former discoveries by experiments into greater observations, axioms, and aphorisms. These we call interpreters of nature." Even this short excerpt demonstrates that Bacon understood that science requires analysis and not just the accumulation of observations. Bacon also foresaw that the design of experiments could be improved. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: OXFORD MARTYRS (1555-1556 A.D.) -- THE OXFORD MARTYRS WERE TRIED FOR HERESY IN 1555 A.D. AND SUBSEQUENTLY BURNT AT THE STAKE IN OXFORD, ENGLAND, FOR THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND TEACHINGS - THE THREE MARTYRS WERE THE ANGLICAN BISHOPS HUGH LATIMER, NICHOLAS RIDLEY AND THOMAS CRANMER, THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY - A SMALL AREA COBBLED WITH STONES FORMING A CROSS IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROAD OUTSIDE THE FRONT OF BALLIOL COLLEGE MARKS THE SITE - IT IS CLAIMED THAT THE SCORCH MARKS FROM THE FLAMES CAN STILL BE SEEN ON THE DOORS OF BALLIOL COLLEGE History: The three were tried at University Church of St Mary the Virgin, the official church of Oxford University on the High Street. The martyrs were imprisoned at the former Bocardo Prison near the still extant St Michael at the Northgate church (at the north gate of the city walls) in Cornmarket Street. The door of their cell is on display in the tower of the church. The martyrs were burnt at the stake just outside the city walls to the south, where Broad Street is now located. Latimer and Ridley were burnt on 16 October 1555. Cranmer was burnt five months later on 21 March 1556. A small area cobbled with stones forming a cross in the centre of the road outside the front of Balliol College marks the site. The Victorian spire-like Martyrs' Memorial, at the south end of St Giles' nearby, commemorates the events. It is claimed that the scorch marks from the flames can still be seen on the doors of Balliol College (now rehung between the Front Quadrangle and Garden Quadrangle). [link]

WIKIPEDIA: THOMAS CRANMER (2 JULY 1489 - 21 MARCH 1556 A.D.) -- WAS A LEADER OF THE ENGLISH REFORMATION AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY DURING THE REIGNS OF HENRY VIII, EDWARD VI AND, FOR A SHORT TIME, MARY I -- DURING CRANMER'S TENURE AS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ESTABLISHING THE FIRST DOCTRINAL AND LITURGICAL STRUCTURES OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF ENGLAND - HE WROTE AND COMPILED THE FIRST TWO EDITIONS OF THE "BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER" A COMPLETE LITURGY FOR THE ENGLISH CHURCH Book of Common Prayer (1548-1549) -- The 1549 Book of Common Prayer: As the use of English in worship services spread, the need for a complete uniform liturgy for the Church became evident. Initial meetings to start what would eventually become the Book of Common Prayer were held in the former abbey of Chertsey and in Windsor Castle in September 1548. The list of participants can only be partially reconstructed, but it is known that the members were balanced between conservatives and reformers. These meetings were followed by a debate on the Eucharist in the House of Lords which took place between 14 and 19 December. Cranmer publicly revealed in this debate that he had abandoned the doctrine of the real presence and believed that the Eucharistic presence was only spiritual. Parliament backed the publication of the Prayer Book after Christmas by passing the Act of Uniformity 1549; it then legalised clerical marriage. -- It is difficult to ascertain how much of the Prayer Book is actually Cranmer's personal composition. Generations of liturgical scholars have been able to track down the sources that he used, including the Sarum Rite, writings from Hermann von Wied, and several Lutheran sources including Osiander and Justus Jonas. More problematic is determining how Cranmer worked on the book and with whom he worked. Despite the lack of knowledge of whom might have helped him, however, he is given the credit for the editorship and the overall structure of the book. -- The use of the new Prayer Book was made compulsory on 9 June 1549. This triggered a series of protests in Devon and Cornwall, the Prayer Book Rebellion. By early July, the uprising had spread to other parts in the east of England. Bucer had just taken up his duties in Cambridge when he found himself in the middle of the commotion and had to scurry to shelter. The rebels made a number of demands including the restoration of the Six Articles, the use of Latin for the mass with only the consecrated bread given to the laity, the restoration of prayers for souls in purgatory, and the rebuilding of abbeys. Cranmer wrote to the king a strong response to these demands in which he denounced the wickedness of the rebellion. On 21 July, Cranmer commandeered St Paul's Cathedral where he vigorously defended the official Church line.

A draft of his sermon, the only extant written sample of his preaching from his entire career, shows that he collaborated with Peter Martyr on dealing with the rebellion. [link]

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (1662 A.D. VERSION) - "I BELIEVE THERE IS NO LITURGY IN THE WORLD, EITHER IN ANCIENT OR MODERN LANGUAGE, WHICH BREATHES MORE OF A SOLID, SCRIPTURAL, RATIONAL PIETY THAN THE COMMON PRAYER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND" JOHN WESLEY (PDF) The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England (you can download it by clicking the picture to the left or the link below) is still technically the only "official" prayer book of the Church of England, the mother church (for the moment at least) of the Anglican Communion. It itself is the result of more than a century of liturgical development through a turbulent time in British history. Its literary and theological influence is immense; this alone makes it an important document. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH - A REFORMED CONFESSION OF FAITH, IN THE CALVINIST THEOLOGICAL TRADITION. ALTHOUGH DRAWN UP BY THE 1646 WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY, LARGELY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, IT BECAME AND REMAINS THE 'SUBORDINATE STANDARD' OF DOCTRINE IN THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, AND HAS BEEN INFLUENTIAL WITHIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES WORLDWIDE

In 1643, the English Parliament called upon "learned, godly and judicious Divines", to meet at Westminster Abbey in order to provide advice on issues of worship, doctrine, government and discipline of the Church of England. Their meetings, over a period of five years, produced the confession of faith, as well as a Larger Catechism and a Shorter Catechism. For more than three centuries, various churches around the world have adopted the confession and the catechisms as their standards of doctrine, subordinate to the Bible. -- The Westminster Confession of Faith was modified and adopted by Congregationalists in England in the form of the Savoy Declaration (1658). Likewise, the Baptists of England modified the Savoy Declaration to produce the Second London Baptist Confession (1689). English Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists would together (with others) come to be known as Nonconformists, because they did not conform to the Act of Uniformity (1662) establishing the Church of England as the only legally approved church, though they were in many ways united by their common confessions, built on the Westminster Confession. -Evangelical Presbyterian Church: The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which broke from the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1981 in order to provide a conservative alternative to the older denomination, holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith composed of a combination of different editions, but based on the American version of the 1647 text.[4] The EPC holds to the Westminster Confession in light of a brief list of the essentials of the faith as drafted at its first General Assembly at Ward Church outside of Detroit, Michigan. [link]

THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION OF FAITH (1647) - DOWNLOADABLE DOCUMENTS (PDF) In 1643, during a period of civil war, the English "Long Parliament" (under the control of Presbyterian Puritans) convened an Assembly of Divines (mostly Puritan ministers, including a few influential Scottish commissioners) at Westminster Abbey in London. Their task was to advise Parliament on how to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland and the Continental Reformed churches. The Westminster Assembly produced documents on doctrine, church government, and worship that have largely defined Presbyterianism down to this day. These documents included a Confession of Faith (1646), a Larger Catechism (1647), and a Shorter Catechism (1647), often collectively called "the Westminster standards." Parliamentary efforts to reconstitute the established Church of England

along Presbyterian lines were soon thwarted by the rise to power of Cromwell (who favored Independency) and the expulsion of Presbyterians from Parliament in 1648, and then the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, which quickly led to the reinstitution of Episcopacy and the suppression of Puritanism. -- But things were different in Scotland. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland adopted the Confession of Faith in 1647 and the Catechisms in 1648. The Scottish Parliament ratified them in 1649 and again (after a time of political and religious strife) in 1690. The Presbyterian character of the Church of Scotland was safeguarded when Scotland and England were united under one crown in 1707. Numerous Presbyterian bodies have been formed since then, both in the United Kingdom and around the world, and they have always been constituted on the basis of the Westminster standards (although declension from them has sometimes followed). -- When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was formed in 1788, it adopted the Westminster standards, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. However, it revised chapters 20.4, 23.3, and 31.2 of the Confession, basically removing the civil magistrate (i.e., the state) from involvement in ecclesiastical matters. [link]

{EXCELLENT!!} CHURCH HISTORY - A BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM TYNDALE (MP3) William Tyndale part 2 by Andy Davis | Mar 7, 2009 | Topic: Christian Biography [link]

THE LIFE OF WILLIAM TYNDALE - "OH LORD, OPEN THE KING OF ENGLAND'S EYES" - TRANSLATED ERASMUS' ENCHIRIDION MILITIS CHRISTIANI (HANDBOOK OF THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER, 1503) - TYNDALE ANNOUNCED TO A VISITING CLERGYMAN THAT HE MEANT TO TRANSLATE THE BIBLE SO THAT PLOUGHBOYS SHOULD BE MORE EDUCATED THAN THE CLERGYMAN HIMSELF William Tyndale was born about 1494 in Gloucestershire. He took his B.A. at Oxford in 1512 and his M.A. in 1515. He also apparently spent time in Cambridge. He was for some time tutor to a Gloucestershire family. He disturbed the local divines by routing them at the dinner table with chapter and verse of scripture, and by translating Erasmus' Enchiridion militis christiani (Handbook of the Christian Soldier, 1503). He was accused of heresy, but nothing was ever proved. John Foxe reports in his Acts and Monuments (1563) that one day at dinner, Tyndale announced to a visiting clergyman that he meant to translate the Bible so that ploughboys should be more educated than the clergyman himself. -- He travelled to London to ask the Bishop, Cuthbert Tunstall, for support in his work. Tunstall rebuffed him. At this time, king Henry VIII was still the defender of the Catholic faith. Realising he could not translate the Bible in England, Tyndale accepted the help of a London merchant and went to Germany in 1524. He never returned to England, but lived a hand-to-mouth existence, dodging the Roman Catholic authorities. In 1525, he and his secretary moved to Cologne, Germany and began printing the New Testament. But Tyndale was betrayed, and fled up the Rhine to Worms. Here he started printing again, and the first complete printed New Testament in English appeared in February 1526. Copies began to arrive in England about a month later. In October, Tunstall had all the copies he could trace gathered and burned at St Paul's Cross in London. Still they circulated. Tunstall arranged to buy them before they left the continent, so that they could be burned in bulk. Tyndale used the money this brought him for further translation and revision. At the same time, he wrote polemical treatises and expositions of the Bible. He began the Old Testament, apparently in Antwerp: Foxe tells how, sailing to Hamburg to print Deuteronomy, he was shipwrecked and lost everything, 'both money, his copies, and time', and started all over again, completing the Pentateuch between Easter and December. Back in Antwerp, Tyndale printed it in early January, 1530. Copies were in England by the summer. Revisions and shorter translations followed. -- Tyndale's writings were popular in England. Henry VIII, fearing Tyndale's influence, sent an ambassador to persuade him to return to England. In a secret, nighttime meeting outside Antwerp city walls, Tyndale agreed that he would return to England, if the king would print an English Bible. By the time Henry published his Great Bible, Tyndale was already dead. In 1535, the fanatical Englishman Henry Phillips betrayed him to the Antwerp authorities and had him kidnapped. He was imprisoned at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, for sixteen months. A letter from him, in Latin, has survived, asking for a lamp, a blanket, and Hebrew texts, grammar and dictionary, so that he could study. Even Thomas Cromwell, the most powerful man next to King Henry VIII, moved to get him released: but Phillips in Belgium, acting for the papal authorities, blocked all the moves. -- On the morning of 6 October 1536, now in the hands of the secular forces, he was taken to the place of execution, tied to the stake, strangled and burned. His last words reportedly were: "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes." [link]

WHO IS WILLIAM TYNDALE? - WILLIAM TYNDALE TESTAMENT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

HOLDS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE FIRST MAN TO EVER PRINT THE

NEW

William Tyndale holds the distinction of being the first man to ever print the New Testament in the English language. Tyndale also went on to first translate much of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew into English, but he was executed in 1536 for the "crime" of printing the scriptures in English before he could personally complete the printing of an entire Bible. His friends Myles Coverdale, and John "Thomas Matthew" Rogers, managed to evade arrest and publish entire Bibles in the English language for the first time, and within one year of Tyndale's death. - These Bibles were primarily the work of William Tyndale. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: WILLIAM TYNDALE (1494 - 1536 A.D.) -- WAS AN ENGLISH SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR WHO BECAME A LEADING FIGURE IN PROTESTANT REFORMISM TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE - HE WAS INFLUENCED BY THE WORK OF DESIDERIUS ERASMUS, WHO MADE THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT AVAILABLE IN EUROPE, AND BY MARTIN LUTHER Tyndale was the first to translate considerable parts of the Bible from the original languages (Greek and Hebrew) into English. While a number of partial and complete translations had been made from the seventh century onward, particularly during the 14th century, Tyndale's was the first English translation to draw directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, and the first to take advantage of the new medium of print, which allowed for its wide distribution. This was taken to be a direct challenge to the hegemony of both the Roman Catholic Church and the English church and state. Tyndale also wrote, in 1530, The Practyse of Prelates, opposing Henry VIII's divorce on the grounds that it contravened scriptural law. -- In 1535, Tyndale was arrested and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels for over a year. He was tried for heresy, choked, impaled and burnt on a stake in 1536. The Tyndale Bible, as it was known, continued to play a key role in spreading Reformation ideas across the English-speaking world. The fifty-four independent scholars who created the King James Version of the bible in 1611 drew significantly on Tyndale's translations. One estimation suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament 76%. -- Printed works: Most well known for his translation of the Bible, Tyndale was an active writer and translator. Not only did Tyndale's works focus on the way in which religion should be carried out, but were also greatly keyed towards the political arena. "They have ordained that no man shall look on the Scripture, until he be noselled in heathen learning eight or nine years and armed with false principles, with which he is an clean shut out of the understanding of the Scripture." [link]

400TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY (MAY 1611 - MAY 2011) OF THE AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION (KJV 1611) OF THE BIBLE ERASMUS' TEXTUS RECEPTUS WAS CONSULTED DURING THE TRANSLATION OF REFORMATION ERA BIBLES INCLUDING THE AUTHORISED VERSION (KJV) AND REPRESENTS READINGS FOUND IN THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF GREEK TEXTS AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD TODAY

The Authorised (British spelling) Version of the holy scriptures, commonly known as the Authorized King James Version or KJV, is the word of God and the glory of the English language. For almost 400 years it has led multitudes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and a whole new life in him and his word. The King James Bible has spread across the world reaching mankind generation after generation. It has saved, comforted, exhorted, rebuked, admonished, warned, enlightened, and edified without ceasing. King James VI & I, founding monarch of Great Britain, not only commanded the translation of the Authorized Version but he actually took an active role in developing the rules for translators and encouraging the completion of the work. The King's College website states, The development of the Bible in English differs from that of other European vernacular translations. Only England has an "authorized version", issued under the auspices of a king who was also the head of the Church. The vernacular Bible was illegal in England long before the Reformation and so began its development at a great disadvantage, but once England became a Protestant country the translated Bible became a symbol of state. [link]

WESLEY CENTER: WILLIAM TYNDALE'S OLD ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATION - {OLD ENGLISH} NEW TESTAMENT, 1526 A.D. WILLIAM TYNDALE, THE NEWE TESTAMENT AS IT WAS WRITTEN AND CAUSED TO BE WRITTEN BY THEM WHICH HERDE YT - TO WHOM ALSO OURE SAVEOUR CHRIST JESUS COMMAUNDED THAT THEY SHULDE PREACHE IT UNTO AL CREATURES - 1526 A.D. (PDF) To download the entire Tyndale Bible click here. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this file. To read a particular book, click on the appropriate link below: -- About the Wesley Center Online -- The Wesley Center Online web site is a collection of historical and scholarly resources about the Wesleyan Tradition, theology, Christianity, and the Nazarene church. Copyright ÂŠ 1993-2011. Wesley Center for Applied Theology, c/o Northwest Nazarene University. All Rights Reserved. [link]

THE SPREADING FLAME, 5-DVD SET The Protestant Reformation comes alive with this introduction to the key characters, turning points, and events of this dramatic time in church history. Travel to Switzerland, Germany, Scotland, and England and be inspired by the faith and determination of the Waldenses, the Huguenots, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Knox, Calvin, Zwingli, Luther, and other champions of the faith. Five DVDs, approx. 80 minutes each. DVDs Included: Comes the Dawn - Your heart will be thrilled a the mighty exploits of God's faithful people and how His providence has overruled in the affairs of men and nations, that the truth of the Gospel should never be extinguished. Story of the Bible - From Erasmus to John Wycliffe to William Tyndale, their diligence and perseverance laid the foundation for the Bible we have today Champions of Freedom - John Knox and Ulrich Zwingli wage fierce and courageous battles to bring spiritual freedom to their respective countries Winds of Change - Strange - and wonderful - how the winds of God's providence blow in favour of the truth. The Reformation Comes of Age - The precious saints of God endure many trials and tribulations. But through them all, freedom and truth burn like a spreading flame. [link]

AN EPIC FILM - LUTHER: THE MOVIE (2003) - MARTIN LUTHER, THE BRILLIANT MAN OF GOD WHOSE DEFIANT ACTIONS CHANGED THE WORLD (SPARKED THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION) {AN EXCELLENT MOVIE ABOUT GOD AND MANKIND AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO. IT ALSO WELL DOCUMENTS THE HORRORS OF WHEN A VALID MOVEMENT (I.E. HAVING A LOCAL BIBLE TRANSLATION FOR THE PEOPLE TO READ LIKE IN ENGLISH) GOES TO FAR. KEEP IN MIND THAT DR. MARTIN LUTHER ALSO HAD MANY FAULTS, HE LATER BECAME SOMEWHAT ANTI-JEWISH AND THE NAZIS' LATER USED SOME OF LUTHER'S WRITINGS TO PERSECUTE THE JEWS.} (DVD) Luther: The Movie, DVD --> Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) stars as Martin Luther, the brilliant man of God whose defiant actions changed the world, in this epic film that traces Luther's extraordinary and exhilarating quest for the people's liberation. Regional princes and the powerful Church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip on 16th-centur Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leader - and hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refuses to back down, sparking a bloody revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core. Approx. 2 hours 4 minutes. [link]

1522 A.D. - 1880 A.D. -- Indigenous Bible Translations and Doctrines Era - The Reformation - Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, etc. INTRODUCTION: AT THE TIME OF THE DEATH OF PRINTING PRESS INVENTOR JOHANNES GUTENBERG IN 1468 A.D. A YOUNG DESIDERIUS ERASMUS, PUBLISHER OF THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS (THE EARLY VERSION OF THE KJV BIBLE) WAS ALREADY TWO YEARS OLD THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE ERASMUS WOULD TRANSLATE AND PUBLISH THE MOST COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BIBLE OF HIS TIME, HIS WORKS IN USE BY OTHERS WOULD CONTINUE TO INSPIRE GENERATIONS OF CHRISTIANS EVEN TO THE PRESENT DAY Later on January 3, 1521 A.D. the great Martin Luther would be excommunicated. Excommunicated by the corrupt, occult, Illuminati Pope Leo X. A move by Pope Leo X that would finalize the Protestant Reformation and assure that Rome would never again be the sole Christian authority on earth. [link]

MARTIN LUTHER EXCOMMUNICATED, JANUARY 3, 1521 A.D. - THE CHURCH USUALLY HANDED EXCOMMUNICATED PERSONS OVER TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES TO BE BURNED AT THE STAKE - HOWEVER, CIRCUMSTANCES PREVAILED THAT SPARED MARTIN LUTHER THIS FATE AND PAVED THE WAY FOR LUTHER'S STAND AT THE DIET OF WORMS IN APRIL 1521 A.D. On January 3, 1521 the Vatican published the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem ([It] Befits [the] Roman Pontiff), excommunicating Martin Luther for Luther's refusal to recant. The pope [Leo X] had issued a previous bull, Exsurge Domine (Arise, O Lord), giving Luther 60 days to recant and another 60 days to make his recantation known to Rome. Meanwhile, Luther's books were being burned for allegedly containing heresy. On December 10, 1520 Luther responded by publicly burning his copy of Exsurge Domine. -- The Church usually handed excommunicated persons over to civil authorities to be burned at the stake. However, circumstances prevailed that spared Martin Luther this fate and paved the way for Luther's stand at the Diet of Worms in April 1521. The pure teaching of Scripture would not be snuffed out by the flames. -- Luther wasn't looking to split the Church; he wanted the Church to institute reforms and took a more conciliatory tone at first in his writings. When it became clear that the pope cared not at all for Scripture and reason, only for Luther's recantation, Luther rose to the challenge and prepared to take his stand. The truth of God's Word, long muffled or distorted by the noise of human traditions, would find a voice in Martin Luther and others willing to risk everything on the authority and benevolence of Sola Scriptura. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: MARTIN LUTHER (10 NOVEMBER 1483 - 18 FEBRUARY 1546) -- A GERMAN PRIEST, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND ICONIC FIGURE OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION - HE STRONGLY DISPUTED THE CLAIM THAT FREEDOM FROM GOD'S PUNISHMENT FOR SIN COULD BE PURCHASED WITH MONEY - HE CONFRONTED INDULGENCE SALESMAN JOHANN TETZEL WITH HIS **NINETY-FIVE THESES IN 1517 A.D. - HIS REFUSAL TO RETRACT ALL OF HIS WRITINGS AT THE DEMAND OF POPE LEO X IN 1520 AND THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR CHARLES V AT THE DIET OF WORMS IN 1521 RESULTED IN HIS EXCOMMUNICATION BY THE POPE AND CONDEMNATION AS AN OUTLAW BY THE EMPEROR Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans. -- His (1522 A.D.) translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation into English of the King James Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant priests to marry. -- In his later years, while suffering from several illnesses and deteriorating health, Luther became increasingly antisemitic, writing that Jewish homes should be

destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed. These statements have contributed to his controversial status. [link]

JOHN CALVIN (1509 - 1564 A.D.) -- IN 1536 THE FIRST EDITION OF "INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION" WAS PUBLISHED IN BASLE - IT WAS REVISED ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS AND THE FINAL EDITION WAS PUBLISHED IN 1559 A.D. - THIS BOOK WAS A CLEAR EXPLANATION OF HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS - THE LATER VERSIONS EXPANDED ON HOW HIS CHURCH SHOULD BE ORGANIZED Calvinism was based around the absolute power and supremacy of God. The world was created so that Mankind might get to know Him. Calvin believed that Man was sinful and could only approach God through faith in Christ - not through Mass and pilgrimages. Calvin believed that the New Testament and baptism and the Eucharist had been created to provide Man with continual divine guidance when seeking faith. In Calvin's view, Man, who is corrupt, is confronted by the omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (present everywhere) God who before the world began predestined some for eternal salvation (the Elect) while the others would suffer everlasting damnation (the Reprobates). The chosen few were saved by the operation of divine grace which cannot be challenged and cannot be earned by Man's merits. You might have lead what you might have considered a perfectly good life that was true to God but if you were a reprobate you remained one because for all your qualities you were inherently corrupt and God would know this even if you did not. However, a reprobate by behaving decently could achieve an inner conviction of salvation. An Elect could never fall from grace. However, God remained the judge and lawgiver of men. Predestination remained a vital belief in Calvinism. [link]

ULRICH ZWINGLI (1484 - 1531 A.D.) -- A SWISS PROTESTANT LEADER IN THE REFORMATION - ULRICH ZWINGLI IS NOT AS FAMOUS AS THE LIKES AS MARTIN LUTHER OR JOHN CALVIN BUT HE DID PLAY HIS PART IN THE 'PROTESTANT' BREAK WITH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - ZWINGLI AND LUTHER MET AT MARBURG IN 1529 IN AN ATTEMPT TO UNITE THE PROTESTANT FAITHS - THIS MEETING FAILED TO DO THIS - BOTH MEN COULD NOT REACH AN AGREEMENT ON WHAT CHRIST SAID AT THE LAST SUPPER - LUTHER BELIEVED THAT 'THIS IS MY BODY' MEANT JUST THAT WHEREAS ZWINGLI BELIEVED THAT 'MY' MEANT SIGNIFIES Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss Protestant leader in the Reformation. Ulrich Zwingli is not as famous as the likes as Martin Luther or John Calvin but he did play his part in the break with the Roman Catholic Church. Ulrich (sometimes spelt Huldreich) Zwingli was born in 1484. He attended universities at Basle and Vienna and served as a parish priest in Glarus, Switzerland. Zwingli went with soldiers from Glarus to fight in the Habsburg-Valois Wars and between 1516 and 1518 he started to question the whole issue of Catholicism as Humanism started to make an impression on him. It is possible that Zwingli did not read any Lutheran literature until he moved in 1518 to Zurich as a Common Preacher (Leutpriester) at the Great Minster. It was at the Great Minster that Zwingli stated what is called the Zurich Reformation with sermons that were based on the Bible. Zwingli soon converted the city's council to his points of view. The council pushed the city into becoming a stronghold of Protestantism and Zurich's lead was followed by Berne and Basle. -- Zwingli's '67 Articles' (1523 A.D.) were adopted by Zurich as the city's official doctrine and the city experienced rapid reform. Preaching and Bible readings - known as prophesyings - were made more frequent; images and relics were frowned on, clerical marriage was allowed, monks and nuns were encouraged to come out of their isolated existence, monasteries were dissolved and their wealth was used to fund education and poor relief. In 1525, Zurich broke with Rome and the Mass became a very simple ceremony using both bread and blood which merely represented the body and blood of Christ. The church of Zwingli attempted to control moral behaviour and strict supervision became common in Zurich. -- As with Martin Luther and John Calvin, the problem Zwingli faced was that some people were concerned that he had gone too far too soon while others, especially the Anabaptists, felt that he had not gone far enough. The Anabaptists were dealt with when Zwingli fell in with the city's magistrates and supported the move to exile the Anabaptists or if they refused to leave the city, deal with them in another way - drowning. -- Zwingli and Luther met at Marburg in 1529 in an attempt to unite the Protestant faiths. This meeting failed to do this. Both men could not reach an agreement on what Christ said at the Last Supper. Luther believed that 'this is my body' meant just that whereas Zwingli believed that 'my' meant signifies. Such disunity among the Protestant faiths only served to encourage the Catholic Church that the CounterReformation was having an impact. -- Though Zurich became a stronghold of Protestantism, the areas surrounding the city remained wary of a resurgent Catholic Church. They also feared that Zurich might become too powerful and assert

its city powers within these regions. Also the area around Zurich was famed for the mercenaries it provided and such a 'profession' was frowned on by Zwingli. In 1529, these areas around Zurich formed the Christian Union and joined with the catholic Austrian monarchy. Zwingli preached a religious war against them and two campaigns were launched in 1529 and 1531. Zwingli was killed at the Battle of Keppel in October 1531. His work was continued by his son-in-law, Heinrich Bullinger. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} (PART 1 OF 3) POPE LEO X: 11 DECEMBER 1475 - 1 DECEMBER 1521, BORN GIOVANNI DI LORENZO DE' MEDICI, [MADE A CARDINAL AT THE AGE OF 13] WAS THE POPE FROM 1513 TO HIS DEATH IN 1521. HE WAS THE LAST NON-PRIEST (ONLY A DEACON) TO BE ELECTED POPE - HE IS KNOWN FOR GRANTING INDULGENCES [SELLING A TYPE OF SIN TITHE] FOR THOSE WHO DONATED TO RECONSTRUCT ST. PETER'S BASILICA AND HIS CHALLENGING OF MARTIN LUTHER'S 95 THESES - HE WAS THE SECOND SON OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI, THE MOST FAMOUS RULER OF THE FLORENTINE REPUBLIC, AND CLARICE ORSINI - HIS COUSIN, GIULIO DI GIULIANO DE' MEDICI, WOULD LATER SUCCEED HIM AS POPE CLEMENT VII (1523-34) {AS AN OCCULT INFILTRATOR [CONCERNED WITH MONEY, POWER AND DESTROYING CHRISTIANITY] OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH POPE LEO X WAS PRIMARILY INVOLVED IN STRIPPING MONEY FROM CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUALS AFFILIATED WITH ROME AND APPROPRIATING THE MONEY FOR HIS OWN USE. POPE LEO X USED FOUR SCHEMES TO GAIN WEALTH 1. STARTING AN OVERPRICED BUILDING PROJECT [RECONSTRUCT ST. PETER'S BASILICA] BY TAXING OTHER CHURCHES. 2. BEGAN THE SELLING OF 'INDULGENCES' [LICENSES TO SIN] TO INDIVIDUALS. 3. INITIATING FINANCES FOR A MILITARY CRUSADE AGAINST THE MIDDLE-EAST. 4. THE SELLING OF CHURCH OFFICES, POSITIONS AND EVEN THE BELONGINGS FOR HUGE SUMS OF MONEY TO UNQUALIFIED AN UNWORTHY INDIVIDUALS.} Spendthrift [primarily on things not directly benefiting or advancing the Christian message and Gospel of Jesus Christ]: Leo's lively interest in art and literature, to say nothing of his natural liberality, his alleged nepotism, his political ambitions and necessities, and his immoderate personal luxury, exhausted within two years the hard savings of [Pope] Julius II, and precipitated a financial crisis from which he never emerged and which was a direct cause of most of what, from a papal point of view, were calamities of his pontificate. -- He sold cardinals' hats. He sold membership in the "Knights of Peter". He borrowed large sums from bankers, curials, princes and Jews. The Venetian ambassador Gradenigo estimated the paying number of offices on Leo's death at 2,150, with a capital value of nearly 3,000,000 ducats (about 132 million dollars in 2010 dollars) and a yearly income of 328,000 ducats ($14,432,000.00). -- The ordinary income of the pope for the year 1517 had been reckoned at about 580,000 ducats ($2,552,000.00) [around $44 each ducat coin in 2010 dollars], of which 420,000 came from the States of the Church, 100,000 from annates, and 60,000 from the composition tax instituted by Sixtus IV. These sums, together with the *considerable amounts accruing from indulgences, jubilees, and special fees, *vanished as quickly as they were received. Then the pope resorted to pawning palace furniture, table plate, jewels, even statues of the apostles. Several banking firms and many individual creditors were ruined by the death of Leo. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} (PART 2 OF 3) POPE LEO X: PLANS FOR A [POWER GRABBING] CRUSADE A TRUCE WAS TO BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT CHRISTENDOM; THE POPE WAS TO BE THE ARBITER OF DISPUTES; THE EMPEROR AND THE KING OF FRANCE WERE TO LEAD THE ARMY; ENGLAND, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL WERE TO FURNISH THE FLEET; AND THE COMBINED FORCES WERE TO BE DIRECTED AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE - PAPAL DIPLOMACY IN THE INTERESTS OF PEACE FAILED Plans for a Crusade: The war of Urbino was further marked by a crisis in the relations between pope and cardinals. The sacred college had allegedly grown especially worldly and troublesome since the time of Sixtus IV, and Leo took advantage of a plot of several of its members to poison him, not only to inflict exemplary punishments by executing one and imprisoning several others, but also to make a radical change in the college. -- On 3 July 1517 he published the names of thirty-one new cardinals, a number almost unprecedented in the history of the papacy. Among the nominations were such notable men such as Lorenzo Campeggio, Giambattista Pallavicini, Adrian of Utrecht, Thomas Cajetan, Cristoforo Numai and Egidio Canisio. The naming of seven members of prominent Roman families, however, reversed the policy of his predecessor which had kept the political factions of the city out of the Curia. Other promotions were for political or family considerations or to secure money for the war against Urbino. The pope was accused of having exaggerated the conspiracy of the cardinals for purposes of financial gain, but most of such accusations appear

unsubstantiated. -- Leo, meanwhile, felt the need of staying the advance of the Ottoman sultan, Selim I, who was threatening western Europe, and made elaborate plans for a crusade. A truce was to be proclaimed throughout Christendom; the pope was to be the arbiter of disputes; the emperor and the king of France were to lead the army; England, Spain and Portugal were to furnish the fleet; and the combined forces were to be directed against Constantinople. Papal diplomacy in the interests of peace failed, however; Cardinal Wolsey made England, not the pope, the arbiter between France and the Empire; and much of the money collected for the crusade from tithes and indulgences was spent in other ways. -- In 1519 Hungary concluded a three years' truce with Selim I, but the succeeding sultan, Suleyman the Magnificent, renewed the war in June 1521 and on 28 August captured the citadel of Belgrade. The pope was greatly alarmed, and although he was then involved in war with France he sent about 30,000 ducats to the Hungarians. -- Leo treated the Uniate Greeks with great loyalty, and by bull of 18 May 1521 forbade Latin clergy to celebrate mass in Greek churches and Latin bishops to ordain Greek clergy. These provisions were later strengthened by Clement VII and Paul III and went far to settle the constant disputes between the Latins and Uniate Greeks. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} (PART 3 OF 3) POPE LEO X: PROTESTANT REFORMATION AND LAST YEARS - LEO WAS DISTURBED THROUGHOUT HIS PONTIFICATE BY SCHISM, ESPECIALLY THE REFORMATION SPARKED BY MARTIN LUTHER - IN RESPONSE TO CONCERNS ABOUT [PRIEST-PASTOR] MISCONDUCT FROM SOME SERVANTS OF THE CHURCH In 1517 A.D. Martin Luther read his Ninety-Five Theses on the topic of indulgences in the church courtyard at Wittenberg. Students took the theses, translated them from Latin to German, and through the printing press they spread throughout Europe. Within two weeks, the theses had spread throughout Germany, and after two months they had spread throughout Europe. Leo failed to fully comprehend the importance of the movement, and in February 1518 he directed the vicar-general of the Augustinians to impose silence on his monks. -- On 30 May, Luther sent an explanation of his theses to the pope; on 7 August he was summoned to appear at Rome. An arrangement was effected, however, whereby that summons was cancelled, and Luther went instead to Augsburg in October 1518 to meet the papal legate, Cardinal Cajetan; but neither the arguments of the cardinal, nor Leo's dogmatic papal bull of 9 November requiring all Christians to believe in the pope's power to grant indulgences, moved Luther to retract. A year of fruitless negotiations followed, during which the controversy took popular root across the German States. -- A further papal bull of 15 June 1520, Exsurge Domine or Arise, O Lord, condemned forty-one propositions extracted from Luther's teachings, and was taken to Germany by Eck in his capacity as apostolic nuncio. Leo followed by formally excommunicating Luther by the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem or It Pleases the Roman Pontiff, on 3 January 1521. In a brief the Pope also directed Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to take energetic measures against heresy. -- It was also under Leo that Lutheranism spread into Scandinavia. The pope had repeatedly used the rich northern benefices to reward members of the Roman curia, and towards the close of the year 1516 he sent the impolitic Arcimboldi as papal nuncio to Denmark to collect money for St Peter's. This led to the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein. King Christian II took advantage of the growing dissatisfaction of the native clergy toward the papal government, and of Arcimboldi's interference in the Swedish revolt, to expel the nuncio and summon Lutheran theologians to Copenhagen in 1520. Christian approved a plan by which a formal state church should be established in Denmark, all appeals to Rome should be abolished, and the king and diet should have final jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes. Leo sent a new nuncio to Copenhagen (1521) in the person of the Minorite Francesco de Potentia, who readily absolved the king and received the rich bishopric of Skara. The pope or his legate, however, took no steps to remove abuses or otherwise reform the Scandinavian churches. --- Having fallen ill with malaria, Pope Leo X died on December 1, 1521, so suddenly that the last sacraments could not be administered; but the contemporary suspicions of poison were unfounded. He was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} THE REVISED ROMAN EMPIRE - THE [TWO] MEDICI POPES - POPE LEO X [1513 - 1521] KNOWN FOR BEING THE POPE THAT CHALLENGED MARTIN LUTHER'S [1517 A.D.] 95 THESES -- POPE CLEMENT VII [1523 - 1534] (MEDICI COUSIN OF POPE LEO X) KNOWN FOR BEING POPE DURING THE SACKING OF ROME IN 1527 A.D. [THE (OCCULT) MEDICI (FAMILY), LED BY (POPE) CLEMENT, HAD TRIED TO PLAY EVERYONE OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER AND HAD MADE EVERYONE THEIR ENEMY -- AT LEAST TEMPORARILY - SOURCE: MMDTKW.ORG/VSACKROME.HTML]

Pope Leo X - Giovanni de'Medici, 1475 - 1513 - 1521: Giovanni de'Medici, second son of Lorenzo and younger brother of the fatuous Piero, became the first of the Medici Popes (Leo X - Leone Decimo) at the age of 38 on 11 March 1513. Prior to this his life had been a complete roller coaster. Brought up in Medici luxury alongside Michelangelo (who was included in the Medici household by Lorenzo), older brother Piero and cousin Giulio (who was adopted by Lorenzo after his father (who was Lorenzo's brother) was killed in the Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478), he had access to the incomes of several wealthy monasteries, including Badia a Passignano, and was made a Cardinal at the age of 13. All this came to an abrupt end in 1494 when, in the wake of Lorenzo's death, the incompetent surrender of his brother Piero the Fatuous to the French, and the ensuing Savanorola stirred turbulence, he had to sneak out of Florence dressed as a Franciscan Friar, and then live in hiding with his cousin for the next decade, latterly being protected by the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian (who ironically was to be a major cause of the collapse of the Bruges branch of the Medici Bank) and then by the dreadful Cesare Borgia and his father Pope Alessandro VI (1431 - 1492 - 1503 (72)) in Rome. ... Pope Clement VII Giulio de'Medici, 1478 - 1523 - 1534 (56) Illegitimate son of Lorenzo's (Pazzi murdered) brother Giuliano, adopted son of Lorenzo, and companion in exile to Lorenzo's son Giovanni (Leo X), who was three years his senior, Giulio de'Medici became Pope Clement VII (Clemente Settimo). He was good looking, intellectually sophisticated, a talented musician and a political disaster. In reality he also faced the legacy of the corrupt practices of his cousin Leo X, and the impossible task of operating in the emergent nation state Europe dominated by Charles V, Francis I, and Henry VIII (whom he excommunicated), and threatened by Suleiman the Magnificent, plus Martin Luther dealing the protestants into the game as well - see Insight Page. He lost England, and was humiliated by having to flee in disguise from Rome when it was barbarically sacked by Charles V's rabble army after Clement mistakenly got too close to flashy Francis I of France. [Images/Montages/Firenze/Medici Popes.htm link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION

OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} THE REVISED ROMAN EMPIRE - THE MEDICI FAMILY [GENERALLY OCCULT FAMILY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE] - OTHER PROMINENT MEDICI WERE *POPE LEO X (1475-1521); POPE CLEMENT VII (1478-1534); CATHERINE (1519-1589), WIFE OF [KING] HENRY II OF FRANCE; AND MARIE (1573-1642), WIFE OF [KING] HENRY IV OF FRANCE AND REGENT FOR THEIR SON [KING] LOUIS XIII [NOTE: THIS IS ALSO THE IMPORTANT AND HISTORIC TIMEFRAME OF THE GENERAL DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE ITALIAN BORN EXPLORER CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IN HIS 1492 VOYAGE FROM SPAIN TO AMERICA (BAHAMAS).] CONSIDERED THE MOST

Medici, an Italian family of merchants and bankers who ruled the republic of Florence through economic power and personal influence. By their patronage of the arts they made Florence the center of the Italian Renaissance. The Medici were created dukes of Florence by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1531, and grand dukes of Tuscany by Emperor Maximilian II in 1575. The last Medici grand duke was deposed by the Austrians in 1737. Important members of the Medici family included the following. Giovanni De' Medici: (1360-1429) established the family fortune and made himself ruler of Florence's merchant oligarchy. Cosimo De' Medici: (1389-1464), his son, used his banking business to gain political power and led Florence in a long period of prosperity and artistic achievement. Lorenzo the Magnificent: (14491492), grandson of Cosimo, gained fame as a statesman and patron of arts and letters. He was recognized as a poet himself and was largely responsible for the Tuscan dialect becoming the national speech of Italy. Cosimo (I) the Great: (1519-1574) succeeded to the dukedom in 1537 and ruled as a despot. He restored the duchy of Tuscany by conquering the other republics that had been part of it. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} THE REVISED ROMAN EMPIRE - 'OCCULT' POWER: THE POLITICS OF WITCHCRAFT AND SUPERSTITION IN RENAISSANCE FLORENCE - IN FLORENCE, HOW DID ONE FAMILY--THE MEDICI--SECURE THEIR POWER AFTER OVER A CENTURY OF STRUGGLE, AND HOW DID THEY COME TO CONSTRUCT A MYTH OF THEIR OWN LEGITIMACY? (BOOK) OF THE

Lawrence's interpretation, however narrow and flawed, does highlight an indisputable element of Grazzini's tale of Dr. Manente: its cruelty and "monstrosity," traits that, I will argue, provide insight into the social structures of the midsixteenth century, particularly those that rely upon coersion and force. In Florence, how did one family--the Medici-secure their power after over a century of struggle, and how did they come to construct a myth of their own legitimacy? ... It is important to remember that, from 1494--when the friar himself gained widespread support and offered a major threat to the rule of the Medici family--until long after his execution in 1498, Savonarola bequeathed a powerful

religious and political vision that was not dependent on his leadership for survival--a fact that fascinated the political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli. Savonarola's followers--called the Piagnoni first by their enemies and later, proudly, by themselves--remained politically active after his execution, through the Republic that lasted until 1513, when the first Medici pope, Leo X, used the considerable influence of this position to help his family and their allies to return to Florence, and again after the sack of Rome in 1527, which occurred during the pontificate of another Medici, Clement VII. The Piagnoni continued to be active even after the Medici, first Alessandro and then Cosimo I, openly turned Florence onto the path of absolutism [unlimited, centralized authority and absolute sovereignty] by accepting the [nobility] title of Duke. ... Lorenzo's manipulation of the Church comes into play in the next phase of the beffa. ... At this point, Grazzini emphasizes not only that many friars and priests were ignorant, but, more importantly, that the kind of people Lorenzo elevated to positions of power in the Florentine church hierarchy were either superstitious [occult] or corrupt, criticisms that Savonarola also often made of the Medici. [link]

{OCCULT INFILTRATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH} THE REVISED ROMAN EMPIRE - CHRISTIAN AND ROSICRUCIAN KABBALAH [ESOTERIC (HIDDEN) TEACHINGS - THE REAL NWO - NEW AGE BIBLE] - THE ORIGIONAL JEWISH [WITCHCRAFT - KING SOLOMON] KABBALAH --> CHRISTIAN MYSTIC, RAYMON LULL (1232 - 1316 A.D.) ORIGINATOR OF THE CHRISTIAN KABBALAH --> RENAISSANCE CHRISTIAN KABBALAH (MEDICI FAMILY) --> ROSICRUCIAN (ILLUMINATI - FREEMASON) KABBALAH --> MODERN OCCULT KABBALAH THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN KABBALAH IS TO BE FOUND IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE CATALAN PHILOSOPHER AND MYSTIC, RAYMON LULL - LULL HAD THE IDEA OF UNIFYING ALL THREE RELIGIONS [JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM] BY DEVELOPING A PHILOSOPHY INCOPORATING ELEMENTS COMMON TO ALL - THE WAY HE INTENDED TO [UNITE] CONVERT WAS THROUGH RATIONAL AND MYSTICAL DOCTRINE - RENAISSANCE CHRISTIAN KABBALAH WAS DERIVED FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES - FIRSTLY, THE CHRISTOLOGICAL [CHRIST DOCTRINE] SPECULATIONS OF A NUMBER OF JEWISH CONVERTS FROM THE LATE 13TH TO THE LATE FIFTEENTH CENTURIES - SECONDLY, THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHRISTIAN AND RENAISSANCE SPECULATION CONCERNING THE KABBALAH THAT DEVELOPED AROUND THE PLATONIC ACADAMY *FOUNDED BY THE **MEDICI FAMILY IN FLORENCE Lull based his Art on the importance which Christian, Moslem [Islam], and Jew each attached to the Divine Names or Attributes, or, as he called them, Dignities. Lull mentioned nine Dignities (or Dignitaries): Bonitas (Goodness), Magnitudo (Greatness), Eternitas (Eternity), Potestas (Power), Sapientia (Wisdom), Voluntas (Will), Virtus (Virtue), Veritas (Truth), and Gloria (Glory). These are shown in the follwing diagram. ... In addition we also find the incorporation of the four elements [earth, water, air and fire] and the qualities, the seven planets and twelves [astrological] signs, medicine, alchemy, geometry, a letter notation, and so on. There is an elaborate system of correspondences, in that the nine Dignitaries have their correspondences in the celestial sphere, the human level, and the animal, plant, and material creation. In all this we see the influence, not only of Kabbalah, but also of Aristotlean categories, Augustinian Platonism (nearly all the Lullian Dignities can be found listed as Augustine's Divine Attributes), and the celestial hierarchies of angels of the Christian Neoplatonist Dionysius. [Frances A. Yates, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age, pp.9-12]. -- Renaissance Kabbalah: Renaissance Christian Kabbalah was derived from a number of sources. Firstly, the christological speculations of a number of Jewish converts from the late 13th to the late fifteenth centuries. Secondly, the philosophical Christian and Renaissance speculation concerning the Kabbalah that developed around the Platonic Acadamy founded by the Medici family in Florence. Pico della Mirandola The Florentines, headed by the renowned Renaissance hermeticist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-94) believed they had discovered in Kabbalah a lost divine revelation that could give the key to understanding both the teachings of Pythagoras, Plato, and the Orphics, and the inner secrets of Catholic Christianity. Pico himself had a considerable amount of Kabbalistic literature translated into Latin by the scholarly convert Samuel ben Nissim Abulfaraj. Among the 900 theses Pico presented for public debate in Rome was the claim that "no science can better convince us of the divinity of Jesus Christ than magic and the Kabbalah", and he believed he could prove the dogmas of the Trinity and the Incarnation through Kabbalistic axioms. All this caused a sensation in the intellectual Christian world, and the writings of Pico and his follower Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522) led on the one hand to great interest in the doctrine of Divine Names and in practical (magical) Kabbalah (culminating in Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim's De Occult Philosophia (1531) and on the other to further attempts at a synthesis between Kabbalah and Christian theology. [Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah, pp.197-8] -- Rosicrucian Kabbalah: By the late 16th century Christian Kabbalah began to be permeated with alchemical symbolism; a trend that continued through the 17th and 18th century. Well known representatives are the Rosucrucian philosopher and alchemist Robert Fludd (15741637) and the alchemist Thomas Vaughan (1622-1666) among others. One of the works of Fludd presents an

interpretation of the Sefirotic Tree which he illustrates as a Palm (left), whose ten spreading branches raying forth from the lowest world suggest that man on earth is a microcosm or reflection of the macrocosm or universe. In the second half of the 18th century this alchemical kabbalah was combined with Freemasonic numerology and occultism, from which was ultimately to develop the extraordinary occult/magickal revival of the late 19th century known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn illustration (left) from World Trees by Hazel Minot Kircher's Tree from Oedipus Aegyptiacus published in 1652 by Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit priest and hermetic philosopher -- Occult Kabbalah: By the 19th century the occultists of the French magician revival, such as Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant; 1810-1875) and Papus (Gerard Encausse; 1868-1916) had lost all understanding of the original Jewish meaning of Kabbalah, and brought in various extraneous elements such as Tarot. Levi was an influential figure both on the Theosophy of Blavatsky and even more so the Golden Dawn Order of Mathers and Westcott, with it's unique Kabbalistic (or Qabalistic, to use the prefered spelling) formulation of Sefirot and paths, through which Kabbalah established itself in the contemporary Western Occult Tradition. [link]

AMAZON: EMPIRES COLLECTION - THE DYNASTIES - EGYPT'S GOLDEN EMPIRE / **THE MEDICI: GODFATHERS OF THE RENAISSANCE / JAPAN: MEMOIRS OF A SECRET EMPIRE / THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE FIRST CENTURY / THE GREEKS: CRUCIBLE OF CIVILIZATION) EMPIRES COLLECTION: THE DYNASTIES (5 DISC GIFT SET) - EMPIRES COLLECTION: THE DYNASTIES IS A COMPILATION OF FIVE OUTSTANDING STORIES OF SOME OF HISTORYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GREATEST DYNASTIES (2000 - DVDS) Egypt's Golden Empire: In 1570 B.C., when Rome was still a marsh and the Acropolis was an empty rock, Egypt was already 1000 years old. Although the period of the pyramid-builders was long over, Egypt lay on the threshold of its greatest age. The New Kingdom would be an empire forged by conquest, maintained by intimidation and diplomacy, and remembered long after its demise. Led by a dynasty of rich personalities, whose dramatic lives changed the course of civilization, Egypt's Golden Empire presents the most extraordinary period in Egyptian history: from 1570 B.C. to 1070 B.C., when the Egyptian Empire reached its zenith. -- The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance - From a small Italian community in 15th century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history- the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world. An epic drama played out in the courts, cathedrals and palaces of Europe, this series is both the tale of one family's powerful ambition and of Europe's tortured struggle to emerge from the ravages of the Dark Ages. -- Japan: Memoirs Of A Secret Empire - Commanding shoguns and samurai warriors, exotic geisha and exquisite artisans -- all were part of the Japanese "renaissance" -- a period between the 16th and 19th centuries when Japan went from chaos and violence to a land of ritual refinement and peace. But stability came at a price: for nearly 250 years, Japan was a land closed to the Western world, ruled by the Shogun under his absolute power and control. Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire brings to life the unknown story of a mysterious empire, its relationship to the West, and the forging of a nation that would emerge as one of the most important countries in the world. -- The Roman Empire in the First Century: Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the first century, the ancient world was ruled by Rome. Through the experiences, memories and writings of the people who lived it, this series tells the story of that time - the emperors and slaves, poets and plebeians, who wrested order from chaos, built the most cosmopolitan society the world had ever seen and shaped the Roman empire in the first century A.D. -The Greeks: Crucible [melting pot] of Civilization - The Greeks - Classical Greece of the 4th and 5th centuries, B.C. was a magnificent civilization that laid the foundations for modern science, politics, warfare, and philosophy, and produced some of the most breathtaking art and architecture the world has ever known. Through the eyes and words of the great heroes of ancient Greece, this dazzling production charts the rise, triumph, and eventual decline of the world's first democracy. Now, through dramatic storytelling and state-of-the-art computer animation, you witness history, art, and government with giants like Pericles, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: DESIDERIUS ERASMUS (OCTOBER 28, 1466 - JULY 12, 1536) - USING HUMANIST TECHNIQUES FOR WORKING ON TEXTS, HE PREPARED IMPORTANT NEW LATIN AND GREEK EDITIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT - ERASMUS LIVED THROUGH THE REFORMATION PERIOD, BUT WHILE HE WAS CRITICAL OF THE CHURCH, HE COULD NOT BRING HIMSELF TO JOIN THE CAUSE OF THE REFORMERS - IN RELATION TO CLERICAL ABUSES IN THE CHURCH, ERASMUS REMAINED COMMITTED TO REFORMING THE CHURCH FROM WITHIN - HE

ALSO HELD TO CATHOLIC DOCTRINES SUCH AS THAT OF FREE WILL, WHICH SOME REFORMERS REJECTED IN FAVOR OF THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION - HIS MIDDLE ROAD APPROACH DISAPPOINTED AND EVEN ANGERED SCHOLARS IN BOTH CAMPS

Known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, early proponent of religious toleration, and theologian. Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style and enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists." He has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists." Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. These raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic CounterReformation. He also wrote The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works. Erasmus lived through the Reformation period, but while he was critical of the Church, he could not bring himself to join the cause of the Reformers. In relation to clerical abuses in the Church, Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church from within. He also held to Catholic doctrines such as that of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps. He died in Basel in 1536 and was buried in the formerly Catholic cathedral there, which had been converted to a Reformed church in 1529. Erasmus was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. Desiderius was a self-adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The Roterodamus in his scholarly name is the Latinized adjectival form for the city of Rotterdam. -- Biography: Desiderius Erasmus was born in Holland on October 28th. The exact year of his birth is debated but some evidence confirming 1466 can be found in Erasmus's own words. Of twenty-three statements Erasmus made about his age, all but one of the first fifteen indicate 1466. He was christened "Erasmus" after the saint of that name. Although associated closely with Rotterdam, he lived there for only four years, never to return. Information on his family and early life comes mainly from vague references in his writings. His parents almost certainly were not legally married. His father, named Roger Gerard, later became a priest and afterwards curate in Gouda. Little is known of his mother other than that her name was Margaret and she was the daughter of a physician. Although he was born out of wedlock, Erasmus was cared for by his parents until their early deaths from the plague in 1483. He was then given the very best education available to a young man of his day, in a series of monastic or semi-monastic schools, most notably a Latin school in Deventer run by the Brethren of the Common Life (inspired by Geert Groote). During his stay here the curriculum was renewed by the principal of the school, Alexander Hegius. For the first time ever Greek was taught at a lower level than a university in Europe, and this is where he began learning it. He also gleaned there the importance of a personal relationship with God but eschewed the harsh rules and strict methods of the religious brothers and educators. [link]

CHICK.COM: WAS ERASMUS, THE EDITOR OF THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS (RECEIVED TEXT - MANUSCRIPT FOR THE LATER KING JAMES VERSION, KJV 1611 HOLY BIBLE), A "GOOD" ROMAN CATHOLIC? -- ERASMUS, EDITED THE GREEK TEXT WHICH WAS LATER TO BE KNOWN AS THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS - THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH CRITICIZED HIS WORKS FOR HIS REFUSAL TO USE JEROME'S LATIN TRANSLATION, A TRANSLATION THAT HE SAID WAS INACCURATE - IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT "ERASMUS LAID THE EGG THAT LUTHER HATCHED" THERE IS PROBABLY FAR MORE TRUTH TO THIS STATEMENT THAN CAN BE CASUALLY DISCERNED - FOR THE REFORMERS WERE ARMED WITH ERASMUS'S BIBLE, HIS WRITINGS AND HIS ATTITUDE OF RESISTANCE TO ROMAN CATHOLIC INTIMIDATION - OF LUTHER HE SAID, "I FAVOR LUTHER AS MUCH AS I CAN, EVEN IF MY CAUSE IS EVERYWHERE LINKED WITH HIS" - HE WROTE SEVERAL LETTERS ON LUTHER'S BEHALF, AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREED WITH HIM THAT SALVATION WAS ENTIRELY BY GRACE, NOT WORKS -- ERASMUS WAS ALSO THE FIRST PERSON TO USE THE TERM "FUNDAMENTAL" He opposed Jerome's translation in two vital areas. He detected that the Greek text [of the Egyptian manuscripts] had been corrupted as early as the fourth century [by the desert monks - desert fathers]. He knew that Jerome's translation had been based solely on the Alexandrian manuscript, Vaticanus, written itself early in the fourth century. He also differed with Jerome on the translation of certain passages which were vital to the claimed authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Jerome rendered Matthew 4:17 thus: "Do penance, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Erasmus differed with: "Be penitent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Erasmus was also a staunch defender of both Mark 16:9-21 and John 8:1-12. Zeal which our modern day scholars cannot seem to find. -- Possibly Erasmus's greatest gift to mankind was his attitude toward the common man. In the rigidly "classed" society in which he lived, he was an indefatigable advocate of putting the Scripture in the hands of the common man. While Jerome's Latin had been translated at the bidding of the Roman hierarchy, Erasmus translated his Latin with the express purpose of putting it into

the hands of the common people of his day. A practice that the Roman Catholic Church knew could be dangerous to its plan to control the masses. Erasmus is quoted as saying, "Do you think that the Scriptures are fit only for the perfumed?" "I venture to think that anyone who reads my translation at home will profit thereby." He boldly stated that he longed to see the Bible in the hands of "the farmer, the tailor, the traveler and the Turk." Later, to the astonishment of his upper classed colleagues, he added "the masons, the prostitutes and the pimps" to that declaration. Knowing his desire to see the Bible in the hands of God's common people, it seems not so surprising that God was to use his Greek text for the basis of the English Bible that was translated with the common man in mind, the King James Bible. -- It has been said that "Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched." There is probably far more truth to this statement than can be casually discerned. For the reformers were armed with Erasmus's Bible, his writings and his attitude of resistance to Roman Catholic intimidation. Of Luther he said, "I favor Luther as much as I can, even if my cause is everywhere linked with his." He wrote several letters on Luther's behalf, and wholeheartedly agreed with him that salvation was entirely by grace, not works. He refused pressure by his Roman Catholic superiors to denounce Luther as a heretic. If Erasmus had turned the power of his pen on Luther, it would undoubtedly have caused far more damage than the powerless threats of the pope and his imps were able to do. As it is, only his disagreement with Luther's doctrine of predestination ever prompted him to criticize the Reformer with pen and ink. Erasmus's greatest point of dissension with the Roman Church was over its doctrine of salvation through works and the tenets of the church. He taught that salvation was a personal matter between the individual and God and was by faith alone. Of the Roman system of salvation he complained, "Aristotle is so in vogue that there is scarcely time in the churches to interpret the gospel." And what was "the gospel" to which Erasmus referred? We will let him speak for himself. "Our hope is in the mercy of God and the merits of Christ." Of Jesus Christ he stated, "He ... nailed our sins to the cross, sealed our redemption with his blood." He boldly stated that no rites of the Church were necessary for an individual's salvation. "The way to enter paradise," he said, "is the way of the penitent thief, say simply, Thy will be done. The world to me is crucified and I to the world." Concerning the most biblical sect of his time, the Anabaptists, he reserved a great deal of respect. He mentioned them as early as 1523 even though he himself was often called the "only Anabaptist of the 16th century." He stated that the Anabaptists that he was familiar with called themselves "Baptists." (Ironically, Erasmus was also the FIRST person to use the term "fundamental.") So we see that when Erasmus died on July 11, 1536, he had led a life that could hardly be construed to be an example of what could be considered a "good Catholic." But perhaps the greatest compliment, though veiled, that Erasmus's independent nature ever received came in 1559, twenty-three years after his death. That is when Pope Paul IV put Erasmus's writings on the "Index" of books, forbidden to be read by Roman Catholics. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CODEX ALEXANDRINUS (AN EGYPTIAN MANUSCRIPT) - THE CODEX (A BOOK WITH PAGES VS. A PARCHMENT OR A SCROLL) ALEXANDRINUS IS A [*CORRUPTED] 5TH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT OF THE GREEK BIBLE, CONTAINING THE MAJORITY OF THE SEPTUAGINT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT - {ALL OF THE EGYPTIAN MANUSCRIPTS ABOVE ARE OF POOR QUALITY WITH SCRIBAL ERRORS OF ALL SORTS. THEY ARE POOR COPIES WITH MORE THAN 5,000 CHANGES COMPARED TO THE BYZANTINE [TEXTUS RECEPTUS] MANUSCRIPTS. MOST OF THESE CHANGES ARE DELETIONS, WITH VERSES AND ENTIRE BOOKS MISSING. MANY VERSES ARE MODIFIED AND THE READING DOES NOT MAKE A COMPLETE THOUGHT OR (USE) SIMPLE LOGIC. THE ONLY WRITING FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL IS THE BOOK OF ROMANS. THERE ARE MORE THAN 3,000 VARIANTS IN THE GOSPELS BETWEEN THE CODEX ALEXANDRINUS (A) AND THE CODEX VATICANUS (B). THEIR LACK OF AGREEMENT REDUCES THEIR RELIABILITY EVEN FURTHER. ONE BIBLE TEXT RESEARCHER HAS CALLED THIS DIFFERENCE THE 3,000 LIES. (BIBLELIFE.ORG/WORD.HTM)} It derives its name from Alexandria where it resided for a number of years before it brought by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril Lucaris from Alexandria to Constantinople. Then it was given to Charles I of England in the 17th century. Until the later purchase of the Codex Sinaiticus, it was the best manuscript of the Greek Bible deposited in Britain. Today, it rests along with Codex Sinaiticus in one of the showcases in the Ritblat Gallery of the British Library. As the text came from several different traditions, different parts of the codex are not of equal textual value. The text has been edited several times since the 18th century. [link]

THE HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES - WHICH VERSION OF THE BIBLE IS BEST? -- HISTORY PROVES THAT THE GREEK TEXTUS RECEPTUS OR RECEIVED TEXT AS EDITED BY DESIDERIUS ERASMUS FROM THE HOLY GREEK BYZANTINE MANUSCRIPTS IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD - ONLY THE KING JAMES VERSION [KJV 1611] AND THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION [NKJV] WERE

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FROM THE

GREEK TEXTUS RECEPTUS [UNFORTUNATELY THE CHANGES AND MODIFICATION IN THE NKJV ARE FROM ALEXANDRIAN TEXTS - ONLY THE KJV 1611 IS FROM TH TEXTUS RECEPTUS] - THIS STUDY WILL SHOW THAT ALL OTHER VERSIONS HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED AND SHOULD BE REJECTED -- BYZANTINE NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS - THE MAJOR DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE WERE SEVERELY NEGLECTED AND DISTORTED DURING THE DARK AGES (476 AD - 1100 AD), "600 YEARS OF DEGENERATE, GODLESS, INHUMAN BEHAVIOR" - THESE DOCTRINES ARE AVAILABLE TODAY ONLY BECAUSE OF THE 5,000 GREEK [BYZANTINE] MANUSCRIPTS THAT SURVIVED Vulgate: The Roman Catholic Church has preserved more than 8,000 copies of the Bible written in Latin and called the Vulgate which was originally translated from Greek and Hebrew to Latin by Saint Jerome. ... Jerome obtained his Alexandrian manuscripts (common in North Africa) from which he translated the New Testament portion of the Latin Vulgate. The Vulgate shows that Jerome did not use Byzantine manuscripts from the Eastern Church. -- The printing press had been invented no later that 1456 A.D. -- Textus Receptus: The rush was on to produce printed copies of the Scriptures for the populace. Printer John Froben of Basle contacted Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) to prepare a Greek New Testament manuscript for printing. Erasmus was a Roman Catholic who was highly critical of his own Church. He wanted to change the Church from within and was in disagreement with the Reformers over their harsh methods. He was in a struggle between the two and at times at odds with both. Erasmus' theology was more in agreement with the Eastern Greek Church than either the Roman Catholic Church or the Reformers such as Martin Luther. ... Erasmus used approximately six copies of the Greek Byzantine manuscripts as his source for the new Bible, rejecting copies of the Alexandrian text available in the Roman Catholic Church. The first printing of the new Greek Bible was in February 1516 and contained Greek text parallel to his own Latin version. The work was a huge success and in great demand even though the hurried work left many typographical errors. The second edition was printed in 1519 and the third in 1522. This work became known as the Textus Receptus or Received Text. Erasmus' work came under criticism because of a few small differences not found in a majority of the Greek Byzantine manuscripts. The verse giving a good description of the Trinity (1 John 5:7 in the KJV and NKJV) was inserted in his third edition. However, this was not an addition by Erasmus, because the same text can be found in four of the older Greek manuscripts. Of the Greek manuscripts used by Erasmus only one is said to have contained the book of Revelation but was missing the last page. He is believed to have translated the last six verses from the Latin Vulgate into Greek. Even so, these verses translated today from other Greek manuscripts give the same English rendering. The critics of the Textus Receptus tend to focus on these minor occurrences in the work in order to divert the reader from the real status of the work. The Textus Receptus is the Holy Inspired Word of God. -- Egyptian New Testament Manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus (Sin.) was discovered in the library at the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot of Mt. Sinai in 1859 by German theologian and Biblical scholar Count Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874). Some of the Old Testament is missing; however, the whole 4th-century New Testament is preserved, with the Letter of Barnabas and most of the Shepherd of Hermas at the end. It was taken to St. Petersburg (Leningrad, Russia) and in 1933 sold by the Soviet regime to the British Museum Library in London for only 100,000 British Pounds Sterling. It is a partial manuscript believed to be dated about 350 A.D. as shown in the table below. Later revisions representing attempts to alter the text to a different standard probably were made about the 6th or 7th century at Caesarea. - Codex Vaticanus (B) was discovered in the Vatican Library, where it remains and is believed to have been since before 1475 A.D. It is a partial manuscript believed to be dated about 300 A.D. as shown in the table below. The New Testament is missing Hebrews from Chapter 9, verse 14, Philemon, and Revelation. The text type is mostly of the Alexandrian group. - Codex Alexandrinus (A) was discovered in the patriarchal library at Alexandria in the seventeenth century and taken to the British Museum Library in London as well. It contains most of the New Testament but with lacunae (gaps) in Matthew, John and II Corinthians, and also contains the extracanonical books of I and II Clement. In the Gospels the text is of the Byzantine type, but in the rest of the New Testament it is Alexandrian. It is believed to be dated about 450 A.D. as shown in the table below. - Beatty Papyri (P) were made available in the period between 1930 and 1960 from two wealthy book collectors, Chester Beatty and Martin Bodmer. These fragments of papyri were mainly found preserved in the dry sands of Egypt. They are all Alexandrian text type. The various papyri fragments are now located in Dublin, Ireland; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cologny, Switzerland; Vatican, Rome; and Vienna, Austria. These fragments are partial manuscripts with the Gospel of John 18:31-33 and 18:37-38 (manuscript P52) being the oldest, dating to about 130-140 A.D. P52 is now in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England. The others are believed to be dated about 200 to 250 A.D. as shown in the table below. -- All of the Egyptian manuscripts above are of poor quality with scribal errors of all sorts. They are poor copies with more than 5,000 changes compared to the Byzantine manuscripts. Most of these changes are deletions, with verses and entire books missing. Many verses are modified and the reading does not make a complete thought or simple logic. The only writing from the Apostle Paul is

the book of Romans. There are more than 3,000 variants in the Gospels between the Codex Alexandrinus (A) and the Codex Vaticanus (B). Their lack of agreement reduces their reliability even further. One Bible text researcher has called this difference the 3,000 lies. - These manuscripts are believed to have been saved because they were stored away or discarded by the Gnostics, who were later purged from the Roman Catholic Church in the 2nd century. The first antiGnostic writer was St. Justin Martyr (d. c. 165). The full purging took place over many centuries until the Roman Catholic Church declared Gnosticism as heresy. The older Egyptian manuscripts are not necessarily in agreement with the original Scriptures. Nobody knows. A manuscript cannot be declared more accurate simply because of its age. This is a common error made by student of Christian history. On the other hand, the Byzantine Greek manuscripts were in constant use as the early Christian church grew. Older Byzantine manuscripts were discarded because of wear and replaced with new copies. - Gnosticism was an esoteric religious movement that flourished and spread to Egypt during the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. It presented a major challenge to orthodox Christianity. Most Gnostic sects professed Christianity, but their belief sharply diverged from those of the majority of Christians in the early church. It is believed that the Gnostics butchered the Greek text with these 5,000 changes, which are mostly deletions. The Gnostics can be identified because the deletions match their [Gnostic] theology. [link]

THE CONTROVERSY BEHIND MODERN [SINCE 1881 A.D.] BIBLE VERSIONS - REMEMBER! ALL THE MODERN VERSIONS [NIV, NKJV, THE MESSAGE, ESV, ETC.] ARE BASED ON THE [EXCESSIVELY CORRUPTED] (1881) WESTCOTT AND HORT TEXT - WRITINGS OF MEN [WESTCOTT AND HORT] WHO BOASTED BETWEEN THEMSELVES THAT THEY HELD DOCTRINES THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED DANGEROUS HERESY

Remember! All the modern versions are based on the Westcott and Hort text, compiled by two men who both believed that the sacred text of Holy Scripture was to be approached and treated like any secular text of history. The English people, who felt secure in their trust that these two Cambridge scholars would take care of attacks on the Scripture, unknowingly accepted the public utterances and writings of men who boasted between themselves that they held doctrines that would be considered dangerous heresy. Nowhere in all literature can we find a more perfectly clear selfrevelation of Fenton John Anthony Hort than in the Life and Letters of Fenton John Anthony Hort published in 1896 by his son, Author Fenton Hort. Hort was brought up by a well taught Bible-believing evangelical mother. She recognized the fact that her son had departed from the faith "once delivered to the saints" and was saddened thereby. -- Hort acknowledged his departure from the Evangelical faith when he wrote, "Further I agree with those who condemn many leading specific doctrines of the popular theology, as to say the least, containing much superstition and immorality of a very pernicious king... The positive doctrines even of the Evangelicals seem to me perverted rather than untrue. There are I fear, still more serious differences between us on the subject of authority, and especially the authority of the Bible," Life and Letters, Vol. I, p.400. Again Dr. Hort states, "Another idea has lately occurred to me: is not Mariolatry displacing much worship of scattered saints and so becoming a tendency towards unity of worship? I have been persuaded for many years that Mary-worship and Jesus worship have very much in common in their causes and their results" Vol. I, p.50-51 "Life and Letters." -- Hort was completely deceived by Darwin Vol. I, p.374 "Life and Letters." "Have you read Darwin?...in spite of difficulties, I am inclined to think it is unanswerable (page 416). "...another last word on Darwin...I shall not let the matter drop in a hurry, or, to speak more correctly, it will not let me drop...there is no getting rid of it any more than a part of oneself." Vol. I, pages 433-434. On the atonement Hort writes, "Certainly nothing can be more unscriptural than the modern limiting of Christ's bearing our sins and sufferings to His death; but indeed that is only one aspect of an almost universal heresy." Vol. I, page 430 "Life and Letters." -- Hort in writing to a friend, John Ellerton, Dec. 20, 1851 said: "I had no idea till the last few weeks of the importance of texts, having read so little Greek Testament, and dragged on the villainous Textus Receptus... Think of that vile Textus Receptus leaning entirely on late manuscripts. It is a blessing there are such early ones." Hort refers of course to the very corrupt Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Alexandrius in which its finder, Tischendorf, noted 12,000 alterations, Codex Sinaiticus. We ask, "From where did Hort get this great antipathy and hatred for the Textus Receptus so early in his career? How did he conceive his ingenious theories to do away with the fact that the Textus Receptus (the Greek text underlying the King James Version) and that which is representative of a very, very high percentage of all Greek Manuscripts?" -- Look at the hidden background for the modern spreading rejection of the King James Version. The followers of Westcott and Hort are following the lead of men who have departed from the faith and have given themselves over to a strictly forbidden prying into the occult. They had received from the world of spirits a hatred for the true Word of God. After we learn that Hort describes the sacred text as "being that vile Textus Receptus," we read Hort's words, "Westcott, Gorham, C.B.

Scott, Benson, Bradshaw, Luard, and I have started a society for the investigation of ghosts, and all supernatural appearances, and effects, being all disposed to believe that such things really exist, and ought to be discriminated from hoaxes and mere subjective delusions; we shall be happy to obtain any good accounts well authenticated with names. Our own temporary name is the [occult] Ghostly Guild." Vol. I, page 211. [link]

THE EXPOSITOR: THE

MESSAGE (MSG) "BIBLE" [AUTHOR: EUGENE H. PETERSON] INSERTS EARTH REVERENCE, GOD OF "GREEN" HOPE - "OH! MAY THE GOD OF GREEN HOPE FILL YOU UP WITH JOY, FILL YOU UP WITH PEACE, SO THAT YOUR BELIEVING LIVES, FILLED WITH THE LIFE-GIVING ENERGY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WILL BRIM OVER WITH HOPE!" (THE MESSAGE, ROMANS 15:13) -- "THE MESSAGE" TEXT MAY BE QUOTED IN ANY FORM (WRITTEN, VISUAL, ELECTRONIC, OR AUDIO), UP TO AND INCLUSIVE OF FIVE HUNDRED (500) VERSES, WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER, NAVPRESS PUBLISHING GROUP, PROVIDING THE VERSES QUOTED DO NOT AMOUNT TO A COMPLETE BOOK OF THE BIBLE AND DO NOT ACCOUNT FOR 25% OR MORE OF THE TOTAL TEXT OF THE WORK IN WHICH THEY ARE QUOTED. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT MUST APPEAR AS FOLLOWS ON EITHER THE TITLE PAGE OR THE COPYRIGHT PAGE OF THE WORK IN WHICH THE MESSAGE IS QUOTED: "SCRIPTURE TAKEN FROM THE MESSAGE. COPYRIGHT © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. USED BY PERMISSION OF NAVPRESS PUBLISHING GROUP." (WWW.BIBLEGATEWAY.COM/VERSIONS/MESSAGE-MSG-BIBLE/) -- HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND GOD'S TRUTH WHEN TRUTH IS NO LONGER THERE TO BE READ? Huh? What God of "green" hope? Why does The Message do this? -- Before we examine what seems suggestive of earth reverence/earth worship, let us restate some of what has been covered elsewhere about The Message: A generation has been raised on this disturbing "paraphrase" of the Bible. This is the primary version so many now rely on, and nationally known preachers quote from it with regularity. Yet, as we have seen, The Message flat out omits the sin of homosexuality from several key passages. We see this in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, and also in 1 Timothy 1: 8-11 (read about that here). -- Does the acceptance and use of The Message explain why many Christians are lukewarm on the issue of homosexuality? Certainly The Message is not the only factor-we dwell in a pro-homosexual media/culture-but place this "Bible" in a person's hands and it can have, over time, significant influence. How can we understand God's Truth when Truth is no longer there to be read? - "My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart." (Proverbs 4:20-21) The beloved author of The Message, Eugene Peterson, has now endorsed two heretical books: The Shack, and Rob Bell's sly ode to universalism, Love Wins. - The Message, bluntly stated, seems written to make Christians less knowledgeable about the Word of God. While that may seem a strong comment, please consider what Eugene Peterson himself said about the Bible: "Why do people spend so much time studying the Bible? How much do you need to know? We invest all this time in understanding the text which has a separate life of its own and we think we're being more pious and spiritual when we're doing it….[Christians] should be studying it less, not more. You need just enough to pay attention to God….I'm just not at all pleased with the emphasis on Bible study as if it's some kind of special thing that Christians do, and the more the better." I believe The Message is forerunner to a christless, sinless bible that will be used by the false church. There will be a "christ" mentioned, but not our Christ. Not the sinless Savior of humanity. Sin will be addressed, of course, but perhaps more in line with the Alcoholics Anonymous generic theology of "wrongs" and "making amends." [link]

INTRODUCTION [1 OF 2] THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: THE PERIOD OF HUMAN HISTORY COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES (1000 A.D - 1300 A.D.) BRINGS ABOUT TWO SEEMINGLY UNRELATED EVENTS, THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS IN 1066 A.D. AND THE CRUSADES OF 1095 A.D. TO 1270 A.D. - EVENTS THAT HAVE CAUSED SOME OF THE MOST DRAMATIC, FUNCTIONAL, SUBSTANTIAL AND LONG STANDING CHANGES KNOWN TO MANKIND - AND IN ALL ACTUALITY THE EVENTS OF THE AFTERMATH OF 1066 A.D. ARE THE VERY RAILS THAT THE TRAIN OF HUMAN SOCIETY CURRENTLY RIDES UPON AND IT IS THESE SAME RAILS THAT ARE DIRECTING MANKIND INTO THE VERY EVENTS OF THE END TIMES Background: Going back one thousand years prior to 1066 A.D. brings us back to 66 A.D. and the very days of the foundation of the Christian Church especially among the Gentiles having just been laid by the Apostle Paul. With two notable exceptions [Roman Church and State - Charlemagne's designation of the Nations of Europe] not much had changed in the form of human history and human government but that was about to change in 1066 A.D. In the six

global Gentile Kingdoms previous to 1066 A.D. all of the six Kingdoms [Nimrod, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome] had similar rulers, venues and Characteristics yet the Bible (Daniel 7:23) tells of a 7th Kingdom the Kingdom of Antichrist a Kingdom that is vastly different from the 6 Kingdoms that preceded it. When and where these Satanically inspired changes would enter into human society would remain a secret that is until the events of 1066 A.D. unfolded. [link]

INTRODUCTION [2 OF 2] THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: THE SIX KINGDOMS PRIOR TO THE COMING KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST ARE ALL SOMEWHAT SIMILAR IN THAT EACH KING WAS HEAD OVER THEIR OWN SOCIETY AND ALSO OVER THE SOCIETY OF STRANGERS. THE SIX KINGS WERE EACH STABLE FUNCTIONING DIGNITARIES, EACH MARRIED TO AT LEAST ON WIFE AND EACH HAD AT LEAST ONE CHILD TO CARRY ON THEIR NEWLY INSTALLED DYNASTIES. THE UNFORTUNATE HALLMARK OF EACH KING'S DYNASTY IS THAT WHAT HAD STARTED SO WONDERFULLY AND HAD BECOME SO GRANDIOSE HAD IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME [USUALLY WITHIN ONLY A FEW GENERATIONS OR A FEW DECADES LATER] COME CRASHING DOWN INTO SUCH A RUINOUS HEAP For example what King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had so magnificently achieved in just a few decades his grandson Belshazzar quickly brought to ruins. What Alexander the Great had accomplished for Greece the later ruler Antiochus Epiphanies needlessly squandered. Likewise what Julius Caesar had accomplished for Rome the later Caesar Nero would bring to an almost complete disaster. - Being a citizen in each of the previous six Kingdoms (especially at the start) had many perks and benefits while it was the outsider that was alien and stranger to the benefits of the Kingdom and the outsider who endured the most risk. What was consistent for the previous six Kingdoms seems to be different (Daniel 11:37) for the last Kingdom, the Kingdom of Antichrist. The Kingdom of Antichrist apparently is going to be selfcontained in that where previous Kingdoms disintegrated over time during the rule of multiple rulers the coming Kingdom of Antichrist will implode within itself within a very short period of time, out of necessity in that the ruler of the 7th Kingdom (Satan) is not out to benefit mankind. The seeds of the oppression and destruction of the 7th Kingdom have already been sown back in 1066 A.D. The drastic change that took place in 1066 A.D. was a shift in how the King saw his people, previous to 1066 A.D. the King sought in part to benefit the people but starting in 1066 A.D. the King universally began to seek primarily how the people could benefit the King. The English land census of 1086 A.D. was a complete change of how society would function, no longer would the people (citizens) have a meaningful place in society with the King at the top but the people all people (citizens and aliens) would be in question by the King and in fact as time would continue it would become better to be an alien to the Government rather than a citizen. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: BATTLE OF HASTINGS 1066 A.D. - THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS OCCURRED ON 14 OCTOBER 1066 A.D. DURING THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND, BETWEEN THE NORMAN-FRENCH ARMY OF DUKE WILLIAM II OF NORMANDY AND THE ENGLISH ARMY UNDER KING HAROLD II - IT TOOK PLACE AT SENLAC HILL, APPROXIMATELY 10 KM (61/4 MILES) NORTHWEST OF HASTINGS, CLOSE TO THE PRESENT-DAY TOWN OF BATTLE, EAST SUSSEX, AND WAS A DECISIVE NORMAN VICTORY - HASTINGS IS A TOWN AND BOROUGH IN THE COUNTY OF EAST SUSSEX ON THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND - THE NORMANS WERE THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE THEIR NAME TO NORMANDY, A REGION IN NORTHERN FRANCE - THEY WERE DESCENDED FROM NORSE [NORDIC - SCANDINAVIA; NORWAY, SWEDEN, DENMARK, FINLAND AND ICELAND] VIKING CONQUERORS King Harold II was killed in the battle-legend has it that he was shot through the eye with an arrow. He was the last English king to die in battle on English soil until Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The battle marked the last successful foreign invasion of the British Isles. Although there was further English resistance, this battle is seen as the point at which William gained control of England, becoming its first Norman ruler as King William I. The battle also established the superiority of the combined arms attack over an army predominately composed of infantry, demonstrating the effectiveness of archers, cavalry and infantry working cooperatively together. The dominance of cavalry forces over infantry would continue until the emergence of the longbow, and battles such as Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt in the Hundred Years War. The famous Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events before and during the battle. Battle Abbey marks the site where it is believed that the battle was fought. Founded by King William "the Conqueror" (as he became known), it serves as a memorial to the dead and may have been an act of penance for the bloodshed. The site is open to the public and is the location of annual re-enactments of the battle. -- The Battle of Hastings had a tremendous influence on the English language. The Normans were French-speaking, and as a result of their rule, they

introduced many French words that started in the nobility and eventually became part of the English language itself. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: NORMANS - THE NORMANS WERE THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE THEIR NAME TO NORMANDY, A REGION IN NORTHERN FRANCE THEY WERE DESCENDED FROM NORSE VIKING CONQUERORS OF THE TERRITORY AND THE NATIVE POPULATION OF FRANKISH AND GALLO-ROMAN STOCK - THEIR IDENTITY EMERGED INITIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 10TH CENTURY, AND GRADUALLY EVOLVED OVER SUCCEEDING CENTURIES

They played a major political, military, and cultural role in medieval Europe and even the Near East. They were famed for their martial spirit and eventually for their Christian piety. They quickly adopted the Romance language of the land they settled, their dialect becoming known as Norman or Norman-French, an important literary language. The Duchy of Normandy, which they formed by treaty with the French crown, was one of the great fiefs of medieval France. The Normans are famed both for their culture, such as their unique Romanesque architecture, and their musical traditions, as well as for their military accomplishments and innovations. Norman adventurers established a kingdom in Sicily and southern Italy by conquest, and a Norman expedition on behalf of their duke led to the Norman Conquest of England. Norman influence spread from these new centres to the Crusader States in the Near East, to Scotland and Wales in Great Britain, and to Ireland. ... In Byzantium: Soon after the Normans first began to enter Italy, they entered the Byzantine Empire, and then Armenia against the Pechenegs, Bulgars, and especially Seljuk Turks. The Norman mercenaries first encouraged to come to the south by the Lombards to act against the Byzantines soon fought in Byzantine service in Sicily. They were prominent alongside Varangian and Lombard contingents in the Sicilian campaign of George Maniaces of 1038-40. There is debate whether the Normans in Greek service were mostly or at all from Norman Italy, and it now seems likely only a few came from there. It is also unknown how many of the "Franks", as the Byzantines called them, were Normans and not other Frenchmen. One of the first Norman mercenaries to serve as a Byzantine general was HervĂŠ in the 1050s. By then however, there were already Norman mercenaries serving as far away as Trebizond and Georgia. They were based at Malatya and Edessa, under the Byzantine duke of Antioch, Isaac Komnenos. In the 1060s, Robert Crispin led the Normans of Edessa against the Turks. Roussel de Bailleul even tried to carve out an independent state in Asia Minor with support from the local population, but he was stopped by the Byzantine general Alexius Komnenos. Some Normans joined Turkish forces to aid in the destruction of the Armenians vassal-states of Sassoun and Taron in far eastern Anatolia. Later, many took up service with the Armenian state further south in Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains. A Norman named Oursel led a force of "Franks" into the upper Euphrates valley in northern Syria. From 1073 to 1074, 8,000 of the 20,000 troops of the Armenian general Philaretus Brachamius were Normans - formerly of Oursel - led by Raimbaud. They even lent their ethnicity to the name of their castle: Afranji, meaning "Franks." The known trade between Amalfi and Antioch and between Bari and Tarsus may be related to the presence of Italo-Normans in those cities while Amalfi and Bari were under Norman rule in Italy. Several families of Byzantine Greece were of Norman mercenary origin during the period of the Comnenian Restoration, when Byzantine emperors were seeking out western European warriors. The Raoulii were descended from an Italo-Norman named Raoul, the Petraliphae were descended from a Pierre d'Aulps, and that group of Albanian clans known as the Maniakates were descended from Normans who served under George Maniaces in the Sicilian expedition of 1038 A.D. [link]

DOMESDAY BOOK - IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF 1086 A.D. - WHAT IS THE DOMESDAY BOOK? IT WAS A SURVEY, OR CENSUS, COMMISSIONED BY THE NORMAN CONQUEROR KING WILLIAM I, OF HIS NEWLY CONQUERED LANDS AND POSSESSIONS IN ENGLAND - IT WAS INTENDED TO DOCUMENT "WHAT, OR HOW MUCH, EACH MAN HAD, WHO WAS AN OCCUPIER OF LAND IN ENGLAND, EITHER IN LAND OR IN STOCK, AND HOW MUCH MONEY IT WERE WORTH" - THIS GREAT SURVEY ENABLED THE NORMANS AND WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR TO ADMINISTER ENGLAND AND LEVY TAXES The census and assessment proved of the highest importance to William the Conqueror and his successors. The people indeed said bitterly that the King kept the Doomsday, or Domesday book constantly by him, in order "that he might be able to see at any time of how much more wool the English flock would bear fleecing." The object of the Doomsday, or Domesday book, however, was not to extort money, but to present a full and exact report of the financial and military resources of the kingdom which might be directly available for revenue and defence. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: DOMESDAY BOOK 1086 A.D. - THE "DOMESDAY BOOK" NOW HELD AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, KEW, RICHMOND UPON THAMES IN SOUTH WEST LONDON, IS THE RECORD OF THE GREAT SURVEY OF MUCH OF ENGLAND AND PARTS OF WALES COMPLETED IN 1086 - THE SURVEY WAS EXECUTED FOR WILLIAM I OF ENGLAND (WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR): "WHILE SPENDING THE CHRISTMAS OF 1085 IN GLOUCESTER, WILLIAM HAD DEEP SPEECH WITH HIS COUNSELLORS AND SENT MEN ALL OVER ENGLAND TO EACH SHIRE TO FIND OUT WHAT OR HOW MUCH EACH LANDHOLDER HAD IN LAND AND LIVESTOCK, AND WHAT IT WAS WORTH" ANGLOSAXON CHRONICLE {NOTE: THE REQUIRED USE OF A FAMILY LAST NAME ORIGINATES FROM THE NORMAN KING WILLIAM I AS A NECESSARY PART OF THE TRACKING AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE 1086 A.D. ENGLISH LAND CENSUS FOR USE IN THE ACCOMPANYING BOOK OF DOOMSDAY. THE CENSUS, SYSTEM AND CATALOGUING INCLUDING A LAST NAME IS IN A SENSE THE PRECURSOR OF THE MODERN CENSUS AND SSN DATA SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE TODAY.} One of the main purposes of the survey was to determine who held what and what taxes had been liable under Edward the Confessor; the judgment of the Domesday assessors was final-whatever the book said about who held the material wealth or what it was worth, was the law, and there was no appeal. It was written in Latin, although there were some vernacular words inserted for native terms with no previous Latin equivalent, and the text was highly abbreviated. Richard FitzNigel, writing around the year 1179, stated that the book was known by the English as "Domesday", that is the Day of Judgment "for as the sentence of that strict and terrible last account cannot be evaded by any skilful subterfuge, so when this book is appealed to ... its sentence cannot be put quashed or set aside with impunity. That is why we have called the book 'the Book of Judgment' ... because its decisions, like those of the Last Judgment, are unalterable." In August 2006 a limited online version of Domesday Book was made available by the United Kingdom's National Archives, charging users £2 per page to view the manuscript. In 2011, the Domesday Map site made the manuscript freely available for the first time. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: FAMILY NAME, LAST NAME - IN IRELAND, THE USE OF SURNAMES HAVE A VERY OLD HISTORY - IRELAND WAS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN EUROPE TO USE FIXED SURNAMES - AS NOTED IN THE ANNALS, THE FIRST RECORDED FIXED SURNAME WAS Ó CLEIRIGH WHICH RECORDED THE DEATH OF TIGHERNEACH UA CLEIRIGH, LORD OF AIDHNE IN CO. GALWAY IN THE YEAR 916 A.D. - IN ENGLAND, THE INTRODUCTION OF FAMILY NAMES IS GENERALLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE NORMANS AND THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF 1086 A.D. In England, the introduction of family names is generally attributed to the Normans and the Domesday Book of 1086. Documents indicate that surnames were first adopted among the feudal nobility and gentry, and only slowly spread to the other parts of society. Some of the early Norman nobility arriving in England during the Norman Conquest differentiated themselves by affixing 'de' (of) in front of the name of their village in France. This is what is known as a territorial surname, a consequence of feudal landownership. In medieval times in France, such a name indicated lordship, or ownership, of the village. But some early Norman nobles in England chose to drop the French derivations and call themselves instead after their new English holdings. -- True surnames, in the sense of hereditary appellations, date in England from about the year 1000. Largely they were introduced from Normandy, although there are records of Saxon, surnames prior to the Norman Conquest. By the end of the twelfth century hereditary names had become common in England. But even as late as 1465 they were not universal. During the reign of Edward V (between April and June, 1483) a law was passed to compel certain Irish to adopt surnames as **a method to track and control them more: "They shall take unto them a Surname, either of some Town, or some Colour, as Black or Brown, or some Art or Science, as Smyth or Carpenter, or some Office, as Cooke or Butler." (ramsdale.org/surname.htm) [link]

WIKIPEDIA: THE FAMOUS BAYEUX TAPESTRY - THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY IS AN EMBROIDERED CLOTH (NOT AN ACTUAL TAPESTRY) NEARLY 70 METRES (230 FT) LONG, WHICH DEPICTS THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND CONCERNING WILLIAM, DUKE OF NORMANDY AND HAROLD, EARL OF WESSEX, LATER KING OF ENGLAND, AND CULMINATING IN THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS - THE TAPESTRY CONSISTS OF SOME FIFTY SCENES WITH LATIN TITULI (CAPTIONS), EMBROIDERED ON LINEN WITH COLOURED WOOLLEN YARNS - IT IS LIKELY THAT IT WAS COMMISSIONED BY BISHOP ODO, WILLIAM'S HALF-BROTHER, AND MADE IN ENGLAND IN THE 1070S - IN 1729 THE HANGING WAS REDISCOVERED BY SCHOLARS AT A TIME WHEN IT WAS BEING DISPLAYED ANNUALLY IN BAYEUX CATHEDRAL - THE TAPESTRY IS NOW EXHIBITED AT MUSÉE DE LA TAPISSERIE DE BAYEUX IN BAYEUX, NORMANDY

Events depicted in the tapestry: The tapestry begins with a panel of Edward the Confessor sending Harold to Normandy. Later Norman sources say that the mission was for Harold to pledge loyalty to William but the tapestry does not suggest any specific purpose. By mischance, Harold arrives at the wrong location in France and is taken prisoner by Guy, Count of Ponthieu. After exchanges of messages borne by mounted messengers, Harold is released to William who then invites Harold to come on a campaign against Conan II, Duke of Brittany. On the way, just outside the monastery of Mont St. Michel, the army become mired in quicksand and Harold saves two Norman soldiers. William's army chases Conan from Dol de Bretagne to Rennes, and Conan finally surrenders at Dinan. William gives Harold arms and armour (possibly knighting him) and Harold takes an oath on saintly relics. Although the writing on the tapestry explicitly states an oath is taken there is no clue as to what is being promised. -- Harold leaves for home and meets again with the old king Edward, who appears to be remonstrating with him. Harold is in a somewhat submissive posture and seems to be in disgrace. However, possibly deliberately, the king's intentions are not made clear. The scene then shifts by about one year to when Edward has become mortally ill and the tapestry strongly suggests that, on his deathbed, he bequeaths the crown to Harold. What is probably the coronation ceremony is attended by Stigand, whose position as Archbishop of Canterbury was controversial. Stigand is performing a liturgical function, possibly not the crowning itself. The tapestry labels the celebrant as "Stigant Archieps" (Stigand the archbishop) although by that time he had been excommunicated by the papacy who considered his appointment unlawful. -- A star with a streaming tail then appears: Halley's Comet. Comets, in the beliefs of the Middle Ages, were a bad omen. At this point the lower border of the tapestry shows a fleet of ghost-like ships thus hinting at a future invasion. The news of Harold's coronation is taken to Normandy, whereupon we are told that William is ordering a fleet of ships to be built although it is Bishop Odo shown issuing the instructions. The invaders reach England, and land unopposed. William orders his men to find food, and a meal is cooked. A house is burnt, which may indicate some ravaging of the local countryside on the part of the invaders. News is brought to William. The Normans build a motte and bailey at Hastings to defend their position. Messengers are sent between the two armies, and William makes a speech to prepare his army for battle. -- The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 less than three weeks after the Battle of Stamford Bridge but the tapestry does not provide this context. The English fight on foot behind a shield wall, whilst the Normans are on horses. Two fallen knights are named as Leofwine and Gyrth, Harold's brothers, but both armies are shown fighting bravely. Bishop Odo brandishes his baton or mace and rallies the Norman troops in battle. To reassure his knights that he is still alive and well, William raises his helmet to show his face. The battle becomes very bloody with troops being slaughtered and dismembered corpses littering the ground. King Harold is killed. This scene can be interpreted in different ways, as the name "Harold" appears above a number of knights, making it difficult to identify which character is Harold. The final remaining scene shows unarmoured English troops fleeing the battlefield. The last part of the tapestry is missing but it is thought that story never continued for very much further. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: ROBIN HOOD - ROBIN HOOD WAS A HEROIC OUTLAW IN ENGLISH FOLKLORE - A HIGHLY SKILLED ARCHER AND SWORDSMAN, HE IS KNOWN FOR "ROBBING FROM THE RICH AND GIVING TO THE POOR" ASSISTED BY A GROUP OF FELLOW OUTLAWS KNOWN AS HIS "MERRY MEN" - THE IDEA OF ROBIN HOOD AS A HIGH-MINDED SAXON FIGHTING NORMAN LORDS ALSO ORIGINATES IN THE 19TH CENTURY - THE 20TH CENTURY GRAFTED STILL FURTHER DETAILS ON TO THE ORIGINAL LEGENDS. THE 1938 FILM, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, STARRING ERROL FLYNN AND OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND, PORTRAYED ROBIN AS A HERO ON A NATIONAL SCALE, LEADING THE OPPRESSED SAXONS IN REVOLT AGAINST THEIR NORMAN OVERLORDS WHILE RICHARD THE LIONHEART FOUGHT IN THE CRUSADES; THIS MOVIE ESTABLISHED ITSELF SO DEFINITIVELY THAT MANY STUDIOS RESORTED TO MOVIES ABOUT HIS SON (INVENTED FOR THAT PURPOSE) RATHER THAN COMPETE WITH THE IMAGE OF THIS ONE

There are a number of theories that attempt to identify a historical Robin Hood. A difficulty with any such historical search is that "Robert" was in medieval England a very common given name, and "Robin" (or Robyn), especially in the 13th century, was its very common diminutive. The surname "Hood" (or Hude or Hode etc.), referring ultimately to the head-covering, was also fairly common. Unsurprisingly, therefore, there are a number of people called "Robert Hood" or "Robin Hood" to be found in medieval records. Some of them are on record for having fallen afoul of the law, but this is not necessarily significant to the legend. The early ballads give a number of possible historical clues: notably, the Gest names the reigning king as "Edward", but the ballads cannot be assumed to be reliable in such details. For whatever it may be worth, however, King Edward I took the throne in 1272, and an Edward remained on the throne until the death

of Edward III in 1377. On the other hand, what appears to be the first known example of "Robin Hood" as stock name for an outlaw dates to 1262 in Berkshire, where the surname "Robehod" was applied to a man after he had been outlawed, and apparently because he had been outlawed. This could suggest two main possibilities: either that an early form of the Robin Hood legend was already well established in the mid 13th century; or alternatively that the name "Robin Hood" preceded the outlaw hero that we know; so that the "Robin Hood" of legend was so called because that was seen as an appropriate name for an outlaw. It has long been suggested, notably by John Maddicott, that "Robin Hood" was a stock alias used by thieves. [link]

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA - CRUSADES: THE CRUSADES WERE EXPEDITIONS UNDERTAKEN, IN FULFILMENT OF A SOLEMN VOW, TO DELIVER THE HOLY PLACES FROM MOHAMMEDAN TYRANNY - THE IDEA OF THE CRUSADE CORRESPONDS TO A POLITICAL CONCEPTION WHICH WAS REALIZED IN CHRISTENDOM ONLY FROM THE ELEVENTH TO THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY - IT HAS BEEN CUSTOMARY TO DESCRIBE THE (MAJOR) CRUSADES AS EIGHT IN NUMBER • the first, 1095-1101; • the second, headed by Louis VII, 1145-47; • the third, conducted by Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 1188-92; • the fourth, during which Constantinople was taken, 1204; • the fifth, which included the conquest of Damietta, 1217; • the sixth, in which Frederick II took part (1228-29); also Thibaud de Champagne and Richard of Cornwall (1239); • the seventh, led by St. Louis, 1249-52; • the eighth, also under St. Louis, 1270. [link]

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA - CRUSADES: THE ORIGIN OF THE CRUSADES IS DIRECTLY CONDITION OF WESTERN CHRISTENDOM IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY

TRACEABLE TO THE MORAL AND POLITICAL

At that time Europe was divided into numerous states whose sovereigns were absorbed in tedious and petty territorial disputes while the emperor, in theory the temporal head of Christendom, was wasting his strength in the quarrel over Investitures. The popes alone had maintained a just estimate of Christian unity; they realized to what extent the interests of Europe were threatened by the Byzantine Empire and the Mohammedan tribes, and they alone had a foreign policy whose traditions were formed under Leo IX and Gregory VII. The reform effected in the Church and the papacy through the influence of the monks of Cluny had increased the prestige of the Roman pontiff in the eyes of all Christian nations; hence none but the pope could inaugurate the international movement that culminated in the Crusades. But despite his eminent authority the pope could never have persuaded the Western peoples to arm themselves for the conquest of the Holy Land had not the immemorial relations between Syria and the West favoured his design. Europeans listened to the voice of Urban II because their own inclination and historic traditions impelled them towards the Holy Sepulchre. -- From the end of the fifth century there had been no break in their intercourse with the Orient. In the early Christian period colonies of Syrians had introduced the religious ideas, art, and culture of the East into the large cities of Gaul and Italy. The Western Christians in turn journeyed in large numbers to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, either to visit the Holy Places or to follow the ascetic life among the monks of the Thebaid or Sinai. There is still extant the itinerary of a pilgrimage from Bordeaux to Jerusalem, dated 333; in 385 St. Jerome and St. Paula founded the first Latin monasteries at Bethlehem. Even the Barbarian invasion did not seem to dampen the ardour for pilgrimages to the East. The Itinerary of St. Silvia (Etheria) shows the organization of these expeditions, which were directed by clerics and escorted by armed troops. In the year 600, St. Gregory the Great had a hospice erected in Jerusalem for the accommodation of pilgrims, sent alms to the monks of Mount Sinai ("Vita Gregorii" in "Acta SS.", March 11, 132), and, although the deplorable condition of Eastern Christendom after the Arab invasion rendered this intercourse more difficult, it did not by any means cease. [link]

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA - CRUSADES: AS HARDSHIPS TO VISIT JERUSALEM

EARLY AS THE EIGHTH CENTURY

ANGLO-SAXONS

UNDERWENT THE GREATEST

The journey of St. Willibald, Bishop of Eichstädt, took seven years (722-29) and furnishes an idea of the varied and severe trials to which pilgrims were subject (Itiner. Latina, 1, 241-283). After their conquest of the West, the Carolingians endeavoured to improve the condition of the Latins settled in the East; in 762 Pepin the Short entered into negotiations

with the Caliph of Bagdad. In Rome, on 30 November, 800, the very day on which Leo III invoked the arbitration of Charlemagne, ambassadors from Haroun al-Raschid delivered to the King of the Franks the keys of the Holy Sepulchre, the banner of Jersualem, and some precious relics (Einhard, "Annales", ad an. 800, in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", I, 187); this was an acknowledgment of the Frankish protectorate over the Christians of Jerusalem. That churches and monasteries were built at Charlemagne's expense is attested by a sort of a census of the monasteries of Jerusalem dated 808 ("Commemoratio de Casis Dei" in "Itiner. Hieros.", I, 209). In 870, at the time of the pilgrimage of Bernard the Monk (Itiner. Hierosol., I, 314), these institutions were still very prosperous, and it has been abundantly proved that alms were sent regularly from the West to the Holy Land. In the tenth century, just when the political and social order of Europe was most troubled, knights, bishops, and abbots, actuated by devotion and a taste for adventure, were wont to visit Jerusalem and pray at the Holy Sepulchre without being molested by the Mohammedans. Suddenly, in 1009, Hakem, the Fatimite Caliph of Egypt, in a fit of madness ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre and all the Christian establishments in Jerusalem. For years thereafter Christians were cruelly persecuted. (See the recital of an eyewitness, Iahja of Antioch, in Schlumberger's "EpopĂŠe byzantine", II, 442.) In 1027 the Frankish protectorate was overthrown and replaced by that of the Byzantine emperors, to whose diplomacy was due the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre. The Christian quarter was even surrounded by a wall, and some Amalfi merchants, vassals of the Greek emperors, built hospices in Jerusalem for pilgrims, e.g. the Hospital of St. John, cradle of the Order of Hospitallers. -- Instead of diminishing, the enthusiasm of Western Christians for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem seemed rather to increase during the eleventh century. Not only princes, bishops, and knights, but even men and women of the humbler classes undertook the holy journey (Radulphus Glaber, IV, vi). Whole armies of pilgrims traversed Europe, and in the valley of the Danube hospices were established where they could replenish their provisions. In 1026 Richard, Abbot of Saint-Vannes, led 700 pilgrims into Palestine at the expense of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. In 1065 over 12,000 Germans who had crossed Europe under the command of GĂźnther, Bishop of Bamberg, while on their way through Palestine had to seek shelter in a ruined fortress, where they defended themselves against a troop of Bedouins (Lambert of Hersfeld, in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", V, 168). Thus it is evident that at the close of the eleventh century the route to Palestine was familiar enough to Western Christians who looked upon the Holy Sepulchre as the most venerable of relics and were ready to brave any peril in order to visit it. The memory of Charlemagne's protectorate still lived, and a trace of it is to be found in the medieval legend of this emperor's journey to Palestine (Gaston Paris in "Romania", 1880, p. 23). -- The rise of the Seljukian Turks, however, compromised the safety of pilgrims and even threatened the independence of the Byzantine Empire and of all Christendom. [link]

THE REAL HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES - THE CRUSADES ARE QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD EVENT IN EUROPEAN HISTORY - MOST OF WHAT PASSES FOR PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT IT IS EITHER MISLEADING OR JUST PLAIN WRONG -- WHETHER WE ADMIRE THE CRUSADERS OR NOT, IT IS A FACT THAT THE WORLD WE KNOW TODAY WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THEIR EFFORTS - THE ANCIENT FAITH OF CHRISTIANITY, WITH ITS RESPECT FOR WOMEN AND ANTIPATHY TOWARD SLAVERY, NOT ONLY SURVIVED BUT FLOURISHED WITHOUT THE CRUSADES, IT MIGHT WELL HAVE FOLLOWED ZOROASTRIANISM, ANOTHER OF ISLAM'S RIVALS, INTO EXTINCTION When we think about the Middle Ages, it is easy to view Europe in light of what it became rather than what it was. The colossus of the medieval world was Islam, not Christendom. The Crusades are interesting largely because they were an attempt to counter that trend. But in five centuries of crusading, it was only the First Crusade that significantly rolled back the military progress of Islam. It was downhill from there. When the Crusader County of Edessa fell to the Turks and Kurds in 1144, there was an enormous groundswell of support for a new Crusade in Europe. It was led by two kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, and preached by St. Bernard himself. It failed miserably. Most of the Crusaders were killed along the way. Those who made it to Jerusalem only made things worse by attacking Muslim Damascus, which formerly had been a strong ally of the Christians. In the wake of such a disaster, Christians across Europe were forced to accept not only the continued growth of Muslim power but the certainty that God was punishing the West for its sins. Lay piety movements sprouted up throughout Europe, all rooted in the desire to purify Christian society so that it might be worthy of victory in the East. ... Yet, even while these close shaves were taking place, something else was brewing in Europe-something unprecedented in human history. The Renaissance, born from a strange mixture of Roman values, medieval piety, and a unique respect for commerce and entrepreneurialism, had led to other movements like humanism, the Scientific Revolution, and the Age of Exploration. Even while fighting for its life, Europe was preparing to expand on a global scale. The Protestant Reformation, which rejected the papacy and the

doctrine of indulgence, made Crusades unthinkable for many Europeans, thus leaving the fighting to the Catholics. In 1571, a Holy League, which was itself a Crusade, defeated the Ottoman fleet at Lepanto. Yet military victories like that remained rare. The Muslim threat was neutralized economically. As Europe grew in wealth and power, the once awesome and sophisticated Turks began to seem backward and pathetic-no longer worth a Crusade. The "Sick Man of Europe" (the Ottoman Empire) limped along until the 20th century [WWI], when he finally expired, leaving behind the present mess of the modern Middle East. [link]

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (MODERN FREEMASONRY) HISTORY - THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR HISTORY STARTED WITH THE CRUSADES OF THE MIDDLE AGES, A WAR BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MOSLEMS CENTERED AROUND THE CITY OF JERUSALEM - IN 1065 THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR WERE FORMED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PILGRIMS OF THE MIDDLE AGES WHO FLOCKED TOWARDS JERUSALEM - THEIR ORIGINAL NAME WAS THE POOR FELLOW-SOLDIERS OF CHRIST - THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR HISTORY MOVED ON AND IN 1128 THE ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL OF TROYES GAVE THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR OFFICIAL RECOGNITION AND GRANTED THEIR RULE OF THE ORDER IN 1272 KING HENRY III OF ENGLAND DIED AND THE ENGLISH COUNCIL MET AT THE TEMPLE IN LONDON AND DRAFT A LETTER TO PRINCE EDWARD INFORMING HIM OF HIS ACCESSION TO THE THRONE - [LATER, AFTER AN EXTENDED TIME OF ABUSING THEIR POSITIONS OF POWER AND AUTHORITY] THEY WERE CHARGED WITH HERESY - THOUSANDS OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR WERE ARRESTED ACROSS EUROPE - TEMPLAR SHIPS LEFT LA ROCHELLE, HEADING TO SCOTLAND [ROSSLYN CHAPEL] - THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR LEADER JACQUES DE MOLAY AND GEOFFROI DE CHARNEY WERE BURNT AT THE STAKE ON MARCH 18TH 1314 In A.D. 637 Jerusalem was surrendered to the Saracens. The caliph of the Saracens called Omar gave guarantees for the safety of the Christian population and because of this pledge the number of pilgrimages to Jerusalem still continued to increase. In 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the Turks, who came from the kingdom of ancient Persia. 3000 Christians were massacred and the remaining Christians were treated so badly that throughout Christendom people were stirred to fight in crusades. The Knights Templar were formed to to ensure the safety of the pilgrims of the Middle Ages who flocked towards Jerusalem. Their original name was the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ. ... the Temple of Soloman At first the Knights Templar had no church and no particular place of to live. In 1118, nineteen years after the freeing of Jerusalem, King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, granted the Knights Templar a place to live within the sacred enclosure of the Temple on Mount Moriah. This place was amid the holy structures which were exhibited by the priests of Jerusalem as the Temple of Solomon. The "Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ" became colloquially known as "the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon" and subsequently the Knights Templars. ... They were received with great honour by Pope Honorius, who approved of the objects and designs of the holy fraternity. The Knights Templar History moved on and in 1128 the ecclesiastical Council of Troyes gave the Knights Templar official recognition and granted their rule of the order. The Council of Troyes was instigated by Bernard of Clairvaux and the Knights Templars were represented by Hugues de Payen and Andre de Montbard. The Papal approval at the Council of Troyes resulted in many new recruits joining the order - the Rules of the Knights Templar Order: In 1130, Bernard of Clairvaux drew up the rules for the new Knights Templar order. Bernard set up the order with two main classes of knighthood, the knights and sergeants or serving brethren. Sergeants or serving brothers wore a black or brown mantle to show their lower status, whilst the Knights wore a red cross granted by Pope Eugenius III. Married men who joined the order could only join as sergeants, their property coming into the possession of the Order rather than to their wives upon their death. - A Papal Bull was issued in 1139 by Pope Innocent II, a protege of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, stating that the Knights Templar should owe allegiance to no one other than the Pope himself. - The Knights Templar History saw 1146 as the year when the Knights Templar order adopted the splayed red cross as their emblem. The Battle cry of the Templars was "Beau-Séant!" which was the motto they bore on their banner. - The Knights Templar order supported the second crusade in 1148. The decision was made to attack Damascus and armies were assembled in Acre. ... The army of Jerusalem and Guy of Lusignan, the King of Jerusalem, was beaten by Turkish forces in 1184. All Knights Templar and Hospitallers who survived the battle were executed afterwards. This event prompted the Third Crusade headed by Richard the Lionheart who was supported by the Knights Templar order. The city of Acre is taken by the Crusaders in 1191. Richard the Lionheart dies in 1199 and is succeeded by his brother John. - The Knights Templar History goes on and in 1263 problems in England lead to the Baron's revolt led by Simon de Montford opposing Edward I. On the pretence of removing his mother's jewels, Edward I entered the Knights Templar Temple in London and ransacked the treasury, taking the proceeds to the Tower of London. In 1271 Edward leads another crusade and is attacked by an assassin with a poisoned knife. He survives the attack and his life was saved with drugs sent by the master of the Knights Templar, Thomas Bérard. In 1272 King Henry III of

England died and the English Council met at the Temple in London and draft a letter to Prince Edward informing him of his accession to the throne, illustrating the political importance of the Knights Templar in England. - King Philip IV of France (1268-1314) who was already heavily in debt to the Knights Templar requested a further loan. The Knights Templar refused his request. King Philip IV subsequently ordered the arrest of all Knight Templars in France. The order to arrest the Templars was sent out several weeks before the date possibly giving the Templars time to hide their wealth. On 11 October, two days before the arrest of many Templar Knights, it is recorded in French Masonic history that Templar ships left La Rochelle, heading to Scotland. On Friday the 13th, in October 1307, Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights were arrested in Paris. They were charged with heresy and accused of homosexual acts. Admissions of guilt were extracted due to the use of torture. Pope Clement V initiated enquiries into the order and thousands of Knights Templar were arrested across Europe. The Medieval order of the Knights Templar become extinct in 1312 when the order is dissolved by the Council of Vienne. Anyone found sheltering a Templar was under threat of excommunication. Much of the Templar property outside of France was transferred by the Pope to the Knights Hospitallers, and many surviving Templars were also accepted into the Hospitallers. - The Death of the last Medieval Master: The Knights Templar leader Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney were burnt at the stake on March 18th 1314 for rescinding their former admission of heresy under torture. Jacques de Molay cursed the Pope and King Philip and prophesied that they would soon die. Pope Clement V was dead within 40 days and King Philip died that year. Jacques de Molay was the last Master of the Knights Templar. [link]

ROSSLYN CHAPEL - THE 12 GREAT MYSTERIES - WHAT'S THE MEANING OF CARVINGS OF AMERICAN PLANTS THAT PREDATE COLUMBUS' 1492 A.D. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA? - EXOTIC PLANTS FEATURED IN THE CHAPEL'S CARVING INCLUDE MAIZE (CORN) AND ALOE VERA ONE THEORY IS THAT SOME OF THE MASONS WHO CARVED THE CHAPEL WERE DESCENDED FROM VIKINGS WHO MAY HAVE LANDED IN AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS BUT ANOTHER SAYS SIMPLY THAT THEY WERE ADDED LATER -- CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHAPEL BEGAN ON 20 SEPTEMBER 1456, ALTHOUGH IT IS OFTEN BEEN RECORDED AS 1446 - THE CONFUSION OVER THE BUILDING DATE COMES FROM THE CHAPEL'S RECEIVING ITS FOUNDING CHARTER TO BUILD A COLLEGIATE CHAPEL IN 1446 FROM ROME (WIKIPEDIA.COM) Rosslyn Chapel, just outside Edinburgh, has been a holy place for centuries. Its name means either "point of a waterfall" or "ancient knowledge down the line" depending on who you ask. -- What is the chapel's link with Freemasons? Apparently Sir William St Clair claimed patronage of the masons - a link passed and strengthened through the generations and evidenced in two seventeenth century charters. In 1736, Sir William Sinclair became the first Scottish Grand Master at the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh. By the 1690s, the bond between the Sinclairs and the masons was commented in a celebrated letter. ... Who is the leering green man engraved more than 120 times in the chapel? Carvings of a bearded green man appear in many religious settings in much of the world, but few have as many as Rosslyn. There are many theories about who the green man was. Some say it was either John the Baptist or Hercules. He is depicted as a Robin Hood-type figure, sometimes alternatively named Jack-in-the-green or Jack-in-the-Tree. He also may have been Celtic fertility god or a tree spirit. ... Who is the man with the gash on his head? Rumour suggests that he might be the smited apprentice of pillar fame. However, he could also be Freemasonry's legendary figure, Hiram Abiff, the martyred architect of King Solomon's Temple. Academic symbologists say it could just as easily express a classic archetype of sacrifice and rebirth. ... What do the 213 mysterious cube carvings mean? The mystical symbols carved into the stone ceiling of the chapel have confused historians for generations. But recently music scientists who believe they are part of a musical notation system are making efforts to decode the signs. The series of lines and dots are thought to represent shapes created by sand on a musical instrument during the vibrations caused by sound. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: THOMAS AQUINAS (1225 - 7 MARCH 1274), ALSO THOMAS OF AQUIN OR AQUINO, WAS AN ITALIAN DOMINICAN PRIEST OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND AN IMMENSELY INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN IN THE TRADITION OF SCHOLASTICISM, KNOWN AS DOCTOR ANGELICUS, DOCTOR COMMUNIS, OR DOCTOR UNIVERSALIS - "AQUINAS" IS NOT A SURNAME (HEREDITARY SURNAMES WERE NOT THEN IN COMMON USE IN EUROPE), BUT IS A LATIN ADJECTIVE MEANING "OF AQUINO", HIS PLACE OF BIRTH - HE WAS THE FOREMOST CLASSICAL PROPONENT OF NATURAL THEOLOGY, AND THE FATHER OF THOMISM - HIS INFLUENCE ON WESTERN THOUGHT IS CONSIDERABLE, AND MUCH OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY WAS CONCEIVED AS A REACTION AGAINST, OR AS AN AGREEMENT WITH HIS IDEAS, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF ETHICS, NATURAL LAW, METAPHYSICS, AND POLITICAL THEORY

Thomas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The works for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. As one of the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is considered the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "This (Dominican) Order ... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools." [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE - THE BIBLE IS A COMPILATION OF MANY SHORTER BOOKS WRITTEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND LATER ASSEMBLED INTO THE BIBLICAL CANON - BY THE TIME OF THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA IN 325 AD, THE NEW TESTAMENT HAD BEEN DIVIDED INTO PARAGRAPHS, ALTHOUGH THE DIVISIONS WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE MODERN BIBLE - ALL BUT THE SHORTEST OF THESE BOOKS HAVE BEEN DIVIDED INTO CHAPTERS, GENERALLY A PAGE OR SO IN LENGTH, SINCE THE EARLY 13TH CENTURY - SINCE THE MID-16TH CENTURY, EACH CHAPTER HAS BEEN FURTHER DIVIDED INTO "VERSES" OF A FEW SHORT LINES OR SENTENCES - AS THE CHAPTER AND VERSE DIVISIONS WERE NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL TEXTS, THEY FORM PART OF THE BIBLE'S PARATEXT

Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro is often given credit for first dividing the Latin Vulgate into chapters in the real sense, but it is the arrangement of his contemporary and fellow cardinal Stephen Langton who in 1205 A.D. created the chapter divisions which are used today. They were then inserted into Greek manuscripts of the New Testament in the 15th century. Robert Estienne (Robert Stephanus) was the first to number the verses within each chapter, his verse numbers entering printed editions in 1551 (New Testament) and 1571 (Old Testament - Hebrew Bible). The division of the Bible into chapters and verses has often elicited severe criticism from traditionalists and modern scholars alike. Critics charge that the text is often divided in an incoherent way, or at inappropriate rhetorical points [i.e. Isaiah chapter 53], and that it encourages citing passages out of context. Nevertheless, the chapter and verse numbers have become indispensable as technical references for Bible study. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JOHANNES GUTENBERG (1398 - FEBRUARY 3, 1468) WAS A BLACKSMITH, GOLDSMITH, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER WHO PROBABLY INTRODUCED MOVABLE TYPE TO EUROPE, AND IS LIKELY TO HAVE DEVELOPED THE EARLIEST EUROPEAN PRINTING PRESS - HE IS SOMETIMES SAID TO HAVE STARTED THE PRINTING REVOLUTION, REGARDED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF THE MODERN PERIOD - IT PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION, THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION AND LAID THE MATERIAL BASIS FOR THE MODERN KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY AND THE SPREAD OF LEARNING TO THE MASSES - MARTIN LUTHER'S 95 THESES WERE PRINTED AND CIRCULATED WIDELY Gutenberg's printing technology spread rapidly throughout Europe, and may well have been refined and perfected by others. The process quickly replaced most of the manuscript methods of book-production throughout the world. Woodblock printing and manuscript rubrication continued to be used to supplement Gutenberg's printing process. His first major work using his printing methods was the Gutenberg Bible. -- Legacy: Although Gutenberg was financially unsuccessful in his lifetime, the printing technologies spread quickly, and news and books began to travel across Europe much faster than before. It fed the growing Renaissance, and since it greatly facilitated scientific publishing, it was a major catalyst for the later scientific revolution. The capital of printing in Europe shifted to Venice, where visionary printers like Aldus Manutius ensured widespread availability of the major Greek and Latin texts. The claims of an Italian origin for movable type have also focused on this rapid rise of Italy in movable-type printing. This may perhaps be explained by the prior eminence of Italy in the paper and printing trade. Additionally, Italy's economy was growing rapidly at the time, facilitating the spread of literacy. Christopher Columbus had a geographical book (printed by movable types) bought by his father. That book is in a Spanish museum. Finally, the city of Mainz was sacked in 1462, driving many (including a number of printers and punch cutters) into exile. -- **Printing was also a factor in the Reformation. Martin Luther's 95 Theses were printed and circulated widely; subsequently he issued broadsheets outlining his anti-indulgences position (certificates of indulgences were one of the first items Gutenberg had printed). The broadsheet contributed to development of the newspaper. -- In the decades after Gutenberg, many conservative patrons looked down on cheap printed books; books produced by hand were considered more desirable. Today there is a large antique market for the earliest printed objects. Books printed prior to 1500 are known as incunabula. There are many statues of Gutenberg in Germany, including the famous one by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1837) in Mainz, home to the

eponymous Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum on the history of early printing. The later publishes the Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, the leading periodical in the field. Project Gutenberg [www.gutenberg.org], the oldest digital library [of FREE eBooks], commemorates Gutenberg's name. In 1961 the Canadian philosopher and scholar Marshall McLuhan entitled his pioneering study in the fields of print culture, cultural studies, and media ecology, The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man. Gutenberg remains a towering figure in the popular image. In 1999, the A&E Network ranked Gutenberg the No. 1 most influential person of the second millennium on their "Biographies of the Millennium" countdown. In 1997, Time-Life magazine picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium. In space, he is commemorated in the name of the asteroid 777 Gutemberga. A French opera on his life, by Philippe Manoury, was staged in Strasbourg in September 2011. [link]

JOHANNES GUTENBERG - HIS EARLY TRAINING WAS IN GOLDSMITHING - GUTENBERG HAD THE IDEA OF UTILIZING TECHNIQUES OF METALWORKING, SUCH AS CASTING, PUNCH-CUTTING, AND STAMPING, FOR THE MASS PRODUCTION OF BOOKS. EUROPEAN BOOKS AT THIS TIME WERE HAND WRITTEN BY SCRIBES IN A GOTHIC SCRIPT WITH MANY FLOURISHES AND LIGATURES - THE BIBLE OF 42 LINES (PER PAGE) [A SINGLE COMPLETE COPY OF THE GUTENBERG BIBLE HAS 1,272 PAGES], THE OLDEST SURVIVING PRINTED BOOK IN THE WESTERN WORLD

Johannes Gutenberg was born into a noble family of the city of Mainz, Germany. His early training was in goldsmithing. In 1428, he moved to Strasbourg for political reasons, where he remained for over 20 years. It was in Strasbourg that he probably made his first experiments with moveable type. -- Gutenberg had the idea of utilizing techniques of metalworking, such as casting, punch-cutting, and stamping, for the mass production of books. European books at this time were hand written by scribes in a gothic script with many flourishes and ligatures (interconnected letter pairs). To reproduce this "look" Gutenberg fashioned a font of over 300 characters, far larger than the fonts of today. To make this possible, he invented the variable-width mold, and perfected the blend of lead, antimony, and tin used by type foundries up to the present century. -- Many years of Gutenberg's life are lost to history, but by 1450 he was back in Mainz at work on a printing press. Between 1450 and 1455, while preparing to produce a large folio Latin Bible, Gutenberg is thought to have printed a number of smaller books, a calendar, and a papal Letter of Indulgence. The Bible of 42 lines, the oldest surviving printed book in the western world, was completed by August 15, 1456, and while it is now credited to Gutenberg, he appears to have been relieved of his supervisory position, and his press, before the time of its publication. In fact, no printed material was ever credited to Gutenberg during his lifetime. -- Gutenberg is also believed to have worked on the Catholicon of Johannes de Janua, an enormous encyclopedia: 748 pages in two columns of 66 lines each. In later years, he received a position as a courtier to the archbishop of Mainz, and was buried in the town's Franciscan church. [link]

TIMELINE OF WORLD HISTORY - THE MIDDLE AGES (476-1453 A.D.) 460 A.D. death of Saint Patrick (d. 461 or 493), Christian missionary and patron saint of Ireland -- 476 A.D. September 4, Fall of the Roman Empire, Emperor Romulus Augustulus deposed by Odoacer/Odovacar, leader of the Germanic Scirii and Heruli (tribes which at that time were foederati or allies of the Romans) -- 500 A.D. King Arthur, semi-legendary Celtic leader resisting Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain [his existence is not historically attested] -- Clovis I, king of the Franks (r. 482-511), queen Clotilda (d. 548), Merovingian dynasty; Clovis became a Christian under the influence of Clotilda (also believing that a victory against the Alemanni was brought about by his invocation of Jesus) -- 520 A.D. Boethius (d. 524), philosopher and author of the Consolation of Philosophy, executed by Theodoric, Ostrogoth ruler of Rome (r. 493-526) -- 550 A.D. Saint Benedict (d. 550), "father of Western monasticism" and author of the Rule of Saint Benedict --- 1450 A.D. invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg -- 1453 capture of Constantinople by Ottoman Turks, flight of Greek Byzantine culture into western Europe -- end of the Hundred Years' War between France and England -- END OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND BEGINNING OF THE RENAISSANCE [link]

INTRODUCTION: ALREADY BY THE EARLY 400'S A.D. CHRISTIANS HAD BECOME SO COMFORTABLE IN THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH SECULAR ROME THAT JEROME BELIEVED THAT THE RESTRAINING FORCE OF "THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY" (SIN) WRITTEN ABOUT BY PAUL THE

APOSTLE IN 2 THESSALONIANS 2:7 WAS IN ACTION VIA ROME - TO JEROME, THE POWER RESTRAINING THIS MYSTERY OF INIQUITY WAS THE ROMAN EMPIRE, BUT AS ROME FELL THIS RESTRAINING FORCE WAS REMOVED - {NOTE: COMMON CHRISTIANITY HAS ALMOST UNIVERSALLY CONSIDERED THE "RESTRAINER" (2 THESSALONIANS 2:7) FROM SIN TO BE THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOT THE WORKS OF MAN ALONE OR OF HUMAN AGENCIES.} The Christian Church now well established and also well mingled as Roman Church and State would continue on unabated for the next one thousand years. With a status quo existing between Church and State neither institution sought change of any kind and as a result human history would enter into one of the most stagnant eras of mankind in bringing in and the establishing of the Middle Ages. An era so disastrous that it would be called many names among them the Medieval and Dark Ages. [link]

THE SACK OF ROME 410 A.D. - "MY VOICE STICKS IN MY THROAT; AND, AS I DICTATE, SOBS CHOKE MY UTTERANCE. THE CITY WHICH HAD TAKEN THE WHOLE WORLD WAS ITSELF TAKEN." JEROME, (412 A.D.) LETTER CXXVII TO PRINCIPIA -- EMPEROR THEODOSIUS I HAD DECREED A BAN ON THE NATIVE PAGANISM, FURTHER ENFORCING CHRISTIANITY AS THE OFFICIAL STATE RELIGION - JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH IN AD 395, THEODOSIUS I DIVIDED THE [ROMAN] EMPIRE (FOR THE THIRD AND LAST TIME) INTO EAST [BYZANTIUM - STILL CENTERED IN THE CAPITAL OF CONSTANTINOPLE] AND WEST [ROME], TO BE RULED BY HIS TWO SONS - HONORIUS WAS ONLY TEN YEARS OLD AT THE TIME, AND THE WEST WAS GOVERNED IN HIS STEAD BY FLAVIUS STILICHO, HIS GUARDIAN AND COMMANDER (MAGISTER MILITUM) OF THE ARMY - THE TWO HALVES OF THE EMPIRE WERE IN CONTENTION, A SITUATION EXPLOITED BY ALARIC, WHOSE VISIGOTHS HAD BEEN USED AS ALLIES (FOEDERATI) BUT NOW, WITH THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS I, RENOUNCED THEIR ALLEGIANCE AND ROSE IN REVOLT

Alaric [the older son] died that same year 410 A.D. Two years later, his kinsman Athaulf led the Visigoths into southwestern Gaul, where, in AD 418, Honorius was obliged to recognize their kingdom at Toulouse. The Vandals and other Germanic tribes who had crossed over the frozen Rhine on the last day of AD 406 now were in Spain under their leader, Genseric. Honorius permitted them to stay, as well, although there was little he could have done otherwise. In AD 423 Honorius died and eventually was succeeded by Valentinian III, who was still a child at the time. The Vandals crossed into North Africa, defeated the Romans there, and, in AD 439, conquered Carthage, which Genseric made his capital. In AD 451, Attila and the Huns, who already had become so powerful that they were paid an annual tribute by Rome, invaded Gaul, in alliance with the Vandals. They were defeated at the Battle of Châlons by the Visigoths under the command of Flavius Aetius, magister militum of the west. In AD 455, the death of Valentinian III served as a pretext for the Vandals to enter an undefended Rome, which they plundered for two weeks, carrying away the treasures of the Temple of Peace and the gilded bronze tiles from the Temple of Jupiter. Temple of Vespasian. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: POPE LEO I (391 - 10 NOVEMBER 461 A.D.) WAS POPE FROM 29 SEPTEMBER 440 A.D. TO HIS DEATH - HE WAS AN ITALIAN ARISTOCRAT, AND IS THE FIRST POPE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE GREAT" - HE IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR HAVING MET ATTILA THE HUN IN 452 A.D. AND PERSUADING HIM TO TURN BACK FROM HIS INVASION OF ITALY - HE IS ALSO A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - LEO WAS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO THE CENTRALISATION OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY WITHIN THE CHURCH AND IN REAFFIRMING PAPAL AUTHORITY - AN UNCOMPROMISING FOE OF HERESY - {NOTE: WITH POPE LEO I THE CHURCH AND STATE OF ROME HAD BECOME SO INTERMIXED THAT IT WAS POPE LEO ASSUMING THE DUAL ROLES OF GENERAL AND POLITICIAN THAT WENT FORWARD TO MEET WITH THE INVADING FORCES OF ATTILA THE HUN AND IN PERSUADING HIM NOT TO ATTACK ROME POPE LEO I SAVED ROME FROM BEING SACKED AGAIN AND POSSIBLY CONQUERED.} Papal authority: Decree of Valentinian - Leo was a significant contributor to the centralisation of spiritual authority within the Church and in reaffirming papal authority. While the bishop of Rome had always been viewed as the chief patriarch in the Western church, much of the pope's authority was delegated to local diocesan bishops. Not without serious opposition did he succeed in reasserting his authority in Gaul. Patroclus of Arles (d. 426) had received from Pope Zosimus the recognition of a subordinate primacy over the Gallican Church which was strongly asserted by his successor Hilary of Arles. An appeal from Chelidonius of Besançon gave Leo the opportunity to reassert the pope's authority over Hilary, who defended himself stoutly at Rome, refusing to recognize Leo's judicial status. Feeling that the primatial rights

of the bishop of Rome were threatened, Leo appealed to the civil power for support, and obtained from Valentinian III the famous decree of June 6, 445, which recognized the primacy of the bishop of Rome based on the merits of Peter, the dignity of the city, and the Nicene Creed (in their interpolated form); ordained that any opposition to his rulings, which were to have the force of ecclesiastical law, should be treated as treason; and provided for the forcible extradition by provincial governors of anyone who refused to answer a summons to Rome. Faced with this decree, Hilary submitted to the pope, although under his successor, Ravennius, Leo divided the metropolitan rights between Arles and Vienne (450). -- Dispute with Dioscorus of Alexandria: In 445, Leo disputed with Pope Dioscorus, St. Cyril's successor as Pope of Alexandria, insisting that the ecclesiastical practice of his see should follow that of Rome on the basis that Mark the Evangelist, the disciple of Saint Peter and founder of the Alexandrian Church, could have had no other tradition than that of the prince of the apostles. This, of course, was not the position of the Copts, who saw the ancient patriarchates as equals. -- Council of Chalcedon: A favorable occasion for extending the authority of Rome in the East was offered in the renewal of the Christological controversy by Eutyches, who in the beginning of the conflict appealed to Leo and took refuge with him on his condemnation by Flavian. But on receiving full information from Flavian, Leo took his side decisively. In 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, after Leo's Tome on the two natures of Christ was read out, the bishops participating in the Council cried out: "This is the faith of the fathers ... Peter has spoken thus through Leo ..." -- Battling heresies: An uncompromising foe of heresy, Leo found that in the diocese of Aquileia, Pelagians were received into church communion without formal repudiation of their errors; he wrote to rebuke them, making accusations of culpable negligence, and required a solemn abjuration before a synod. Manicheans fleeing before the Vandals had come to Rome in 439 and secretly organized there; Leo learned of this around 443, and proceeded against them by holding a public debate with their representatives, burning their books, and warning the Roman Christians against them. Nor was his attitude less decided against the Priscillianists. Bishop Turrubius of Astorga, astonished at the spread of this sect in Spain, had addressed the other Spanish bishops on the subject, sending a copy of his letter to Leo, who took the opportunity to exercise Roman policy in Spain. He wrote an extended treatise (21 July 447), against the sect, examining its false teaching in detail, and calling for a Spanish general counsel to investigate whether it had any adherents in the episcopate, but this was prevented by the political circumstances of Spain. -- On Dignity and Equality: In his Nativitate Domini, in the Christmas Day sermon "Christian, Remember your Dignity" Leo appears to articulate a fundamental and inclusive human dignity and equality: The saint, the sinner, and the unbeliever are all equal as sinners, and none is excluded in the call to "happiness": "Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life." [link]

MEDIEVAL SOURCEBOOK: [POPE] LEO I AND [KING] ATTILA [OF THE HUNS] - THE PROSPER ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS RECORDED IN 455 A.D. Prosper: Account 1 - Prosper, a Christian chronicler, writing about 455, gives the following simple account of Leo's famous interview with the king of the Huns three years before: Now Attila, having once more collected his forces which had been scattered in Gaul [at the battle of Chalons], took his way through Pannonia into Italy. . . To the emperor and the senate and Roman people none of all the proposed plans to oppose the enemy seemed so practicable as to send legates to the most savage king and beg for peace. Our most blessed Pope Leo -trusting in the help of God, who never fails the righteous in their trials - undertook the task, accompanied by Avienus, a man of consular rank, and the prefect Trygetius. And the outcome was what his faith had foreseen; for when the king had received the embassy, he was so impressed by the presence of the high priest that he ordered his army to give up warfare and, after he had promised peace, he departed beyond the Danube. -- Anonymous Later Account 1 [somewhat condensed] In a life of Leo the Great by some later author, whose name is unknown to us, the episode as told by Prosper has been developed into a miraculous tale calculated to meet the taste of the time Attila, the leader of the Huns, who was called the scourge of God, came into Italy, inflamed with fury, after he had laid waste with most savage frenzy Thrace and Illyricum, Macedonia and Moesia, Achaia and Greece, Pannonia and Germany. He was utterly cruel in inflicting torture, greedy in plundering, insolent in abuse. . . . He destroyed Aquileia from the foundations and razed to the ground those regal cities, Pavia and Milan; he laid waste many other towns, and was rushing down upon Rome. [This is, of course, an

exaggeration. Attila does not seem to have destroyed the buildings, even in Milan and Pavia.] Then Leo had compassion on the calamity of Italy and Rome, and with one of the consuls and a lar,e part of the Roman senate he went to meet Attila. The old man of harmless simplicity, venerable in his gray hair and his majestic garb, ready of his own will to give himself entirely for the defense of his flock, went forth to meet the tyrant who was destroying all things. He met Attila, it is said, in the neighborhood of the river Mincio, and he spoke to the grim monarch, saying "The senate and the people of Rome, once conquerors of the world, now indeed vanquished, come before thee as suppliants. We pray for mercy and deliverance. O Attila, thou king of kings, thou couldst have no greater glory than to see suppliant at thy feet this people before whom once all peoples and kings lay suppliant. Thou hast subdued, O Attila, the whole circle of the lands which it was granted to the Romans, victors over all peoples, to conquer. Now we pray that thou, who hast conquered others, shouldst conquer thyself The people have felt thy scourge; now as suppliants they would feel thy mercy." As Leo said these things Attila stood looking upon his venerable garb and aspect, silent, as if thinking deeply. And lo, suddenly there were seen the apostles Peter and Paul, clad like bishops, standing by Leo, the one on the right hand, the other on the left. They held swords stretched out over his head, and threatened Attila with death if he did not obey the pope's command. Wherefore Attila was appeased he who had raged as one mad. He by Leo's intercession, straightway promised a lasting peace and withdrew beyond the Danube. From the accounts translated in J. H. Robinson, Readings in European History, (Boston: Ginn, 1905), pp. 49-51. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: GNOSTICISM EXPOSED} RISE OF MODERN ISLAM - THE MYTH OF MECCA (AS THE EARLY CENTER OF ISLAM) - LET'S FACE IT . . . ISLAM BEGAN IN THE YEAR 666 AD. In her book, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Dr. Crone demonstrates that Islam did not originate in Mecca. Mecca is located in the Hejaz region of what is today Saudi Arabia. It is portrayed by traditional belief as a wealthy trading center, full of merchants trading goods by caravan from Yemen in the south and Syria and the Byzantium empire in the north. Crone shows that Mecca was in fact way off the incense route from Yemen to Syria, which bypassed where Mecca is today by over 100 miles. Further, there is no mention whatever of Mecca in contemporary non-Moslem sources: ... While there may well have been a historical individual named Ubu'l Kassim who was later entitled Mohammed ("The Praised One"), who raised followers and participated in the initiation of the Arab Conquest, he likely came from northeast Arabia in what is now southern Jordan. The deity that Ubu'l Kassim chose to follow was Allah, a contraction of al-Lah, the ancient Arab God of the Moon [note: which is why the symbol of Islam to this day is the crescent moon]. Ubu'l Kassim died, however, some years before the Arab Conquest was fully underway (the traditional date is 632). AlRawandi summarizes what then happened: [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: GNOSTICISM EXPOSED} MUSLIM - BRITISH FINANCING OF "DA VINCI CODE" MOVIE QUESTIONED Mohammed Yusef, the founder of Invicta Capital in Great Britain, is using a government tax-incentive program to fund the movie version of the anti-Christian "Da Vinci Code" novel for Sony Pictures. According to the Times of London, the London-based Invicta is taking advantage of British tax rules to provide Sony with 100 million pounds of the 114 million pounds that the movie reportedly cost. The capital allows Sony to dramatically reduce its cost of borrowing money to produce and market the movie. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: GNOSTICISM EXPOSED} MOVIE: RON HOWARD PREPARES TO UNLEASH ANGELS & DEMONS (2009) - THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE DA VINCI CODE [ANGELS & DEMONS IS PART 1 - THE DA VINCI CODE WAS ACTUALLY PART 2] - TOM HANKS REPRISING HIS ROLE AS ROBERT LANGDON FROM THE DA VINCI CODE - VARIETY'S REPORT GOES ON TO NOTE THAT, ALTHOUGH THE ANGELS & DEMONS NOVEL WAS WRITTEN BEFORE AND TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE DA VINCI CODE, THE FILM WILL BE A SEQUEL {THE NEXT RON HOWARD MOVIE "ANGELS & DEMONS" IS A CONTINUING PART OF THE AGENDA TO RISE THE EVIL FALLEN NEPHILIM [THE OCCULT CONSIDERS NEPHILIM TO BE POWERFUL, WISE, ILLUMINATED (ENLIGHTENED) AND CALL THEMSELVES THE FOLLOWERS "ILLUMINATI"] AND SUBMIT MANKIND TO THESE FALLEN EVIL SPIRITS. NOTE: BIBLICALLY FALLEN ANGELS AND DEMONS ARE PROBABLY NOT THE SAME THING THOUGH PEOPLE OFTEN REFER TO THEM AS BEING THE SAME THING. FALLEN ANGELS ARE ANGELS [THAT GENERALLY DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POSSESS (INDWELL) PEOPLE] WHILE DEMONS [DESIRE TO POSSESS AND INDWELL PEOPLE] MAY BE

OFFSPRING OF THE NEPHILIM (FALLEN ANGELS) & HUMAN INTERMIXING THAT OCCURRED IN GENESES CHAPTER 6 AND THAT WERE ALL KILLED IN THE FLOOD [THE REASON FOR THE FLOOD] OF NOAH'S TIME. SO SAYING ANGELS AND DEMONS DOES NOT MAKE ONE GROUP GOOD AND THE OTHER BAD BOTH GROUPS (ANGELS AND DEMONS) WOULD BE BAD IF THE

ANGELS ARE

FALLEN AND IN REBELLION

AGAINST GOD.}

One of the many high-profile productions being affected by the looming writers' strike is Angels & Demons, the followup to The Da Vinci Code -- but if director Ron Howard and his fellow filmmakers have anything to say about it, their sequel's progress will be unimpeded. Variety reports on the last-minute preparations behind the scenes of Angels & Demons, which will find Tom Hanks reprising his role as Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code, the $758 milliongrossing adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling book. Angels is scheduled to start filming in Europe next February, but with the writers' strike coming as early as November 1, Howard's team has to move quickly. ... Meanwhile, the "Angels" team have begun casting around Tom Hanks, who will reprise his role as Robert Langdon. Hanks' character, a Harvardbased expert on religious symbols, this time sleuths a mystery that involves a secret society and a conspiracy that leads to Vatican City and threatens the future of the Catholic Church. Variety's report goes on to note that, although the Angels & Demons novel was written before -- and takes place before -- The Da Vinci Code, the film will be a sequel. [link]

KING CHARLEMAGNE (742 - 814 A.D.) THE "FATHER OF EUROPE" - THE GREATEST OF MEDIEVAL KINGS WAS BORN IN 742 A.D., AT A PLACE UNKNOWN, HE WAS OF GERMAN BLOOD AND SPEECH - TO THE MEDIEVAL MIND, ONLY KING ARTHUR VIED WITH CHARLEMAGNE AS THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF WHAT A CHRISTIAN KING COULD BE -- CHARLEMAGNE THE KING A BIOGRAPHY FROM WILL DURANT'S STORY OF CIVILIZATION 1950 A.D. King Charlemagne: The greatest of medieval kings was born in 742, at a place unknown. He was of German blood and speech, and shared some characteristics of his people- strength of body, courage of spirit, pride of race, and a crude simplicity many centuries apart from the urbane polish of the modern French. He had little book learning; read only a few books- but good ones; tried in his old age to learn writing, but never quite succeeded; yet he could speak old Teutonic and literary Latin, and understood Greek. In 771 Carloman II died, and Charles at twenty-nine became sole king. Two years later he received from Pope Hadrian II an urgent appeal for aid against the Lombard Desiderius, who was invading the papal states. Charlemagne besieged and took Pavia, assumed the crown of Lombardy, confirmed the Donation of Pepin, and accepted the role of protector of the Church in all her temporal powers. -- Returning to his capital at Aachen, he began a series of fifty-three campaigns- nearly all led in person- designed to round out his empire by conquering and Christianizing Bavaria and Saxony, destroying the troublesome Avars, shielding Italy from the raiding Saracens, and strengthening the defenses of Francia against the expanding Moors of Spain. The Saxons on his eastern frontier were pagans; they had burned down a Christian church, and made occasional incursions into Gaul; these reasons sufficed Charlemagne for eighteen campaigns (772-804), waged with untiring ferocity on both sides. Charles gave the conquered Saxons a choice between baptism and death, and had 4500 Saxon rebels beheaded in one day; after which he proceeded to Thionville to celebrate the nativity of Christ. -- The empire [of Europe] was divided into counties, each governed in spiritual matters by a bishop or archbishop, and in secular affairs by a comes (companion- of the king) or count. A local assembly of landholders convened twice or thrice a year in each provincial capital to pass upon the government of the region, and serve as a provincial court of appeals. The dangerous frontier counties, or marches, had special governors- graf, margrave, or markherzog; Roland of Roncesvalles, for example, was governor of the Breton march. All local administration was subject to missi dominici- "emissaries of the master"- sent by Charlemagne to convey his wishes to local officials, to review their actions, judgments, and accounts; to check bribery, extortion, nepotism, and exploitation, to receive complaints and remedy wrongs, to protect "the Church, the poor, and wards and widows, and the whole people"from malfeasance or tyranny, and to report to the King the condition of the realm; the Capitulare missorum establishing these emissaries was a Magna Carta for the people, four centuries before England's Magna Carta for the aristocracy. That this capitulary meant what it said appears from the case of the duke of Istria, who, being accused by the missi of divers injustices and extortions, was forced by the King to restore his thievings, compensate every wronged man, publicly confess his crimes, and give security against their repetition. ... (Charlemagne) had four successive wives and five mistresses or concubines. His abounding vitality made him extremely sensitive to feminine charms; and his women preferred a share in him to the monopoly of any other man. His harem bore him some eighteen children, of whom eight were legitimate. -- The ecclesiastics [priests] of the court and of Rome winked leniently at the

Moslem [Muslim] morals of so Christian a king. He was now head of an empire far greater than the Byzantine, surpassed, in the white man's world, only by the realm of the Abbasid caliphate. But every extended frontier of empire or knowledge opens up new problems. Western Europe had tried to protect itself from the Germans by taking them into its civilization; but now Germany had to be protected against the Norse and the Slavs. The Vikings had by 800 A.D. established a kingdom in Jutland, and were raiding the Frisian coast. Charles hastened up from Rome, built fleets and forts on shores and rivers, and stationed garrisons at danger points. In 810 the king of Jutland invaded Frisia and was repulsed; but shortly thereafter, if we may follow the chronicle of the Monk of St. Gall, Charlemagne, from his palace at Narbonne, was shocked to see Danish pirate vessels in the Gulf of Lyons. Perhaps because he foresaw, like Diocletian, that his overreaching empire needed quick defense at many points at once, he divided it in 806 among his three sonsPepin, Louis, and Charles. But Pepin died in 810, Charles in 811; only Louis remained, so absorbed in piety as to seem unfit to govern a rough and treacherous world. Nevertheless, in 813, at a solemn ceremony, Louis was elevated from the rank of king to that of emperor, and the old monarch uttered his nunc dimittis: "Blessed be Thou, O Lord God, Who hast granted me the grace to see with my own eyes my son seated on my throne!" -- Death: Four months later, wintering at Aachen, he was seized with a high fever, and developed pleurisy. He tried to cure himself by taking only liquids; but after an illness of seven days he died, in the forty-seventh year of his reign and the seventy-second year of his life (814 A.D.). He was buried under the dome of the cathedral at Aachen, dressed in his imperial robes. Soon all the world called him Carolus Magnus, Karl der Grosse, Charlemagne; and in 1165 A.D., when time had washed away all memory of his mistresses, the Church which he had served so well enrolled him among the blessed. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CHARLEMAGNE (742 - 28 JANUARY 814 A.D.), ALSO KNOWN AS CHARLES THE GREAT - WAS KING OF THE FRANKS [GERMAN TRIBES] FROM 768 A.D. - THE CONQUEST OF ITALY BROUGHT CHARLEMAGNE IN CONTACT WITH THE SARACENS [MUSLIMS] WHO, AT THE TIME (799 A.D.), CONTROLLED THE MEDITERRANEAN - [WITH HIS VICTORY OVER THE SARACENS] CHARLEMAGNE WAS DECLARED EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS (IMPERATOR ROMANORUM) FROM 800 A.D. TO HIS DEATH IN 814 A.D. - HE EXPANDED THE FRANKISH KINGDOM INTO AN EMPIRE THAT INCORPORATED MUCH OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE -- DURING HIS REIGN, HE CONQUERED ITALY AND WAS CROWNED IMPERATOR AUGUSTUS BY POPE LEO III ON 25 DECEMBER 800 A.D. Wars with the Moors [Muslims]: The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean. Pippin, his son, was much occupied with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia at an unknown date and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany (Boniface) kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of Charlemagne's reign. Charlemagne even had contact with the caliphal court in Baghdad. In 797 (or possibly 801), the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a clock. -- In Hispania [Spain], the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against C贸rdoban authority, and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania. -- In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against C贸rdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forward against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir alHakam I to recognize their conquests in 812 A.D. [link]

ANCIENT SARACENS - SARACEN WAS A TERM USED BY THE ANCIENT ROMANS TO REFER TO A PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN DESERT AREAS IN AND AROUND THE ROMAN PROVINCE OF ARABIA, AND WHO WERE DISTINGUISHED FROM ARABS - IN EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES THE TERM WAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ARABS, AND THEN ALL WHO PROFESSED THE RELIGION OF ISLAM - THE EXPANSION OF THE MEANING OCCURRED FIRST AMONG THE BYZANTINE GREEKS AND THEN AMONG THE LATINS - BY THE TIME OF THE CRUSADES, BEGINNING IN 1095, A "SARACEN" HAD BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH A "MUSLIM" IN EUROPEAN CHRONICLES Early and medieval Christian literature: Eusebius and Epiphanius Scholasticus, in their Christian histories, place Saracens east of the Gulf of Aqaba but beyond the Roman province of Arabia and mention them as Ishmaelites through Kedar; thus, they are outside the promise given to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and also therefore, in Christian theology, beyond a privileged place in the family of nations or divine dispensation. The Jews viewed them as pagans and polytheists in ancient times and in later Christian times they became associated with cruel tyrants from early Christian history such as: Herod the Great, Herod Antipas and Agrippa I. Christian writings, such as those by Origen, viewed them as heretics who had to be brought into the orthodox fold. To the Christian Saint Jerome the Arabs, who were also considered in Christian theology as Ishmaelites, were also seen to fit the definition of Saracens; pagan tent-dwelling raiders of the lands on the eastern fringes of the Roman empire. -- The term Saracen carried the connotation of people living on the fringes of settled society, living off raids on towns and villages, and eventually became equated with both the "tent-dwelling" Bedouin as well as sedentary Arabs. Church writers of the period commonly describe Saracen raids on monasteries and their killing of monks. The term and the negative image of Saracens was in popular usage in both the Greek east as well as the Latin west throughout the Middle Ages. With the advent of Islam, in the Arabian peninsula, during the seventh century among the Arabs, the term's strong association with Arabs tied the term closely with not just race and culture, but also the religion. The rise of the Arab Empire and the ensuing hostility with the Byzantine Empire saw itself expressed as conflict between Islam and Christianity and the association of the term with Islam was further accentuated both during and after the Crusades. -- John of Damascus, in a polemical work typical of this attitude described the Saracens in the early 8th century thus: There is also the people-deceiving cult (threskeia) of the Ishmaelites, the forerunner of the Antichrist, which prevails until now. It derives from Ishmael, who was born to Abraham from Hagar, wherefore they are called Hagarenes and Ishmaelites. And they call them Saracens, inasmuch as they were sent away empty-handed by Sarah; for it was said to the angel by Hagar: "Sarah has sent me away emptyhanded" (cf. Book of Genesis xxi. 10, 14). [link]

THE DARK AGES - EARLY MIDDLE AGES (DVD $16.99) {IN CASE YOU HAVE EVER WONDERED IF SATAN IS RAGING A RELENTLESS WAR AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND AGAINST MANKIND IN GENERAL THIS HISTORY DOCUMENTARY WILL LAY ASIDE ALL DOUBTS.} Between the Fall of Rome and the dawn of the Renaissance, Europe plunged into a dark night of constant war, splintered sovereignties, marauding pagans, rabid crusaders and devastating plague. That anything of value arose from this chaotic muck - much less the Renaissance - is nothing short of miraculous. Through masterful cinematography and ground-breaking research, THE DARK AGES brings to life this amazing and mysterious time. Relive in striking detail critical turning points in the Early Middle Ages including the fall of Rome to the Visigoths, the horrors of Bubonic Plague, the rise of Charlemagne and the launching of the First Crusade. [link]

313 A.D. - 1521 A.D. -- Birth of Revised Rome and the Holy Roman Empire INTRODUCTION [1 OF 2]: 313 A.D. - 1521 A.D. THE BIRTH OF REVISED ROME [THE 7TH GLOBAL GENTILE KINGDOM] AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE -- AS WE HAVE ALREADY NOTICED THE ANTI-NICENE (CHURCH FATHERS) ERA WASN'T ALL DOCTRINALLY GOOD AND LIKEWISE THE DOCTRINES OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE WON'T BE UNIVERSALLY ALL BAD AND IN FACT WITH THE MANY CHURCH COUNCILS AND TIGHT OVERSIGHT OF ROME THE CHURCH WAS ABLE TO BIBLICALLY SMOOTH OUT AND REMOVE SOME OF THE WRINKLES AND THE ROUGH EDGES OF ANTI-NICENE DOCTRINES TO THE EXTENT THAT THE EARLY DOCTRINES OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE WOULD CORRECTLY GUIDE AND DIRECT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH FOR THE NEXT NEARLY TWO MILLENNIUM UP UNTIL TODAY AND ON INTO THE FUTURE

Background: As the Christian Church was closing in on its first 300 years of existence the Church itself was mostly a tightknit community but its ideology and practices were a bit of a loose collection of fellowships, doctrines and theologies. The independence, uniqueness and vast dispersion of the Church fellowships left a power vacuum that the Roman Empire, seeing the gaining popularity of Christianity, would soon be very willing to exploit and take advantage of as Rome itself in just a few moves would swoop in and overcome Christianity as the new Church master for the majority of the Christian world. Rome would accomplish their secular takeover of the Christian Church in a relatively short period of time and with just a few simple steps. First by heavily opposing and persecuting the Church the government of Rome was creating the very oppression, confusion and vacuum within the Church structure that Roman leaders intended to fill for themselves. Next in 313 A.D. Rome [Emperor Constantine] issued an Edict of Toleration [the Edict of Milan] providing some relief to the persecuted Church but only if the Church would in a sense submit to Roman secular authority. Finally once in authority and starting with the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. then Rome could and did easily infiltrated the Church at the top positions with their own secular scholars, secular leaders, secular priests, secular monks and even some secular popes. Secular Rome would create a dual system [the two headed eagle] of Church and State that exists to this present day. [link]

INTRODUCTION [2OF 2]: 313 A.D. - 1521 A.D. THE BIRTH OF REVISED ROME [THE 7TH GLOBAL GENTILE KINGDOM] AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE -- THE EXTENDED 325 A.D. CONSTANTINIAN SYSTEM OF DUAL CHURCH AND STATE SET UP A SYSTEM OF BOTH COOPERATION AND TENSIONS BETWEEN THE CHURCH RELIGION AND THE STATE GOVERNMENTS - A DUAL SYSTEM THAT WOULD LAST ALMOST UNHINDERED UNTIL THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION OF THE LATE 1400'S AND EARLY 1500'S History: The three Church synods of Antioch convened between 264 A.D. and 269 A.D. had so accurately confirmed the Divinity of Jesus Christ among the minds of the common man that the heretics of the day admitted an almost complete defeat and had no alternative but to take their heretical doctrines out, away from civilization and into the deserts of Egypt [becoming the desert monks - desert fathers] in a desperate attempt to revise, retool, re-spin and readapt their heresies into a format that someday could become acceptable to the common people. Emperor Constantine realizing that the Roman agents of disinformation had been regulated to the desert region of Egypt acted quickly and in 313 A.D. issued the Edict of Milan legalizing [though without mentioning Christianity by name] all sects of Christianity with a primary emphasis on protecting, fostering and furthering the heretical sects of christianity while continuing to misrepresent and oppress true Christianity. With Emperor Constantine's 313 A.D. Edict of Milan and the success of his oversight of the Nicene Council in 325 A.D. the heretics of the desert had found their day and were quickly able to return to the cities but by this time with the protection of the Roman government the heretics of the desert not only returned to the cities but began to fill the seats of power and authority both within the city governments and also within the true Christian Church. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CONSTANTINIAN SHIFT [GOVERNMENT PRESIDING OVER CHRISTIANITY] - THE CONSTANTINIAN SHIFT IS A TERM USED BY ANABAPTIST AND POST-CHRISTENDOM THEOLOGIANS TO DESCRIBE THE POLITICAL AND THEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE 4TH-CENTURY (325 A.D.) PROCESS OF CONSTANTINE'S LEGALIZATION [AND SECULAR TAKEOVER] OF CHRISTIANITY - THE TERM WAS POPULARIZED BY THE MENNONITE THEOLOGIAN JOHN H. YODER

Historical context: According to Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic tradition, [Emperor] Constantine I adopted Christianity as his system of belief after the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D. His legions, who were victorious, fought under the "labarum", a standard (flag) with the first two Greek letters of Christ's name [XP - the first two (capital) letters chi (X) and rho (P) of the Greek word Christ] {Note: Constantine replaced the cross of Christianity with the letters X and P - the letters probably had a dual occult meaning}. -- In 313 A.D., the Edict of Milan legalized Christianity {Note: without mentioning Christianity by name} **alongside other religions {specifically heretical sects of Christianity} allowed in the Roman Empire. In 325 A.D., the First Council of Nicaea signaled consolidation of Christianity under an orthodoxy endorsed by Constantine, and though this did not make other Christian groups outside the adopted definition illegal, the dissenting Arian bishops [who were in all probability occult agents working for Constantine] were initially exiled. **But Constantine reinstated Arius {the heretic} before his death ***and exiled Orthodox {Christian} Athanasius of Alexandria. In 380 A.D. Emperor Theodosius I made Christianity the Roman Empire's official religion (see State church of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and the Goths) and did enforce the edict. In 392 he [Emperor Theodosius I] passed legislation prohibiting all pagan cultic worship. During the 4th century, however, there was no real unity between church and state: In the course of the Arian controversy, leading Trinitarian bishops, such as Athanasius, Hilary of Poitiers, and Gregory of Nyssa, were exiled by Arian emperors, as were leading Arian and Anomoean theologians such as AĂŤtius. Towards the end of the century [during the ongoing Church and State power struggle], **Bishop Ambrose of Milan made the powerful Emperor Theodosius do penance for several months after the massacre of Thessalonica before admitting him again to the Eucharist [Communion Supper]. On the other hand, only a few years later, Chrysostom, who as bishop of Constantinople criticized the excesses of the royal court [the Government], and was eventually banished and died while traveling to his place of exile. -- Theological Implications: Theologians critical of the Constantinian shift [Government presiding over Christianity] also see it as the point at which membership in the Christian church became associated with citizenship (in the country) rather than a personal decision (with Jesus). American theologian Stanley Hauerwas names the shift as the foundation for the expression of Christianity in the United States today that is closely associated with patriotism and civil religion. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: CONSTANTINE THE GREAT - ROMAN EMPEROR FROM 306 A.D. TO 337 A.D. - THE FOREMOST GENERAL OF HIS TIME, CONSTANTINE DEFEATED THE EMPERORS MAXENTIUS AND LICINIUS DURING CIVIL WARS - HE ALSO FOUGHT SUCCESSFULLY AGAINST THE FRANKS, ALAMANNI, VISIGOTHS, AND SARMATIANS - CONSTANTINE BUILT A NEW IMPERIAL RESIDENCE IN PLACE OF BYZANTIUM, NAMING IT CONSTANTINOPLE, WHICH WOULD LATER BE THE CAPITAL OF THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE FOR OVER ONE THOUSAND YEARS - HE IS THOUGHT OF AS THE FOUNDER OF THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE - THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE ESTABLISHED A PRECEDENT FOR THE POSITION OF THE EMPEROR AS HAVING SOME INFLUENCE WITHIN THE RELIGIOUS DISCUSSIONS GOING ON WITHIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THAT TIME, E.G., THE DISPUTE OVER ARIANISM -- ARIANISM IS THE THEOLOGICAL TEACHING ATTRIBUTED TO

ARIUS (AD 250-336), A CHRISTIAN PRESBYTER FROM ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY ('GOD THE FATHER', 'GOD THE SON' AND 'GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT') AND THE PRECISE NATURE OF THE SON OF GOD AS BEING A [CREATED] SUBORDINATE ENTITY TO GOD THE FATHER - DEEMED A HERETIC BY THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA OF 325 A.D., ARIUS WAS LATER EXONERATED IN 335 AT THE FIRST SYNOD OF TYRE, AND THEN, AFTER HIS DEATH, PRONOUNCED A HERETIC AGAIN AT THE FIRST COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE OF 381 -- THE ROMAN EMPERORS CONSTANTIUS II (337-361) AND VALENS (364-378) WERE ARIANS OR SEMI-ARIANS Religious policy: Constantine is perhaps best known for being the first Christian Roman emperor; his reign was certainly a turning point for the Church. In February 313, Constantine met with Licinius in Milan where they developed the Edict of Milan. The edict stated that Christians should be allowed to follow the faith of their choosing. This removed penalties for professing Christianity (under which many had been martyred in previous persecutions of Christians) and returned confiscated Church property. The edict protected from religious persecution not only Christians but all religions, allowing anyone to worship whichever deity they chose. A similar edict had been issued in 311 by Galerius, then senior emperor of the Tetrarchy; Galerius' edict granted Christians the right to practice their religion but did not restore any property to them. The Edict of Milan included several clauses which stated that all confiscated churches would be returned as well as other provisions for previously persecuted Christians. ... Constantine did not patronize Christianity alone, however. After gaining victory in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), a triumphal arch-the Arch of Constantine-was built (315) to

celebrate it; the arch is decorated with images of Victoria and sacrifices to gods like Apollo, Diana, and Hercules, but contains no Christian symbolism. In 321, Constantine instructed that Christians and non-Christians should be united in observing the venerable day of the sun, referencing the esoteric eastern sun-worship which Aurelian had helped introduce, and his coinage still carried the symbols of the sun cult until 324. Even after the pagan gods had disappeared from the coinage, Christian symbols appeared only as Constantine's personal attributes: the chi rho between his hands or on his labarum, but never on the coin itself. Even when Constantine dedicated the new capital of Constantinople, which became the seat of Byzantine Christianity for a millennium, he did so wearing the Apollonian sun-rayed Diadem. -The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the emperor as having some influence within the religious discussions going on within the Catholic Church of that time, e.g., the dispute over Arianism. Constantine himself disliked the risks to societal stability that religious disputes and controversies brought with them, preferring where possible to establish an orthodoxy. The emperor saw it as his duty to ensure that God was properly worshiped in his empire, and that what proper worship consisted would be determined by the Church. In 316, Constantine acted as a judge in a North African dispute concerning the validity of Donatism. After deciding against the Donatists, Constantine led an army of Christians against the Donatist Christians. More significantly, in 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea, effectively the first Ecumenical Council (unless the Council of Jerusalem is so classified). Nicaea was dealt mostly with Arianism. Constantine also enforced the prohibition of the First Council of Nicaea against celebrating the Lord's Supper on the day before the Jewish Passover (14th of Nisan) (see Quartodecimanism and Easter controversy). Constantine made new laws regarding the Jews. They were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise their slaves. [link]

THE REVISED ROMAN EMPIRE - SAINT HELENA - THE MOTHER OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I - SHE IS TRADITIONALLY CREDITED WITH FINDING THE RELICS OF THE TRUE CROSS, WITH WHICH SHE IS INVARIABLY REPRESENTED IN CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY - CONSTANTINE APPOINTED HIS MOTHER HELEN AS AUGUSTA IMPERATRIX, AND GAVE HER UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE IMPERIAL TREASURY IN ORDER TO LOCATE THE RELICS OF JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION - IN 326-28 A.D. HELENA UNDERTOOK A TRIP TO THE HOLY PLACES IN PALESTINE [ISRAEL] - THE CHAPEL AT ST. CATHERINE'S MONASTERY [IN SINAI EGYPT - INCLUDING HELEN'S CHAPEL OF THE BURNING BUSH] OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE CHAPEL OF SAINT HELEN-IS DATED TO THE YEAR AD 330 {NOTE: EVERY 'DISCOVERY' OF HELENA THE MOTHER OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I IS CONSIDERED TO BE DISCREDITED - ESPECIALLY HER [CONFIRMING] MT. SINAI IN EGYPT [THE CHAPEL OF THE BURNING BUSH - SOURCE: SACREDSITES.COM] WHEN THE BIBLE PROCLAIMS THAT THE REAL MT. SINAI WAS 'OUTSIDE' (EXODUS 18:1,5) OF EGYPT (GALATIANS 4:25) [IN ARABIA - SAUDI ARABIA]. ALSO NOTE: **IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BLASPHEMOUS CONCEPTS [MT. SINAI IN EGYPT] TO LOCATE GOD IN EGYPT - GOD IS NOT IN EGYPT, HE IS OUTSIDE OF EGYPT [HUMAN SLAVERY AND HUMAN BONDAGE] - THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE BIBLE IS TO LEAVE EGYPT [THE WORLD SYSTEM] AND FOR WORSHIPERS GO OUTSIDE OF EGYPT (THE WORLD) TO HAVE A TRUE RELATIONSHIP [FELLOWSHIP] WITH GOD - **PASTORS WHO PREACH THAT ONE CORNER OF EGYPT [SINAI PENINSULA - ST. CATHERINE'S MONASTERY] IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD HAVE MISSED MUCH OF THE ENTIRETY OF THE BIBLE - THE APOSTLE PAUL TELLS US THAT JESUS WAS EVEN CRUCIFIED OUTSIDE THE CITY OF JERUSALEM SO WE WOULD KNOW TO LOOK OUTSIDE THE [WORLD SYSTEM] CITY FOR A TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST (HEBREWS 13:12-14).} -- NOTE: A SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS GENERALLY NOT TO BE FOUND IN THIS WORLDLY SYSTEM THOUGH MINOR GLIMPSES AND INTERACTIONS WITH GOD CAN BE EXPERIENCED. THE WORLDLY SYSTEM SATURATED WITH MISCONCEPTIONS AND FALSE PREMISES FROM DECEIVED AND MISINFORMED INDIVIDUALS LIKE RICHARD DAWKINS IS A SYSTEM DESIGNED AND MAINTAINED SIMPLY TO HINDER A PERSON'S TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THEREFORE LEAVING THE MISINFORMED WORLDLY SYSTEM AND ENTERING THE PROMISES OF THE BIBLICAL REALM IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.} Family life: The bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesarea states that she was about 80 [years old] on her return from Palestine (Israel). Since that journey has been dated to 326-28, Helena was probably born in 248 or 250. Little is known of her early life. Fourth-century sources, following Eutropius' "Breviarium," record that she came from a low background. Saint Ambrose was the first to call her a stabularia, a term translated as "stable-maid" or "inn-keeper". He makes this fact a virtue, calling Helena a bona stabularia, a "good stable-maid". Other sources, especially those written after Constantine's proclamation as emperor, gloss over or ignore her background. ... Relic discoveries: Constantine appointed his mother Helen as Augusta Imperatrix, and gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury in order to locate the relics of Judeo-Christian tradition. In 326-28 Helena undertook a trip to the Holy Places in Palestine. According to Eusebius of Caesarea she was responsible for the construction or beautification of two churches, the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, and the Church on the Mount of Olives, sites of Christ's birth and ascension. Local founding legend

attributes to Helena's orders the construction of a church in Egypt to identify the Burning Bush of Sinai. The chapel at St. Catherine's Monastery--often referred to as the Chapel of Saint Helen-is dated to the year AD 330. -- Jerusalem was still rebuilding from the destruction of Emperor Hadrian, who had built a temple dedicated, according to conflicting accounts, to Venus or Jupiter over the site of Jesus's tomb near Calvary and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina. According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and, according to the legend that arose at the end of the fourth century, in Ambrose, On the Death of Theodosius (died 395) and at length in Rufinus' chapters appended to his translation into Latin of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, which does not mention the event, chose a site to begin excavating, which led to the recovery of three different crosses. Then, Rufinus relates, refusing to be swayed by anything but solid proof, the empress (perhaps through Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem) had a woman who was already at the point of death brought from Jerusalem. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered, and Helena declared the cross with which the woman had been touched to be the True Cross. On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well as those on other sites detected by Helena. -- She also found the nails of the crucifixion. To use their miraculous power to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed in Constantine's helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse. Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace's private chapel, where they can be still seen today. Her palace was later converted into the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries. Tradition says that the site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with earth brought from Golgotha by Helena to symbolically unite the blood of Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians, who died in the persecutions of Nero. -- According to one tradition, Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier. Several of Saint Helena's treasures are now in Cyprus, where she spent some time. Some of them are a part of Jesus Christ's tunic, pieces of the holy cross and the world's only pieces of the rope to which Jesus was tied with on the Cross. The latter has been held at the Stavrovouni Monastery, which was also founded by Saint Helena. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: ATHANASIUS (296 - 2 MAY 373) - IN JUNE 328, AT THE AGE OF 30, THREE YEARS AFTER NICAEA AND UPON THE REPOSE OF BISHOP ALEXANDER, HE BECAME ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA - HE CONTINUED TO LEAD THE CONFLICT AGAINST THE ARIANS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE AND WAS ENGAGED IN THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL STRUGGLES AGAINST THE EMPERORS CONSTANTINE AND CONSTANTIUS AND POWERFUL AND INFLUENTIAL ARIAN CHURCHMEN, LED BY ARIAN BISHOP EUSEBIUS OF NICOMEDIA AND OTHERS HE WAS KNOWN AS "ATHANASIUS CONTRA MUNDUM" - WITHIN FEW YEARS OF HIS DEPARTURE, ST. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS CALLED HIM THE "PILLAR OF THE CHURCH" - HIS WRITINGS WERE WELL REGARDED BY ALL CHURCH FATHERS WHO FOLLOWED, IN BOTH THE WEST AND THE EAST - HIS WRITINGS SHOW A RICH DEVOTION TO THE WORD-BECOME-MAN, GREAT PASTORAL CONCERN, AND PROFOUND INTEREST IN MONASTICISM -- THE SO-CALLED ATHANASIAN CREED DATES FROM WELL AFTER ATHANASIUS'S DEATH AND DRAWS UPON THE PHRASEOLOGY OF AUGUSTINE'S DE TRINITATE {NOTE: THE ATHANASIAN CREED, WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN BY VINCENT OF LĂ&#x2030;RINS IN ABOUT (475-525 A.D.) AS A SUMMARY OF ATHANASIUS' WORKS AND WRITINGS IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE APOSTLES' CREED WAS EARLIER WRITTEN BY AMBROSE IN ABOUT 390 A.D. AS A SUMMARY OF THE APOSTLES (N.T) WORKS AND WRITINGS.} Athanasius is counted as one of the Great Doctors of the Church in Eastern Orthodoxy where he is also labeled the "Father of Orthodoxy". He is also one of the four Great Doctors of the Church from the East in the Roman Catholic Church. He is renowned in the Protestant churches, who label him "Father of The Canon". Athanasius is venerated as a Christian saint, whose feast day is 2 May in Western Christianity, 15 May in the Coptic Orthodox Church, and 18 January in the other Eastern Orthodox churches. He is venerated by the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Lutherans, and the Anglican Communion. ... Athanasius' letters include one "Letter Concerning the Decrees of the Council of Nicaea" (De Decretis), which is an account of the proceedings of that council, and another letter in the year 367 which was the first known listing of the New Testament including all those books now accepted everywhere as the New Testament. (earlier similar lists vary by the omission or addition of a few books, see Development of the New Testament canon). Several of his letters also survive. In one of these, to Epictetus of Corinth, Athanasius anticipates future controversies in his defense of the humanity of Christ. Another of his letters, to Dracontius, urges that monk to

leave the desert for the more active duties of a bishop. There are several other works ascribed to him, although not necessarily generally accepted as being his own work. These include the Athanasian creed, which is today generally seen as being of 5th-century Galician origin. Athanasius was not what would be called a speculative theologian. As he stated in his First Letters to Serapion, he held on to "the tradition, teaching, and faith proclaimed by the apostles and guarded by the fathers." In some cases, this led to his taking the position that faith should take priority over reason. He held that not only was the Son of God consubstantial with the Father, but so was the Holy Spirit, which had a great deal of influence in the development of later doctrines regarding the Trinity. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: AMBROSE - AURELIUS AMBROSIUS, BETTER KNOWN IN ENGLISH AS SAINT AMBROSE (337 - 4 APRIL 397), WAS A BISHOP OF MILAN WHO BECAME ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ECCLESIASTICAL FIGURES OF THE 4TH CENTURY - HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUR ORIGINAL DOCTORS (OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE) OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - IN SPITE OF IMPERIAL OPPOSITION, BISHOP AMBROSE DECLARED: "IF YOU DEMAND MY PERSON, I AM READY TO SUBMIT: CARRY ME TO PRISON OR TO DEATH, I WILL NOT RESIST; BUT I WILL NEVER BETRAY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. I WILL NOT CALL UPON THE PEOPLE TO SUCCOUR ME; I WILL DIE AT THE FOOT OF THE ALTAR RATHER THAN DESERT IT. THE TUMULT OF THE PEOPLE I WILL NOT ENCOURAGE: BUT GOD ALONE CAN APPEASE IT." - SOON AFTER ACQUIRING THE UNDISPUTED POSSESSION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THEODOSIUS DIED AT MILAN IN 395, AND TWO YEARS LATER (APRIL 4, 397) AMBROSE ALSO DIED - HE WAS SUCCEEDED AS BISHOP OF MILAN BY SIMPLICIAN - AMBROSE'S BODY MAY STILL BE VIEWED IN THE CHURCH OF S. AMBROGIO IN MILAN, WHERE IT HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY VENERATED - ALONG WITH THE BODIES IDENTIFIED IN HIS TIME AS BEING THOSE OF ST. GERVASE AND ST. PROTASE - AND IS ONE OF THE OLDEST EXTANT BODIES OF HISTORICAL PERSONAGES KNOWN OUTSIDE EGYPT Bishop of Milan: In the late 4th century there was a deep conflict in the diocese of Milan between the Catholics and Arians. In 374 the bishop of Milan, Auxentius, an Arian, died, and the Arians challenged the succession. Ambrose went to the church where the election was to take place, to prevent an uproar, which was probable in this crisis. His address was interrupted by a call "Ambrose, bishop!", which was taken up by the whole assembly. Ambrose was known to be Catholic in belief, but also acceptable to Arians due to the charity shown in theological matters in this regard. At first he energetically refused the office, for which he was in no way prepared: Ambrose was neither baptized nor formally trained in theology. Upon his appointment, St. Ambrose fled to a colleague's home seeking to hide. Upon receiving a letter from the Emperor Gratian praising the appropriateness of Rome appointing individuals evidently worthy of holy positions, St. Ambrose's host gave Ambrose up. Within a week, Ambrose was baptized, ordained and duly consecrated bishop of Milan. As bishop, he immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money to the poor, donating all of his land, making only provision for his sister Marcellina (who later became a nun), and committed the care of his family to his brother. Ambrose also wrote a treatise by the name of "The Goodness Of Death". -- Ambrose and Arians: According to legend, Ambrose immediately and forcefully stopped Arianism in Milan. He studied theology with Simplician, a presbyter of Rome. Using his excellent knowledge of Greek, which was then rare in the West, to his advantage, he studied the Hebrew Bible and Greek authors like Philo, Origen, Athanasius, and Basil of Caesarea, with whom he was also exchanging letters. He applied this knowledge as preacher, concentrating especially on exegesis of the Old Testament, and his rhetorical abilities impressed Augustine of Hippo, who hitherto had thought poorly of Christian preachers. In the confrontation with Arians, Ambrose sought to theologically refute their propositions, which were heretical. The Arians appealed to many high level leaders and clergy in both the Western and Eastern empires. Although the western Emperor Gratian held orthodox belief in the Nicene creed, the younger Valentinian II, who became his colleague in the Empire, adhered to the Arian creed. Ambrose did not sway the young prince's position. In the East, Emperor Theodosius I likewise professed the Nicene creed; but there were many adherents of Arianism throughout his dominions, especially among the higher clergy. In this contested state of religious opinion, two leaders of the Arians, bishops Palladius of Ratiaria and Secundianus of Singidunum, confident of numbers, prevailed upon Gratian to call a general council from all parts of the empire. This request appeared so equitable that he complied without hesitation. However, Ambrose feared the consequences and prevailed upon the emperor to have the matter determined by a council of the Western bishops. Accordingly, a synod composed of thirty-two bishops was held at Aquileia in the year 381 A.D. Ambrose was elected president and Palladius, being called upon to defend his opinions, declined. A vote was then taken, when Palladius and his associate Secundianus were deposed from the episcopal office. Nevertheless, the increasing strength of the Arians proved a formidable task for Ambrose. In 385 or 386 the emperor and his mother Justina, along with a considerable number of clergy and laity, especially military, professed Arianism.

They demanded two churches in Milan, one in the city (the basilica of the Apostles), the other in the suburbs (St Victor's), to the Arians. Ambrose refused and was required to answer for his conduct before the council. He went, his eloquence in defense of the Church reportedly overawed the ministers of Emperor Valentinian, so he was permitted to retire without making the surrender of the churches. The day following, when he was performing divine service in the basilica, the prefect of the city came to persuade him to give up at least the Portian basilica in the suburbs. As he still continued obstinate, the court proceeded to violent measures: the officers of the household were commanded to prepare the Basilica and the Portian churches to celebrate divine service upon the arrival of the emperor and his mother at the ensuing festival of Easter. -- In spite of Imperial opposition, Bishop Ambrose declared: "If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succour me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of the people I will not encourage: but God alone can appease it." [link]

CREEDS: THE APOSTLES' CREED, WRITTEN BY AMBROSE -- THE NICENE CREED 325 A.D. -- THE ATHANASIAN CREED, POSSIBLY BY VINCENT OF LĂ&#x2030;RINS The Three Ecumenical or Universal Creeds -- The Apostles' Creed [The title, Symbolum Apostolicum (Symbol or Creed of the Apostles), appears for the first time in a letter from a Council in Milan (probably written by Ambrose himself) to Pope Siricius in about 390 A.D. - Wiki.com]: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic [universal] Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. -- The Nicene Creed [adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first (second) ecumenical council (Jerusalem Acts 15:6 was the first ecumenical Church council), which met there in 325 A.D. - Wiki.com]: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic [universal] and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. -- The Athanasian Creed [The use of the Creed in a sermon by Caesarius of Arles, as well as a theological resemblance to works by Vincent of LĂŠrins, point to Southern Gaul as its origin. The most likely time frame is in the late fifth or early sixth century A.D. (475-525 A.D.) at least 100 years after Athanasius (293 A.D. - May 2, 373 A.D.) - Wiki.com]: Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic [universal] faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic [universal] faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal. As there are not three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles, but one Uncreated and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the catholic [universal] religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none: neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but

begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son: neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; But the whole three Persons are coeternal together, and coequal: so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic [universal] faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved. [link]

THE NICENE CREED (325 A.D.) - THE NICENE CREED "I BELIEVE IN ONE HOLY CATHOLIC [UNIVERSAL] AND ***[A]POSTOLIC CHURCH" IS THE MOST WIDELY ACCEPTED AND USED BRIEF STATEMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - IN LITURGICAL CHURCHES, IT IS SAID EVERY SUNDAY AS PART OF THE LITURGY - IT IS COMMON GROUND TO EAST ORTHODOX, ROMAN CATHOLICS, ANGLICANS, LUTHERANS, CALVINISTS, AND MANY OTHER CHRISTIAN GROUPS - MANY GROUPS THAT DO NOT HAVE A TRADITION OF USING IT IN THEIR SERVICES NEVERTHELESS ARE COMMITTED TO THE DOCTRINES IT TEACHES

Someone may ask, "What about the Apostles' Creed?" Traditionally, in the West, the Apostles' Creed is used at Baptisms, and the Nicene Creed at the Eucharist [AKA the Mass, the Liturgy, the Lord's Supper, or the Holy Communion.] The East uses only the Nicene Creed. I here present the Nicene Creed in two English translations, The first is the traditional one, in use with minor variations since 1549, The second is a modern version, that of The Interdenominational Committee on Liturgical Texts. Notes and comment by [James E. Kiefer] follow. [link]

COUNCIL OF SELEUCIA 359 A.D. - IN 358, THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS II REQUESTED TWO COUNCILS, ONE OF WESTERN BISHOPS AT ARIMINUM AND THE OTHER OF EASTERN BISHOPS AT NICOMEDIA, TO RESOLVE THE CONTROVERSY OVER ARIANISM REGARDING THE NATURE OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST, A CONTROVERSY THAT HAD DIVIDED THE FOURTH-CENTURY CHURCH BEFORE THE COUNCIL WAS CONVENED AN EARTHQUAKE STRUCK NICOMEDIA, KILLING MANY PEOPLE INCLUDING THE BISHOP, CECROPIUS OF NICOMEDIA - AS A RESULT ON SEPTEMBER 27, 359 A.D. THE EASTERN COUNCIL (OF ABOUT 160 BISHOPS) MET AT SELEUCIA INSTEAD - THE COUNCIL WAS BITTERLY DIVIDED, AND DISORGANIZED - THE TWO PARTIES MET SEPARATELY AND REACHED OPPOSING DECISIONS - LATER THAT YEAR, CONSTANTIUS CALLED FOR A COUNCIL IN CONSTANTINOPLE TO CONSIDER THE DECISION AT ARIMINUM AND RESOLVE THE SPLIT AT SELEUCIA - THIS COUNCIL MET IN 360 A.D., WHICH DID NOT SETTLE THE DISPUTES Acacius' proposed creed: -- Preface: "We having yesterday assembled by the emperor's command at Seleucia, a city of Isauria, on the 27th day of September, exerted ourselves to the utmost, with all moderation, to preserve the peace of the church, and to determine doctrinal questions on prophetic and evangelical authority, so as to sanction nothing in the ecclesiastic confession of faith at variance with the sacred Scriptures, as our Emperor Constantius most beloved of God has ordered. But inasmuch as certain individuals in the Synod have acted injuriously toward several of us, preventing some from expressing their sentiments, and excluding others from the council against their wills; and at the same time have introduced such as have been deposed, and persons who were ordained contrary to the ecclesiastical canon, so that the Synod has presented a scene of tumult and disorder, of which the most illustrious Leonas, the Comes, and the most eminent Lauricius, governor of the province, have been eye-witnesses, we are therefore under the necessity of making this declaration. That we do not repudiate the faith which was ratified at the consecration of the church at Antioch; for we give it our decided preference, because it received the concurrence of our fathers who were assembled

there to consider some controverted points. Since, however, the terms homoousion and homoiousion have in time past troubled the minds of many, and still continue to disquiet them; and moreover that a new term has recently been coined by some who assert the anomoion of the Son to the Father: we reject the first two, as expressions which are not found in the Scriptures; but we utterly anathematize the last, and regard such as countenance its use, as alienated from the church. We distinctly acknowledge the homoion of the Son to the Father, in accordance with what the apostle has declared concerning him, "Who is the image of the invisible God." -- Creed: "We confess then, and believe in one God the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and of things visible and invisible. We believe also in his Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who was begotten of him without passion before all ages, God the Word, the only-begotten of God, the Light, the Life, the Truth, the Wisdom: through whom all things were made which are in the heavens and upon the earth, whether visible or invisible. We believe that he took flesh of the holy Virgin Mary, at the end of the ages, in order to abolish sin; that he was made man, suffered for our sin, and rose again, and was taken up into the heavens, to sit at the right hand of the Father, whence he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We believe also in the Holy Spirit, whom our Lord and Saviour has denominated the Comforter, and whom he sent to his disciples after his departure, according to his promise: by whom also he sanctifies all believers in the church, who are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Those who preach anything contrary to this creed, we regard as aliens from the catholic church." [link]

WIKIPEDIA: GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS - GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS (329 - JANUARY 25 390) - ALSO KNOWN AS GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN OR GREGORY NAZIANZEN WAS A 4TH-CENTURY ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE - HE IS WIDELY CONSIDERED THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED RHETORICAL STYLIST OF THE PATRISTIC AGE [GENERALLY RECKONED AS CHURCH FATHERS - A ROUGH CLASSIFICATION OF THESE PATRISTIC WRITINGS IS AS: APOSTOLIC FATHERS AND THE 2ND CENTURY; 3RD CENTURY; 4TH CENTURY; 5TH CENTURY; AND 6TH CENTURY] - AS A CLASSICALLY TRAINED ORATOR AND PHILOSOPHER HE INFUSED HELLENISM INTO THE EARLY CHURCH, ESTABLISHING THE PARADIGM OF BYZANTINE THEOLOGIANS AND CHURCH OFFICIALS - GREGORY MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE SHAPE OF TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY AMONG BOTH GREEK AND LATIN-SPEAKING THEOLOGIANS, AND HE IS REMEMBERED AS THE "TRINITARIAN THEOLOGIAN" - MUCH OF HIS THEOLOGICAL WORK CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE MODERN THEOLOGIANS, ESPECIALLY IN REGARD TO THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE THREE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY [FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT] - ALONG WITH THE TWO BROTHERS BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY OF NYSSA, HE IS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS - GREGORY IS A SAINT IN BOTH EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY - IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HE IS NUMBERED AMONG THE DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH; IN EASTERN ORTHODOXY AND THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES HE IS REVERED AS ONE OF THE THREE HOLY HIERARCHS, ALONG WITH BASIL THE GREAT AND JOHN CHRYSOSTOM Priesthood: In 361 Gregory returned to Nazianzus and was ordained a presbyter by his father, who wanted him to assist with caring for local Christians. The younger Gregory, who had been considering a monastic existence, resented his father's decision to force him to choose between priestly services and a solitary existence, calling it an "act of tyranny". Leaving home after a few days, he met his friend Basil at Annesoi, where the two lived as ascetics. However, Basil urged him to return home to assist his father, which he did for the next year. Arriving at Nazianzus, Gregory found the local Christian community split by theological differences and his father accused of heresy by local monks. Gregory helped to heal the division through a combination of personal diplomacy and oratory. By this time Emperor Julian had publicly declared himself in opposition to Christianity. In response to the emperor's rejection of the Christian faith, Gregory composed his Invectives Against Julian between 362 and 363. Invectives asserts that Christianity will overcome imperfect rulers such as Julian through love and patience. This process as described by Gregory is the public manifestation of the process of deification (theosis), which leads to a spiritual elevation and mystical union with God. Julian resolved, in late 362, to vigorously prosecute Gregory and his other Christian critics; however, the emperor perished the following year during a campaign against the Persians. With the death of the emperor, Gregory and the Eastern churches were no longer under the threat of persecution, as the new emperor Jovian was an avowed Christian and supporter of the church. Gregory spent the next few years combating Arianism, which threatened to divide the region of Cappadocia. In this tense environment, Gregory interceded on behalf of his friend Basil with Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (Maritima). The two friends then entered a period of close fraternal cooperation as they participated in a great rhetorical contest of the Caesarean church precipitated by the arrival of accomplished Arian theologians and rhetors. In the subsequent public debates, presided over by agents of the Emperor Valens, Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant. This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in administration of the Church. Basil, who had long displayed inclinations to the episcopacy, was elected bishop of the see of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370. -- Gregory

at Constantinople: Emperor Valens died in 378. The accession of Theodosius I, a steadfast supporter of Nicene orthodoxy, was good news to those who wished to purge Constantinople of Arian and Apollinarian domination. The exiled Nicene party gradually returned to the city. From his deathbed, Basil reminded them of Gregory's capabilities and likely recommended his friend to champion the trinitarian cause in Constantinople. In 379, the Antioch synod and its archbishop, Meletios, asked Gregory to go to Constantinople to lead a theological campaign to win over that city to Nicene orthodoxy. After much hesitation, Gregory agreed. His cousin Theodosia offered him a villa for his residence; Gregory immediately transformed much of it into a church, naming it Anastasia, "a scene for the resurrection of the faith". From this little chapel he delivered five powerful discourses on Nicene doctrine, explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead. Refuting the Eunomion denial of the Holy Spirit's divinity, Gregory offered this argument: "Look at these facts: Christ is born, the Holy Spirit is His Forerunner. Christ is baptized, the Spirit bears witness to thisâ&#x20AC;Ś Christ works miracles, the Spirit accompanies them. Christ ascends, the Spirit takes His place. What great things are there in the idea of God which are not in His power? What titles appertaining to God do not apply also to Him, except for Unbegotten and Begotten? I tremble when I think of such an abundance of titles, and how many Names they blaspheme, those who revolt against the Spirit!" -- Gregory's homilies were well-received and attracted ever-growing crowds to Anastasia. Fearing his popularity, his opponents decided to strike. On the vigil of Easter in 379, an Arian mob burst into his church during worship services, wounding Gregory and killing another bishop. Escaping the mob, Gregory next found himself betrayed by his erstwhile friend, the philosopher Maximus the Cynic. Maximus, who was in secret alliance with Peter, bishop of Alexandria, attempted to seize Gregory's position and have himself ordained bishop of Constantinople. Shocked, Gregory decided to resign his office, but the faction faithful to him induced him to stay and ejected Maximus. However, the episode left him embarrassed and exposed him to criticism as a provincial simpleton unable to cope with intrigues of the imperial city. Affairs in Constantinople remained confused as Gregory's position was still unofficial and Arian priests occupied many important churches. The arrival of the emperor Theodosius in 380 settled matters in Gregory's favor. The emperor, determined to eliminate Arianism, expelled Bishop Demophilus. Gregory was subsequently enthroned as bishop of Constantinople at the Basilica of the Apostles, replacing Demophilus. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO - AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (NOVEMBER 13, 354 - AUGUST 28, 430), ALSO KNOWN AS AUGUSTINE, ST. AUGUSTINE, ST. AUSTIN, ST. AUGOUSTINOS, BLESSED AUGUSTINE, OR ST. AUGUSTINE THE BLESSED, - WAS BISHOP OF HIPPO REGIUS (PRESENT-DAY ANNABA, ALGERIA) - HE WAS A LATIN-SPEAKING PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN WHO LIVED IN THE ROMAN AFRICA PROVINCE - HIS WRITINGS WERE VERY INFLUENTIAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN CHRISTIANITY According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith." In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in AD 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war. -- When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name), distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the Church, the community that worshipped God. In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order; his memorial is celebrated 28 August, the day of his death. ... Works: Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, and the list of his works consists of more than one hundred separate titles. They include apologetic works against the heresies of the Arians, Donatists, Manichaeans and Pelagians, texts on Christian doctrine, notably De Doctrina Christiana (On Christian Doctrine), exegetical works such as commentaries on Book of Genesis, the Psalms and Paul's Letter to the Romans, many sermons and letters, and the Retractationes, a review of his earlier works which he wrote near the end of his life. Apart from those, Augustine is probably best known for his Confessiones (Confessions), which is a personal account of his earlier life, and for De civitate dei (Of the City of God, consisting of 22 books), which he wrote to restore the confidence of his fellow Christians, which was badly shaken by the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410. His De trinitate (On the Trinity), in which he developed what has become known as the 'psychological analogy' of the Trinity, is also among his masterpieces, and arguably one of the greatest theological works of all time. He also wrote On Free Choice Of The Will (De libero arbitrio), addressing why God gives humans free will that can be used for evil. ... Influence on St. Thomas Aquinas: For quotations of St. Augustine by St. Thomas Aquinas see

Aquinas and the Sacraments and Thought of Thomas Aquinas. On the topic of original sin: Aquinas proposed a more optimistic view of man than that of Augustine in that his conception leaves to the reason, will, and passions of fallen man their natural powers even after the Fall. Influence on Protestant reformers: While in his pre-Pelagian writings Augustine taught that Adam's guilt as transmitted to his descendants much enfeebles, though does not destroy, the freedom of their will, Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin affirmed that Original Sin completely destroyed liberty (see total depravity). Abortion and ensoulment: Like other Church Fathers such as Athenagoras St Augustine "vigorously condemned the practice of induced abortion" as a crime, in any stage of pregnancy. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: JEROME - SAINT JEROME (347 - 30 SEPTEMBER 420) WAS A ROMAN CHRISTIAN PRIEST, CONFESSOR, THEOLOGIAN AND HISTORIAN, AND WHO BECAME A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - HE WAS THE SON OF EUSEBIUS, OF THE CITY OF STRIDON, WHICH WAS ON THE BORDER OF DALMATIA AND PANNONIA - HE IS **BEST KNOWN FOR HIS TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE INTO LATIN (THE VULGATE), AND HIS LIST OF WRITINGS IS EXTENSIVE - HE IS RECOGNIZED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS A SAINT AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, AND THE VULGATE IS STILL AN IMPORTANT TEXT IN CATHOLICISM - HE IS ALSO RECOGNIZED AS A SAINT BY THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH, WHERE HE IS KNOWN AS ST. JEROME OF STRIDONIUM OR BLESSED JEROME {NOTE: THAT THE DISCIPLINE, OF STICKING STRICTLY TO THE BIBLE OF THE EARLIER CHURCH FATHERS AND CHURCH THEOLOGIANS HAS ALREADY BEGAN TO DIMINISH AS THE NEWER GENERATIONS OF ROMAN THEOLOGIANS, NO LONGER PREOCCUPIED WITH PERSECUTION, WERE ABLE TO SPECULATE MORE WIDELY ABOUT POSSIBLE BIBLICAL SCENARIOS. -- ALSO NOTE: ALREADY DURING THE TIME OF JEROME THAT CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY WAS SHIFTING INTO A PRIMARY FOCUS OF END TIMES. THAT THE END TIMES WERE SOON TO UNFOLD AND UNFOLD WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE EVENTS OF THEIR DAY.} Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347. He was not baptized until about 360 or 366, when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus (who may or may not have been the same Bonosus whom Jerome identifies as his friend who went to live as a hermit on an island in the Adriatic) to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies. He studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though probably not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy. As a student in Rome, he engaged in the superficial activities of students there, which he indulged in quite casually but suffered terrible bouts of repentance afterwards. To appease his conscience, he would visit on Sundays the sepulchers of the martyrs and the Apostles in the catacombs. This experience would remind him of the terrors of hell: Often I would find myself entering those crypts, deep dug in the earth, with their walls on either side lined with the bodies of the dead, where everything was so dark that almost it seemed as though the Psalmist's words were fulfilled, Let them go down quick into Hell. Here and there the light, not entering in through windows, but filtering down from above through shafts, relieved the horror of the darkness. But again, as soon as you found yourself cautiously moving forward, the black night closed around and there came to my mind the line of Vergil, "Horror unique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent. Jerome used a quote from Vergil - "The horror and the silences terrified their souls" - to describe the horror of hell. Jerome initially used classical authors to describe Christian concepts such as hell that indicated both his classical education and his deep shame of their associated practices, such as pederasty. Although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was eventually converted. After several years in Rome, he travelled with Bonosus to Gaul and settled in Trier where he seems to have first taken up theological studies, and where he copied, for his friend Tyrannius Rufinus, Hilary of Poitiers' commentary on the Psalms and the treatise De synodis. Next came a stay of at least several months, or possibly years, with Rufinus at Aquileia, where he made many Christian friends. Some of these accompanied him when he set out about 373 on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. At Antioch, where he stayed the longest, two of his companions died and he himself was seriously ill more than once. During one of these illnesses (about the winter of 373-374), he had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. He seems to have abstained for a considerable time from the study of the classics and to have plunged deeply into that of the Bible, under the impulse of Apollinaris of Laodicea, then teaching in Antioch and not yet suspected of heresy. ... The works of Hippolytus of Rome and Irenaeus greatly influenced Jerome's interpretation of prophecy. He noted the distinction between the original Septuagint and Theodotion's later substitution. Jerome warned that those substituting false interpretations for the actual meaning of Scripture belonged to the "synagogue of the Antichrist". "He that is not of Christ is of Antichrist," he wrote to Pope Damasus I. **He believed that "the mystery of iniquity" written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 was already in action when "every one chatters about his views." To Jerome, the power restraining this mystery of iniquity was the Roman Empire, but as it fell this restraining force was removed. He warned a noble woman of Gaul: "He that

letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth." "Woe unto them," he cries, "that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days."... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul. The whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, between the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Alans, Gepids, Herules, Saxons, Burgundians, Allemanni, and-alas! for the commonweal!-- even Pannonians. His Commentary on Daniel was expressly written to offset the criticisms of Porphyry, who taught that Daniel related entirely to the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and was written by an unknown individual living in the 2nd century BC. Against Porphyry, Jerome identified Rome as the fourth kingdom of chapters two and seven, but his view of chapters eight and 11 was more complex. Jerome held that chapter eight describes the activity of Antiochus Epiphanes, who is understood as a "type" of a future antichrist; 11:24 onwards applies primarily to a future antichrist but was partially fulfilled by Antiochus. Instead, he advocated that the "little horn" was the Antichrist: We should therefore concur with the traditional interpretation of all the commentators of the Christian Church, that at the end of the world, when the Roman Empire is to be destroyed, there shall be ten kings who will partition the Roman world amongst themselves. Then an insignificant eleventh king will arise, who will overcome three of the ten kings... after they have been slain, the seven other kings also will bow their necks to the victor. In his Commentary on Daniel, he noted, "Let us not follow the opinion of some commentators and suppose him to be either the Devil or some demon, but rather, one of the human race, in whom Satan will wholly take up his residence in bodily form." In interpreting 2 Thessalonians's claim that the Antichrist will sit in God's temple, Jerome preferred the view that the "temple" should be interpreted as the Church, not as the Temple in Jerusalem. Jerome identified the four prophetic kingdoms symbolized in Daniel 2 as the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the Medes and Persians, Macedon, and Rome. Jerome identified the stone cut out without hands as "namely, the Lord and Savior". Jerome refuted Porphyry's application of the little horn of chapter seven to Antiochus. He expected that at the end of the world, Rome would be destroyed, and partitioned among ten kingdoms before the little horn appeared. Jerome believed that Cyrus of Persia is the higher of the two horns of the Medo-Persian ram of Daniel 8:3. The he-goat is Greece smiting Persia. Alexander [the Great] is the great horn, which is then succeeded by Alexander's half-brother Philip and three of his generals. [link]

0 A.D. - 312 A.D. -- Birth of Jesus and the Early Church Age {BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} THE O.T. BOOK OF MALACHI - AS THE FINAL BOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CLOSES, THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF GOD'S JUSTICE AND THE PROMISE OF HIS RESTORATION THROUGH THE COMING MESSIAH IS RINGING IN THE EARS OF THE ISRAELITES - FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF [SCRIPTUAL] SILENCE ENSUES [THE 400 YEARS ARE VERY ACTIVE YEARS, I.E. THE KINGDOMS OF PERSIA, GREECE AND ROME], ENDING WITH A SIMILAR MESSAGE FROM GOD'S NEXT PROPHET, JOHN THE BAPTIST, PROCLAIMING, "REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR" (MATTHEW 3:2) - MALACHI 3:1-6 IS A PROPHECY CONCERNING JOHN THE BAPTIST - HE WAS THE MESSENGER OF THE LORD SENT TO PREPARE THE WAY (MATTHEW 11:10) FOR THE MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST Purpose of Writing: The Book of Malachi is an oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi (1:1). This was God's warning through Malachi to tell the people to turn back to God. As the final book of the Old Testament closes, the pronouncement of God's just and the promise of His restoration through the coming Messiah is ringing in the ears of the Israelites. Four hundred years of silence ensues, ending with a similar message from God's next prophet, John the Baptist, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2). Key Verses: Malachi 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name." Malachi 3:6-7, "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty." Brief Summary: Malachi wrote the words of the Lord to God's chosen people who had gone astray, especially the priests who had turned from the Lord. Priests were not treating the sacrifices they were to make to God seriously. Animals with blemishes were being sacrificed even though the law demanded animals without defect (Deuteronomy 15:21). The men of Judah were dealing with the wives of their youth treacherously and wondering why God would not accept their sacrifices. Also, people were not tithing as they should have been (Leviticus 27:30, 32). But in spite of the people's sin and turning away from God, Malachi reiterates God's love for His people (Malachi 1:1-5) and His promises of a coming Messenger (Malachi 2:17-3:5). Foreshadowings: Malachi 3:1-6 is a prophecy concerning John the Baptist. He was the Messenger of the Lord sent to prepare the way (Matthew 11:10) for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. John preached repentance and baptized in the name of the Lord, thus preparing the way for Jesus' first advent. But the Messenger who comes "suddenly to the Temple" is Christ Himself in His second advent when He comes in power and might (Matthew 24). At that time, He will "purify the sons of Levi" (v. 3), meaning that those who exemplified the Mosaic Law would themselves need purification from sin through the blood of the Savior. Only then will they be able to offer "an offering in righteousness" because it will be the righteousness of Christ imputed to them through faith (2 Corinthians 5:21). [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MALACHI 1-2 - THE PROPHET MALACHI BEGINS TO PROPHESY ABOUT 400 B.C. - MALACHI WILL ALSO PROPHESY REGARDING THE THEN COMING MESSIAH [JESUS CHRIST] AND WILL ALSO PROPHESY OF THE FORERUNNER THE COMING JOHN THE BAPTIST'S MINISTRY PREVIOUS TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST - THE PROPHESIES OF MALACHI WILL 'SEAL' THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES CONCLUDING THE OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE BUT NOT CONCLUDING PROPHESY IN ISRAEL AS MANY WILL CONTINUE TO PROPHESY AND WRITE TEXTS PRIMARILY AS LOCAL ENCOURAGEMENT AND NOT THE OFFICE OF INHERENCY AND GLOBAL

HOLY SCRIPTURES THAT COMPRISE THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN BIBLE -- 'MALACHI 1:1-5 THE BURDEN OF THE WORD OF THE LORD TO ISRAEL BY MALACHI. I HAVE LOVED YOU [ISRAEL], SAITH THE LORD. YET YE SAY, WHEREIN HAST THOU LOVED US? WAS NOT ESAU JACOB'S [PHYSICAL, BLOOD] BROTHER? SAITH THE LORD: YET I LOVED [GODLY] JACOB, AND I HATED [WORLDLY] ESAU, AND LAID HIS MOUNTAINS AND HIS HERITAGE WASTE FOR THE DRAGONS OF THE WILDERNESS. WHEREAS EDOM [ESAU'S DESCENDANTS] SAITH, WE ARE IMPOVERISHED, BUT WE WILL RETURN AND BUILD THE DESOLATE PLACES; THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, THEY [ESAU'S DESCENDANTS] SHALL BUILD, BUT I WILL THROW DOWN; AND THEY SHALL CALL THEM, THE BORDER OF WICKEDNESS, AND, THE PEOPLE AGAINST WHOM THE LORD HATH INDIGNATION FOREVER. AND YOUR EYES SHALL SEE, AND YE SHALL SAY, THE LORD WILL BE MAGNIFIED FROM THE BORDER [ALL] OF ISRAEL.' ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE

The Prophet Malachi prophesies of the continuing problem of an uncooperative Priesthood. A Priesthood that is doing much more to further the corruption of mankind than it is doing in proclaiming the Blessedness, Holiness and Truth of God: Malachi 2:1-9 And now, O ye Priests, this Commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto My Name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. And ye shall know that I have sent this Commandment unto you, that My Covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The Law of Truth [image of God] was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: *he walked with me in peace and equity, **and did turn many away from iniquity. *For the Priest's lips should keep [holy] knowledge, and they [people] should seek the law at his mouth: for he [Priest] is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of Hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial [biased, incomplete] in the law [representation of God]. ... Malachi 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} RAYSTEDMAN.ORG: ADVENTURING THROUGH THE BIBLE BY RAY C. STEDMAN - #40 THE 400 YEARS BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS (MP3) Sunday evening services at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, were the setting for a series of 67 messages on the entire Bible preached by Ray C. Stedman. One book of the Bible was covered per message, with an additional message inserted to cover the history of the "400 Silent Years" between the close of the Old Testament canon (Malachi) and the First Gospel (Matthew). This series commenced June 28, 1964 and was completed on August 4, 1968. These sermons constitute Discovery Papers #201-267 inclusive. The book version, "Adventuring Through the Bible," was released in late 1997 and is currently in print. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} RAY STEDMAN - ADVENTURING THROUGH THE BIBLE - THE MESSAGE OF MATTHEW: BEHOLD YOUR KING! - PEOPLE OFTEN WONDER WHY WE HAVE FOUR GOSPELS - THERE IS A VERY GOOD REASON FOR THIS - IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT EACH OF THESE GOSPELS IS A DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXCLAMATORY STATEMENT THAT IS FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES -- AND ONLY FOUR TIMES -- IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE WAS AN EXCLAMATORY STATEMENT MADE CONCERNING THE MESSIAH, INTRODUCED ALWAYS BY THE WORD ***BEHOLD - IN ONE OF THE PROPHETS (ZECHARIAH 9:9) WE READ, "BEHOLD THY KING, O ISRAEL!" IN ANOTHER PLACE (ZECHARIAH 6:12) WE READ, "BEHOLD THE MAN!" IN A THIRD PLACE (ISAIAH 42:1) WE READ, "BEHOLD MY SERVANT!" IN STILL A FOURTH PLACE (ISAIAH 35:3, AMOS 4:12) WE READ, "BEHOLD THY GOD!" THESE FOUR STATEMENTS ARE AMPLIFIED AND DEVELOPED IN THE FOUR GOSPELS -- MATTHEW, THE GOSPEL OF THE KING; MARK, THE GOSPEL OF THE SERVANT; LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF THE SON OF MAN; AND JOHN, THE GOSPEL OF GOD, THE PRESENTATION OF THE SON OF GOD (MP3S) Beginning in the New Testament we move from the realm of shadow, type, and prophecy, into the full sunshine of the presentation of the Son of God. The Old Testament speaks of him on every page, but speaks in shadows, in types, in symbols, and in prophecies -- all looking forward to the coming of Someone. You cannot read the Old Testament without being aware of that constant promise running through every page -- Someone is coming! Someone is coming! Now, when we open the Gospels, that Someone steps forth in the fullness of his glory. As John says, "We have beheld his glory...as of the only Son from the Father," (John 1:14 (RSV). I love the Gospels. They are to me one of the most perennially fascinating sections of the Bible. There you see Christ as He is. Remember that what He was is what He is; and what He is is what you have, if you are a Christian. All the fullness of His character and being and life is available to us, and we only learn what those resources are as we see Him as He was and is. That is why the Gospel records are so important to us. People often wonder why we have four Gospels. There is a very good reason for this. It is interesting to note that each of these Gospels is a development of an exclamatory statement that is found in the Old Testament. Four different times -- and only four times -- in the Old Testament there was an exclamatory statement made concerning the

Messiah, introduced always by the word behold. In one of the prophets we read, "Behold thy king, O Israel!" In another place we read, "Behold the man!" In a third place we read, "Behold my servant!" In still a fourth place we read, "Behold thy God!" These four statements are amplified and developed in the four Gospels -- Matthew, the Gospel of the King; Mark, the Gospel of the Servant; Luke, the Gospel of the Son of man; and John, the Gospel of God, the presentation of the Son of God. These four Gospels give us four aspects of our Lord's character and person. They are not, strictly speaking, biographies. They are really sketches about the Person of Christ -- eyewitness accounts by those who knew him personally, or those immediately associated with them. Therefore, they have the ring of authenticity, and they carry to our hearts that first and marvelous impression that our Lord made upon his own disciples, and then upon the multitudes that followed him. No more amazing character has ever walked among men. As you read the Gospel accounts, I hope something of this fascination breaks upon your own heart as you see him stepping forth from these pages, revealed to you by the Spirit, when you see Him as He is. The first book of the New Testament is Matthew, and this is the place where most people start reading the Bible. I think more people begin reading in the New Testament than the Old, therefore, that would make Matthew the most widely read book in all the world. In fact, Renan, the French skeptic, said of this book, "This is the most important book of all Christendom." He also said, "The most important book that has ever been written is the Gospel of Matthew." But it has its critics, too. There are those who claim that this book contains nothing but the early legends of the church which grew up around Jesus, that these accounts are not historical, and that this book was not actually written until the fourth century A.D. Therefore, they say, we are uncertain as to how much is really true. Other critics make the claim that this is only one of many gospels that were circulated. Now, it is true that there are other gospels besides the four in the New Testament. There is the Gospel of Barnabas, for instance, and the Gospel of Peter, and yet other gospels. They can be found in a book called "The New Testament Apocrypha" if you would like to read them. The critics say that it is mere chance that these four Gospels survived. There is a legend that began with a German theologian named Pappas in about the 16th century who said that the Gospels were selected at the Council of Nice in 325 A.D. by gathering together all the many gospels that were circulating at that time, throwing them all under a table, and then reaching in and pulling out four which happened to be Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The foolishness of such a claim is evident to anyone who reads the Gospels with thoughtfulness. They are stamped with the fingerprints of God. The very pattern of these books reflects the divine imprint, and you cannot read them or compare them with the Old Testament without seeing that they come from an inspired source. Furthermore, you have merely to compare them with the Apocryphal gospels to see how foolish such a claim is. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 2 - THE BIRTH OF JESUS - THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH (CHRIST) - BALAAM'S PROPHESIED CHRISTMAS STAR APPEARS - WISE MEN FROM THE EAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM - KING HEROD THE AREA'S ROMAN APPOINTED GENTILE KING THEN ALSO INQUIRES ABOUT THE NEWBORN KING - HEROD A BUILDER OF STONE AND A DESTROYER OF MEN SOUGHT THE DEATH OF THE NEWBORN KING - JOSEPH, MARY AND JESUS FLEE ISRAEL TO LIVE IN EGYPT UNTIL THE DEATH OF HEROD WHEN THEY CAN SAFELY RETURN TO ISRAEL -- 'MATTHEW 2:1-2 NOW WHEN JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM OF JUDAEA [JUDAH] IN THE DAYS OF HEROD THE KING, BEHOLD, THERE CAME WISE MEN FROM THE EAST TO JERUSALEM, SAYING, WHERE IS HE THAT IS BORN KING OF THE JEWS? FOR WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR IN THE EAST, AND ARE COME TO WORSHIP HIM [THE MESSIAH]' Three Wise Gifts: Wise Men of the East journeyed a long distance to find the newborn King of the Jews and to 'Worship Him' upon being led to the young Jesus [about one year old by the time the Wise Men arrived] the Wise Men presented Jesus with three Worship gifts to honor His unique standing among mankind. 1. Gold - the gift and possession for a King and the covering on the Ark of the Covenant [Exodus 25:11] for the Tabernacle and the Temple. 2. Frankincense - the gift of the Priesthood used by priests in an aroma sacrifice offering to God and as an incense [Exodus 31:34] in offering a sweet smoke aroma to God within the Holy place of both the Tabernacle and later the Temple. 3. Myrrh - the gift of an anointing oil for anointing a Prophet [particularly the 'man of sorrows,' 'acquainted with grief' Prophet [Isaiah 53:3] 'the oil of joy for mourning' Isaiah 61:3] and as oil to anoint the Holy objects of the Tabernacle and later also for the Temple 'oil of holy ointment ' [Exodus 30:25]. - 'Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.' [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 3-4 - JESUS BEGINS HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY BY BEING BAPTIZED [WASHED - PUBLIC TESTIMONY] BY JOHN THE BAPTIST - JESUS WAS BAPTIZED NOT UNTO REPENTANCE BUT AS A TESTIMONY [EXODUS 29:4] TO THE PEOPLE THAT HIS MINISTRY HAD BEGUN - JESUS IS THEN LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT INTO THE DESERT FOR FORTY DAYS OF FASTING AND TO BE TEMPTED BY SATAN - 'MATTHEW 3:16-17 AND JESUS, WHEN HE WAS BAPTIZED, WENT UP STRAIGHTWAY OUT OF THE WATER: AND, LO, THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED UNTO HIM (JOHN THE BAPTIST), AND HE SAW [TESTIMONY] THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDING LIKE A DOVE, AND LIGHTING UPON HIM: AND LO A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, SAYING, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED' Matthew 4:1-3 Then was Jesus led up of the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter (Devil) came to Him, he said, If [Since, lit. Greek] thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' - Satan unsuccessfully tempted Jesus three times and all three times Jesus replied to Satan with a quote from the Bible. 1. Turning stones to bread: Satan encourages Jesus to immediately satisfy His hunger by turning rocks to bread. Jesus had been led by the Holy Spirit to go into the desert to fast [and pray] - this was simply who is Jesus going to follow God for eternity or Satan for a moment. [Deut 8:3] Jesus did not even hesitate and would not even consider the suggestion of the Devil. 2. Satan wanted Jesus to test God's loyalty to Jesus by having Jesus jump from the top of the Temple building forcing God to react to the situation in saving Jesus from bodily harm. Jesus said "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord they God" [Deut 6:16]. Again Jesus did not even consider Satan's proposal. Finally Satan told Jesus that if Jesus would "fall down" and worship Satan that Satan would give Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world. Note: 'Revelation 17:10 And there are seven kings [kingdoms of the world]: five are fallen [Nimrod, Egypt, Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Greece], and one is [Rome], and the other [Antichrist] is not yet come; and when he [Antichrist] cometh, he must continue a short space [3 Â˝ years].' Jesus again [Deut 6:13] declined to submit to Satan and Satan immediately departed from the presence of Jesus. - 'Matthew 4:11 Then the Devil (Satan) leaveth Him (Jesus), and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.' [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 5 - JESUS BEGINS HIS 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHINGS - IT'S BEEN ABOUT ONE YEAR SINCE THE BAPTISM OF JESUS THE GOSPEL OF JOHN COVERS THE FIRST YEAR'S EVENTS WITH JESUS MORE FULLY THAN THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS - THE 'SERMON ON THE MOUNT' TEACHINGS ARE TO ORIENTATE MANKIND AWAY FROM HUMAN INDUCED CUSTOMS, RITUALS AND FABLES AND INTO A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'MATTHEW 5:2-12 AND HE (JESUS) OPENED HIS MOUTH, AND TAUGHT THEM, SAYING, BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT: FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN: FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH DO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS: FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL: FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART: FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS: FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD. BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE: FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE YE, WHEN MEN SHALL REVILE YOU, AND PERSECUTE YOU, AND SHALL SAY ALL MANNER OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY, FOR MY SAKE. REJOICE, AND BE EXCEEDING GLAD: FOR GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN: FOR SO PERSECUTED THEY THE PROPHETS WHICH WERE BEFORE YOU' 'Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I (Jesus) am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle [strokes of the pen] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.' - The law has been compared to a blueprint that you have to follow in order to build a life pleasing to God. However the law is more of a painting and an illustration (drawing) than a blueprint. The Laws of God and the Prophecies of God are the Image [painting] of the true God that has always existed [John 1:14 And the Word [Law and the Prophets] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth] not a blueprint or a ritual that Jesus needed to conform Himself into. The Law [Leviticus 19:34] says to 'Love your neighbor' "and thou shalt love him (neighbor/stranger) as thyself" because God is Love. Jesus didn't come to learn how to love one another Jesus came to teach us how to love one another. Also Note:

Jesus then instructs that the law is external that it is words and ideas written down on paper and that what mankind needs is both the living example in Jesus Himself and mankind also needs a step further than the example of Jesus Christ mankind needs to be enabled internally, in the human spirit, to be like Jesus has always been and for mankind to become the Law unto themselves [obeying and following the law on their own] to actually become in the image, the ability, of God in Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit newly residing inside of the regenerated individual human enabling a human to now become pleasing to God and capable of having an intimate individual relationship with the Holy God. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 7 - JESUS CONTINUES TO TEACH AND TO MAKE THAT POINT THAT WHAT MANKIND HAS IS TEMPORARY AND IS PASSING AWAY BUT WHAT HE HAS TO OFFER IS ETERNAL -- 'JOHN 7:37-39 IN THE LAST DAY, THAT GREAT DAY OF THE FEAST [FEAST OF TABERNACLES, SHELTERS - TEMPORARY HOMES], JESUS STOOD AND CRIED, SAYING, IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME, AND DRINK. HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME, AS THE SCRIPTURE HATH SAID, OUT OF HIS BELLY [INNER-LIFE] SHALL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER [ETERNAL TABERNACLE]. BUT THIS SPAKE HE OF THE [HOLY] SPIRIT, WHICH THEY THAT BELIEVE ON HIM SHOULD RECEIVE: FOR THE HOLY GHOST WAS NOT YET GIVEN; BECAUSE THAT JESUS WAS NOT YET GLORIFIED [RESURRECTION].' 'JOHN 7:52-53 THEY [PHARISEES] ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM, ART THOU ALSO OF GALILEE? SEARCH, AND LOOK: FOR OUT OF GALILEE ARISETH NO PROPHET. AND EVERY MAN WENT UNTO HIS OWN [TABERNACLE] HOUSE.' 'John 7:2-10 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren (brothers; James, Jude, etc.) therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. *For neither did his brethren believe in him [James and Jude are known to have become believers after His resurrection]. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: *I go not up yet unto this feast; *for My time is not yet full come. When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone up, then went He also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret [in Resurrection Spirit].' - The time of Jesus to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles has not yet com in full that is why Jesus went in part in secret. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 'Fall feast' a 'Second Coming' Feast that has begun now with the giving of the Holy Spirit but we do not yet have our permanent bodies we still 'tabernacle' in our physical bodies while on earth. Jesus went to the Feast of Tabernacles 'secretly' to give the Living Water to those who would believe in Him and receive it but the rest of the Feast the tabernacle becoming a temple will be completed at the Second Coming of Jesus. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 24 - JESUS HAVING JUST PERMANENTLY DEPARTED FROM THE TEMPLE AND AFTER TELLING OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE TO HIS DISCIPLES - JESUS THEN WENT AND SAT BY HIMSELF AT HIS FAVORITE LOCATION A HILLSIDE OF OLIVE ORCHARDS CALLED THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (MT. OLIVET) - THE DISCIPLES HAVING JUST SEEN JESUS DEPART FROM THE TEMPLE [HIS FATHER'S HOUSE] FOR THE LAST TIME AND HAVING JUST HEARD JESUS TELL THEM OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE CAME TO JESUS AND ASKED HIM WHEN AND WHERE HE INTENDED TO RULE HIS KINGDOM FROM SINCE THE TEMPLE WAS GOING TO BE DESTROYED - JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES TO BE CAREFUL THAT NO ONE DECEIVED THEM ABOUT HIS KINGDOM - THAT INITIALLY HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD BUT THAT AFTER A LONG TIME AND A LONG SERIES OF EVENTS MANY OF THEM SUPERNATURAL THAT HIS KINGDOM WOULD THEN BE USHERED INTO THIS WORLD The coming Generation and the fulfillment of all the events of the Book of Revelation: 'Matthew 24:34 Verily I (Jesus) say unto you, This [End Time] generation shall not pass, till all these things [mainly the book of Revelation] be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.' - Jesus has already said that the Temple was to be destroyed "There shall not be left here one (Temple) stone upon another" and that later the Antichrist (abomination of desolation) was to sit in the Temple "holy place" [rebuilt Temple] 'Matthew 24:15 When ye {presumably the End Time readers} therefore shall *see the abomination of desolation (Antichrist), spoken of by Daniel the prophet [Daniel 9:27], stand in the holy place [inside the 3rd veil in the rebuilt Temple], whoso *readeth, let him understand' Note: The event of the Antichrist is possibly going to be a televised type of event 'When ye therefore shall *see the abomination.' Events inside the Temple were not to be seen by the outside world and are enclosed y walls and curtains however Jesus seems

to be alluding that this Temple event will be seen by everyone either in some televised format or possibly even in some demonic projection capabilities or possibly some massive demonic telepathic hallucinogenic type of event. Jesus began His discussion with His Disciples in warning them to not be deceived and Jesus reiterated several times that deception and demonic activity would increase around the time of the Antichrist. - The majority of the last generation End Time events of the book of Revelation are to be centered around the Jews and in the city of Jerusalem including a rebuilt Temple. 'Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem) â&#x20AC;Ś' It seems that Jesus is summarizing all of the Jerusalem End Time Antichrist events into a Parable about a Fig Tree [Matthew 24:32-35]. The original Fig Tree was in Genesis 3:7 and was used by Adam and Eve in an attempt to cover their own sin. The Fig Tree in the Parable of Jesus is most probably the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem because the type of Temple worship that is trying to be recreate has become obsolete by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ so in a sense the 3rd Temple is a recreation of the Fig Tree because like the Fig Tree of Genesis the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem is going to be stitched together by human hands and it will absolutely not cover or remove any sin. However the Antichrist will invade the 3rd Temple and enter into the holy place and attempt to proclaim himself to be God from within the Temple as everyone alive and on the earth at that time will probably witness and *see somehow either by televised technology or a type of demonically spiritual activity. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 24 - JESUS CONTINUES HIS MOUNT OLIVET DISCUSSION "MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE" END TIME TEACHINGS WITH HIS DISCIPLES -- 'MATTHEW 24:3-6 AND AS HE (JESUS) SAT UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THE DISCIPLES CAME UNTO HIM PRIVATELY, SAYING, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE? AND WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING [KINGDOM REIGN], AND OF THE END OF THE WORLD? AND JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU. FOR MANY SHALL COME IN MY NAME, SAYING, I AM CHRIST; AND SHALL DECEIVE MANY. AND YE SHALL HEAR OF WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS: SEE THAT YE BE NOT TROUBLED: FOR ALL THESE THINGS MUST COME TO PASS, BUT THE END IS NOT YET' The Elect of God: All the people throughout time who like Abraham have answered the call of God become the elect of God. 'Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those [End Time - war and famine - seven seal judgments - the book of Revelation] days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven [seven trumpet judgments - the book of Revelation], and the [Satanic] powers of the heavens shall be shaken [seven bowl judgments - the book of Revelation]: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming [Second Coming] in the clouds of heaven with Power and Great Glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His *elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.' --- There are actually two groups of *elect people and this stems from the 'Firstborn' inheritance that Jesus Christ is to receive. - 'Deuteronomy 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated {divorced wife} for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; *the right of the firstborn is his.' - 'Colossians 1:18 And He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the *firstborn [Resurrection] from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.' The Biblical inheritance of the firstborn is a double portion and as an inheritance Jesus is to receive both the Jews and the Nations (Gentiles) two inheritances and therefore two groups of called and two groups of those who answer the call of God and become the chosen, elect, justified, predestined and glorified by God. Note: Jesus is to inherit the Jews and the Gentiles this does include all of those who have ever existed it includes the Righteous Gentiles of Lot's day before Abraham, all the time up until the Christian [mostly Gentile] Church and the future Gentile Martyred Saints of Revelation. Also Note: The inheritance of Jesus does include the earth, all creation and all possessions, the earth will pass away and there will be a new earth so primarily The Kingdom of Jesus is uniquely about people and about God's love for people. Jesus came to save the people and His plan for eternity is centered and oriented only around the people of His creation. --- Israel is one portion of inheritance for the firstborn Jesus Christ: 'Isaiah 19:25.. and Israel my Inheritance.' - 'Zechariah 2:12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah (Jewish nation) His portion in the holy land and shall choose [to reign from] Jerusalem again.' - 'Psalms 78:70-71 He chose David (king David) also His servant and took him from the sheepfolds [David was a shepherd]: From following the ewes (female sheep) great with young he brought him to feed Jacob His people [Jews] and Israel His (God's) inheritance. {Jacob and Israel are both mentioned both referring to the Jewish nation, this is a poetic way of emphasizing the Jewish nation.} --- Israel is the Elect of God: 'Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.' --- The Gentiles are the second [double portion] of inheritance for the

firstborn Jesus Christ: 'Psalms 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.' - 'Psalms 2:7,8 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee [both physical birth of Jesus in the manger and Resurrection day of Jesus] Ask of Me (Father) and I shall give thee the heathen (Gentiles) for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.' - 'Isaiah 54:3 For thou shall break forth on the right hand and on the left [the Jewish nation is not going to get wiped out but is going have a great population]; And thy seed (Jesus) shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate to be inhabited.' --- The [Gentile in nature] Christian Church is also the elect of God: 'Titus 1:1-2 [Apostle] Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began ...' [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 24 (PART 2) - JESUS CONCLUDES HIS "MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE" BY TELLING HIS DISCIPLES SOME MORE PARABLES ABOUT THE END TIMES AND ABOUT HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM - JESUS BEGAN HIS MOUNT OLIVET DISCOURSE TALKING ABOUT DECEPTION AND THE END TIMES AND JESUS ENDS HIS FINAL MOUNT OLIVET WORDS BY TALKING ABOUT ETERNAL JUDGMENT AND ETERNAL LIFE -- 'MATTHEW 25:46 AND THESE SHALL GO AWAY INTO EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT: BUT THE RIGHTEOUS INTO LIFE ETERNAL' The Second Coming of the Lord: Matthew 24:44-51 Therefore be ye [Disciples] also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh [Second Coming]. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom His Lord hath made ruler over His household [Church], to give them meat [Bible study] in due season [every day]? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That He shall make him ruler over all His [Heavenly] goods. But and if that evil servant [backslider] shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth His [2nd] coming; And shall begin to smite [abuse] his fellowservants [Disciples], and to eat and drink with the drunken; The Lord of that servant shall come [Second Coming] in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion [eternal damnation] with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - The teaching of Jesus Christ is about Heaven and the open opportunity for people to spend eternity in heaven and His teaching is also about hell and the very real possibility of people spending eternity in hell. God created mankind for a purpose and God came to a separated mankind with His purpose to reunite mankind back together with Himself in Heaven where it has always been intended for mankind to be in fellowship and in communion with the Holy God. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} MATTHEW 25-26 - JESUS HAS CONCLUDED HIS MOUNT OLIVET TEACHINGS AND DISCOURSE WITH HIS DISCIPLES - JESUS NOW COMPLETELY SETS HIS MIND ON THE EVENTS OF THE COMING FEASTS OF THE PASSOVER WEEK EVENTS THAT WILL INCLUDE INITIATING AND INSTITUTING THE NEW TESTAMENT WITH HIS COMMUNION BREAD AND WINE OFFERING TO THE DISCIPLES - HIS SELF-SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS AND THREE DAYS LATER HIS GLORIOUS ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION 'Matthew 26:17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread [The Passover is an unleavened bread feast and the unleavened part starts on the 14the day of Nisan (the selection of the lamb is on the 10th) then the feast continues with the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened bread starting on the 15th of Nisan for a total of eight straight days of unleaded bread] the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? And He said, Go into the city (Jerusalem) to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover. Now when the even was come, He (Jesus) sat down with the twelve (Apostles). And as they did eat [the Passover], He said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you [Judas] shall betray Me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, Lord, is it I? And He answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me. The Son of Man goeth [to the cross] as it is written of Him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed Him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto Him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took Bread, and Blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the Disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My Body. And He took the Cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many [all] for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit [grape] of the vine, until that day when I drink it New with you in [Heaven] My Father's Kingdom. And when

they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.' - The Communion of Jesus Christ: The sacrifice offering of Jesus Christ was His physical body, His mind (soul) and His Spirit [Jesus was separated from the Father while on the cross]. The Communion Bread and the Communion Cup that Jesus is offering His disciples to partake in references both the physical sacrifice offering of Jesus on and the cross and it also represents the Resurrected Eternal Spiritual Body and Spiritual Life Blood of the Resurrected Jesus. When we take and break the Unleavened Bread of Communion we are referencing the physical body of Jesus Christ and when we take the Wine of the Communion of Jesus Christ and mingle it with the water we are referencing the physical blood of Jesus Christ. When we eat the bread of the body of Jesus Christ we are internalizing the Resurrection and the eternal Spiritual body of Jesus and likewise when we drink of the Wine of Jesus we are drinking and internalizing the Resurrection and the eternal Spiritual life blood of Jesus. In a sense we are breaking the physical and taking on the Spiritual. -- '1 Corinthians 11:23-28 For I [Apostle Paul] have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night [Passover] in which He was betrayed [by Judas] took [physical] bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the Cup, when He had supped, saying, This Cup is the [Resurrection] New Testament in My Blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye do shew the Lord's [physical] death till He come [2nd coming]. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the [physical and Spiritual resurrection] Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself [Melchizedek Priesthood], and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.' -- 'Deuteronomy 32:9-14 For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance ... and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.' [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 12 - THE GOSPEL OF JOHN NOW TAKES US INTO HOLY WEEK THAT LAST WEEK OF JESUS' MINISTRY PHYSICALLY AMONG MANKIND ON EARTH - "THEN JESUS SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER CAME TO BETHANY" WITH THE DAY OF PASSOVER PLUS THE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE TOMB THIS PLACES JESUS' AND THE DISCIPLES ARRIVAL AT BETHANY ON THE FRIDAY 10 DAYS BEFORE THE SUNDAY RESURRECTION WITH THE ACTUAL TRIUMPHAL ENTRY "ON THE NEXT DAY" OCCURRING ON THE NEXT DAY THE SATURDAY SABBATH DAY -- 'JOHN 12:1-2 THEN JESUS SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER CAME TO BETHANY, WHERE LAZARUS WAS WHICH HAD BEEN DEAD, WHOM HE RAISED FROM THE DEAD. THERE THEY MADE HIM A SUPPER; AND MARTHA SERVED: BUT LAZARUS WAS ONE OF THEM THAT SAT AT THE TABLE WITH HIM.' - 'JOHN 12:12-15 ON THE NEXT DAY [10TH OF NISAN SELECTION OF THE PASSOVER LAMB] MUCH PEOPLE THAT WERE COME TO THE FEAST, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT JESUS WAS COMING TO JERUSALEM, TOOK BRANCHES OF PALM TREES, AND WENT FORTH TO MEET HIM, AND CRIED, HOSANNA: BLESSED IS THE KING OF ISRAEL THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. AND JESUS, WHEN HE HAD FOUND A YOUNG ASS, SAT THEREON; AS IT IS WRITTEN, FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF SION (ZION): BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH, SITTING ON AN ASS'S COLT.' John 12:20-32 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the [Passover] feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. ... And I, if I be lifted up [crucifixion and resurrection] from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.' - The Gentiles were not allowed to seek Jesus until after His death and resurrection as only then will He "draw all men" unto Himself. - Note: It's hard for a Gentile to understand but actually both the O.T. and the N.T. Covenants of God are with the Jews [Jeremiah 31:31] and belong to the Jews [Hebrews 8:8]. There was no Gentile representation at the Passover when the N.T. was initiated apart from the Promise of God given to Abraham [Genesis 12:3] that in Jesus all Nations would be blessed. Everyone involved with and seated at the Passover Table was Jewish including Jesus and none of them became a Christian by eating the Passover. The Jewish Disciples of Jesus became Christian followers of Jesus the same way everyone else does by acknowledging His sinless death on the cross and by acknowledging His resurrection of eternal life. The New Testament that was instituted the evening of the Passover and went into effect with the death and resurrection of Jesus and is for the 'House of Israel'. The New Testament was not finalized at the Passover it was finalized and institutionalized with the giving of the Holy Spirit an event that happened after the Resurrection of Jesus [and after the betrayal and rejection of Jesus] then when He ascended into Heaven briefly the Day of His Resurrection and He was received by His Father in Heaven as the acceptable Atonement offering for mankind to God the Father then that same Resurrection day sent the Comforter the Holy Spirit to mankind in the Baptism of Jesus Christ. As Gentile Christians we have entered into the Jewish New Testament Covenant by the Promises of God not by the Covent of God. The New Testament Covenant belongs to the Jews and through the death and

Resurrection of Jesus Christ we are invited and welcomed into their Covenant to be partakers of their promises and of the blessings that have been given to the Jews from God. Having received an invitation to join in on their eternal Heavenly blessings we need to be certain that we do not, even accidently, take away from the Jews what already belongs to the Jews and we also need to make certain that we are grateful to God and to the Jews for the free gift we have been given and to receive it with gratitude and thankfulness so we don't accidently give a false impression of taking from the Jews something that is not ours and of being guilty of appearing to take and enter the Kingdom of God by force when in fact it has been freely given to us in the promises of God. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 14 - JUDAS HAVING LEFT BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OF THE PASSOVER FEAST - JESUS AND REMAINING ELEVEN DISCIPLES CONCLUDE THE FEAST OF PASSOVER BY SINGING A PSALM - THEN THE PASSOVER FEAST NOT BEING A CURFEW FEAST JESUS AND HIS ELEVEN DISCIPLES DEPART THE UPPER ROOM AND GO TO THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, ON MOUNT OLIVET - ALONG THE WAY TO THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE JESUS EXPLAINS THAT UNLESS HE DEPARTS THE EARTH AND GOES BACK INTO HEAVEN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT BE GIVEN OR SENT TO MANKIND [MANKIND WOULD STILL BE IN SIN AND CANNOT RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT] -- 'JOHN 14:1-4 LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED: YE BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME. IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS: *IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND IF I GO [TO HEAVEN] AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN [SECOND COMING], AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO. AND WHITHER I GO [HEAVEN] YE KNOW, AND THE WAY [THROUGH JESUS CHRIST] YE KNOW.' John 14:15-21 If ye love Me (Jesus), keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter [Holy Spirit], that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; *for He dwelleth with you, and *shall be in you [born again]. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye (Disciples) see Me: because I live [Resurrection], ye shall [resurrection] live also. At that day ye shall know that I Am in My Father, and ye in Me, and *I in you [Resurrection Day]. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and *I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (believer-follower). [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 16 - JESUS EXPLAINS THAT THE LIFE OF A DISCIPLE WITHOUT THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF JESUS IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT -- 'JOHN 16:1-3 THESE THINGS HAVE I (JESUS) SPOKEN UNTO YOU, THAT YE (DISCIPLES) SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED. THEY [RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS] SHALL PUT YOU OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUES: YEA, THE TIME COMETH, THAT WHOSOEVER KILLETH YOU WILL THINK THAT HE DOETH GOD SERVICE. AND THESE THINGS WILL THEY DO UNTO YOU, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE FATHER, NOR ME.' 'John 16:7-16 Nevertheless I (Jesus) tell you the Truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: *for if I go not away, the Comforter [Holy Spirit] will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, *He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I [Righteousness] go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince [Satan] of this world [system] is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all Truth: *for He [Holy Spirit] shall not speak [referencing] of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear [be in agreement with], that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: *for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. *A little while, and ye shall not see Me [Crucifixion death]: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me [Resurrection Life], because I go to the Father.' [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 17 - THE HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER OF JESUS - JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES AND ALL OF THIS FUTURE FOLLOWERS HIS 'HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER' -- 'JOHN 17:1-3 THESE WORDS SPAKE JESUS, AND LIFTED UP HIS EYES TO HEAVEN, AND SAID, FATHER, THE HOUR IS COME; GLORIFY THY SON, THAT THY SON ALSO MAY GLORIFY THEE: AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM POWER OVER ALL FLESH, *THAT HE SHOULD GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO AS MANY AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM. AND *THIS IS LIFE

ETERNAL, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM THOU HAST SENT.' - 'JOHN 17:20-21 NEITHER PRAY I FOR THESE (DISCIPLES) ALONE [ONLY], BUT FOR THEM [FUTURE DISCIPLES] ALSO WHICH SHALL BELIEVE ON ME THROUGH THEIR WORD [MINISTRY]; THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE [CHURCH]; AS THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE [BODY] IN US: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. John 17:1-26 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to Heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, *that He (Jesus) should give Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And *this is Life Eternal, that they (humans) might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou Me with thine own self with *the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which thou gavest Me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them Me; and *they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given Me are of Thee. *For I have given unto them (Disciples) 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. I pray for them (Disciples): *I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I Am Glorified in them (Disciples). And now I Am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, *keep through Thine own Name those whom thou hast given Me, that they [Disciples] may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy Name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition [Judas by his own freewill]; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and *these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I Am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. *They are not of the world, even as I Am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth. As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I Sanctify [go to Heaven] Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the Truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but *for them [future Disciples] also which shall Believe on Me through their word [Ministry]; That they all may be one [Church]; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one [body] in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me. And the Glory which thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, *and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am [in Heavena and while on earth]; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the Love wherewith Thou hast Loved Me may be in them, and I in them.' The High Preistly Prayer of Jesus to His Father in Heaven revealing to His Disciples His heart towards His father and His heart towards all His Disciples. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 19 - THE REJECTION, DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST IS COMPLETED - THE CRUCIFIXION DAY IS THE [15TH OF NISAN] ON THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD DAY THE DAY AFTER THE [14TH OF NISAN] AND THE PASSOVER DAY - IT IS THE SAME DAY [EXODUS 12:17] THAT THE CHILDREN OF GOD LEFT EGYPT AFTER THE ORIGINAL DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN PASSOVER IN EGYPT - {THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPLAINS THAT THE PASSOVER WAS THE NIGHT JESUS WAS BETRAYED [1 CORINTHIANS 11:23 - "THAT THE LORD JESUS THE SAME NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED TOOK BREAD"] THE DAY BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION.} -- JOHN 19:4-5 [PONTIUS] PILATE THEREFORE WENT FORTH AGAIN, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, BEHOLD, I BRING HIM (JESUS) FORTH TO YOU, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM. THEN CAME JESUS FORTH, WEARING THE CROWN OF THORNS, AND THE PURPLE ROBE. AND PILATE SAITH UNTO THEM, BEHOLD THE MAN! - 'ZECHARIAH 6:11-12 THEN TAKE SILVER AND GOLD, AND MAKE CROWNS [SILVER - HIGH PRIEST CROWN, GOLD - KINGS CROWN], AND SET THEM UPON THE HEAD OF JOSHUA (JESUS) THE SON OF JOSEDECH, THE HIGH PRIEST; AND SPEAK UNTO HIM, SAYING, THUS SPEAKETH THE LORD OF HOSTS, SAYING, 'BEHOLD THE MAN' WHOSE NAME IS THE BRANCH (NAZARENE), AND HE SHALL GROW UP OUT OF HIS PLACE AND HE SHALL BUILD THE [HEAVENLY] TEMPLE OF THE LORD:'

John 19:25-27 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the Disciple [John] standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son [Christian fellowship]! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother [Christian fellowship]! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. - The name Mary in Hebrew means bitter so it was a 'bitter,' 'bitter,' 'bitter,' day, event and place to be at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ for the followers of Jesus. Note: Jesus on the cross united His Mother Mary and His Disciple John in Christian fellowship not in some form of worldly adoption. Biblically had Mary adopted the Disciple John then he would have gone to her house because that is what the adoption is it is rights and privileges of the house or estate. Apparently Joseph was clearly deceased not being available for any of the events of the adult life of Jesus and also apparently none of the brothers and sisters were followers of Him either, until after the resurrection so Jesus sent His mother to be with John and the soon to be forming Christian Church. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 20 - RESURRECTION DAY - THE FIRST JEWISH CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY THROUGH BELIEF IN THE ETERNAL LIFE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST - THE SPIRIT BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST BEGINS - WITH THE RECEIVING OF THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST A PERSON [JEW OR GENTILE] BECOMES A CHRISTIAN - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BEGINS! -- 'JOHN 20:14 AND WHEN SHE [MARY MAGDALENE] HAD THUS SAID, SHE TURNED HERSELF BACK, AND SAW JESUS STANDING, AND *KNEW NOT THAT IT WAS JESUS.' [NOTE: ONLY CHRISTIANS CAN RECOGNIZE JESUS WHILE MARY AND THE OTHER JEWISH DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS ALL HAD TO BECOME CHRISTIANS LIKE THE GENTILES HAVE TO AS WELL TO THEN RECOGNIZE JESUS] - 'COLOSSIANS 1:27 ... [THE RESURRECTED JESUS] CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY' John 20:19-23 Then the same day [Resurrection Day] at evening, being [Sunday] the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He shewed unto them his hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father [in Heaven] hath sent Me [Jesus has been back to Heaven], even so send I you. And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost [Having been to Heaven and received by the Father as the acceptable Atonement the Holy Spirit is now given and available to all mankind]: Whose soever sins ye remit [discernment via the Holy Spirit], they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain [discernment via the Holy Spirit], they are retained. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} JOHN 21 - AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION AND GLORIOUS RESURRECTION JESUS SPENDS 40 MORE DAYS WITH HIS DISCIPLES INSTRUCTING THEM IN HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM - THE KINGDOM THAT THAT THEY ARE TO PRESENT TO ALL MANKIND -- 'JOHN 21:1 AFTER THESE [CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION] THINGS JESUS SHEWED HIMSELF AGAIN TO THE DISCIPLES AT THE SEA OF TIBERIAS (AKA THE SEA OF GALILEE AND LAKE GENNESARET); AND ON THIS WISE SHEWED HE HIMSELF.' 'John 21:24-25 This is the disciple [John] which Testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we [Apostles] know that His Testimony [Jesus Christ] is True. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.' - The beloved Disciple and Apostle of Jesus Christ closes his Gospel to the Christian Church with his personal Testimony that what he has written and recorded for mankind is based in fact and actually did happen and occurred as he has written. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: SAINT PETER - SAINT PETER OR SIMON PETER [AKA CEPHAS] WAS PROMINENTLY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

AN EARLY

CHRISTIAN

LEADER, WHO IS FEATURED

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle. Simon Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first Pope by

the Roman Catholic Church. After working to establish the church of Antioch for seven years presiding as the city's bishop and preaching to scattered communities of believers (Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles), in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia, Peter went to Rome. In the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years. He is said to have been put to death at the hand of Emperor Nero. Saint Peter wrote two Catholic (whole church) epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him as Mark was his disciple and interpreter. ... Upon his death, he is said to have been martyred by Emperor Nero and crucified upside down on an inverted cross, as he saw himself unworthy to be crucified the same way like Jesus Christ. Today, Catholic tradition holds that Saint Peter's mortal bones and remains are contained in the underground Confessio of the St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope Paul VI announced the excavation discovery of a First-century A.D. Roman cemetery in 1968. Since 1969, a life-size statue of Saint Peter is crowned every year in St. Peter's Basilica with a Papal Tiara, Ring of the Fisherman, and papal vestments every June 29th, commemorating the Holy Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK OF ACTS - THE BOOK OF ACTS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN CALLED THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND THIS CAN BE A BIT CONFUSING BECAUSE THE CONTENTS IS NOT ABOUT ALL THE APOSTLES, BUT PRIMARILY ON THE LIFE OF PETER (CHAPTERS 1-12) AND PAUL (CHAPTERS 13-28) - RATHER THAN A HISTORY BOOK IT IS MORE IN LINE WITH A BIOGRAPHY - LUKE GIVES A RECORD OF THE LIFE [OF JESUS] AND EVENTS OF THE EARLY CHURCH FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT SIXTY TO SIXTY FIVE YEARS {ABOUT 35 YEARS OF EARLY CHURCH HISTORY: THE ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM MOUNT OLIVET, JERUSALEM IN ABOUT 33 A.D. - THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL [1ST CHURCH COUNCIL] IN ABOUT 50 A.D. (ACTS 15) - UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE MARTYRDOM OF THE APOSTLE PAUL IN ROME IN ABOUT 67 A.D.} The gospels end with the great commission. (Matthew 28:19-20). "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." The book of Acts opens with instructions to the Disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. These instructions become the theme of the book of Acts and give us a clue to how the spread of Christianity would take place. The purpose of Acts is to show the spread of the Gospel throughout the then known world. 'But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' (Acts 1:1-8). The disciples were to be witnesses. In the first twelve chapters the focus is on the Gospel going forth under Peters direction in Jerusalem. There the ministry was directed mainly among the Jews in Jerusalem. Then the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul is stressed in his missionary activities outside of the boarders of Israel. He is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. -- Jerusalem: Chapter 1-7: Jewish Christian Church which covers about the first fifteen years. Peter is the central character during this period which centres around Jerusalem. -- Judea and Samaria: Chapter 8-12: Gentile Christian Church takes in the next twenty-five years. Paul is the central character during this period which centres around Antioch. Paul takes the gospel to the Gentiles. Ends of the Earth: Chapter 13-28: Consolidation of the Church covers the last thirty years to the close of this period. John is the central character during this period which centres around Ephesus {though not really mentioned in the Book of Acts}. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN:

BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 1 - LUKE A GENTILE PHYSICIAN-DOCTOR [A GREEK BACKGROUND], HISTORIAN, APOSTLE PAUL, EYEWITNESS AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH RECORDER/REPORTER CONTINUES HIS MINISTRY TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WITH HIS FOLLOW UP TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE IN HIS SECOND AND FINAL BOOK OF THE BIBLE THE BOOK OF ACTS -- 'ACTS 1:1-3 THE FORMER TREATISE [GOSPEL OF LUKE] {A TREATISE IS A FORMAL AND SYSTEMATIC WRITTEN DISCOURSE ON SOME SUBJECT, GENERALLY LONGER AND TREATING IT IN GREATER DEPTH THAN AN ESSAY, AND MORE CONCERNED WITH INVESTIGATING OR EXPOSING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SUBJECT. - WIKI.COM} HAVE I [LUKE] MADE [WRITTEN], O THEOPHILUS, *OF ALL THAT JESUS BEGAN BOTH TO DO AND TEACH, UNTIL THE DAY IN WHICH HE [JESUS] WAS TAKEN UP [ASCENSION AT MOUNT OLIVET, JERUSALEM], AFTER THAT **HE [JESUS] THROUGH THE HOLY GHOST HAD GIVEN COMMANDMENTS [DIRECTIONS] UNTO THE APOSTLES WHOM HE HAD CHOSEN: TO WHOM ALSO HE [JESUS] SHEWED HIMSELF ALIVE [RESURRECTION] AFTER HIS PASSION [PASSION TO REUNITE GOD AND MANKIND - CROSS AND RESURRECTION] **BY MANY INFALLIBLE [IRREFUTABLE] PROOFS, BEING SEEN [EYEWITNESS] OF THEM FORTY DAYS, AND SPEAKING OF THE THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD ...' COMPANION TO THE

BLOG

Acts 1:4-14 And, [Jesus] being assembled together with them [on the Mount of Olives - at the Ascension of Jesus], Commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for **the promise of the Father [to send the Comforter - the Holy Spirit as a companion], which, saith He, ye have heard of Me [John 14:6]. For John [the Baptist] truly baptized with water; but ye [already baptized by Jesus, with the Firstfruits of the Spirit (John 20:22) - Christians] shall be baptized [by the Father] with the Holy Ghost [for comfort, wisdom, truth, empowerment, etc. to be a witness of Jesus Christ to the world] not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, *wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel [from Rome]? And He said unto them, It is not for you (Christians) [before Pentecost] to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. ***But ye [Christians] shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. **And when He [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their [visible] sight. **And while they looked stedfastly [for His return] toward Heaven as He went up, behold, two men [Angels] stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, **why stand ye gazing up into Heaven [at this spot on Mount Olivet]? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven {but when Jesus visibly returns to Mount Olivet it will be to the Jews not the Church - the Church will already be in Heaven}. Then [departed Mount Olivet] returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room [in the upper room where the Passover, Last Supper was eaten], where abode [lived] both [Apostles and Disciples (brethren)] {Apostles} Peter, and James [brother of John], and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James [son of Alphaeus]. These all continued with one accord [combined purpose] *in prayer and supplication, with the women, *and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His {Disciples} brethren [Christians]. The Promise of the Father is to send the Comforter and the empower [the Holy Spirit] to those who acknowledge Jesus [John 14:16]. The Promise of Jesus is to give eternal life [John 14:6] to all that come to Him. - John 14:6-21 Jesus saith unto him [Apostle - Thomas], ***I [Jesus] Am *the Way, *the Truth, and *the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. ... If ye love Me, keep My Commandments [instructions]. And I will pray the Father, and He [Father] shall give you another (along with Jesus) Comforter [Holy Spirit], that He [Holy Spirit] may abide with you [eternally] for ever; Even the [Holy] Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him [Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit] not, neither knoweth Him [God]: but ye know Him; for He [God] dwelleth with you, ***and shall be in you [Firstfruits - Resurrection Day - birth of the Christian Church]. I [Jesus] will not leave you comfortless: I [Jesus] will come to you [Resurrection]. Yet a little while [death on the cross], and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me [Resurrection]: **because I live, ye shall live also. At that [Resurrection] day ye shall know that I Am in My Father, and ye in Me, **and I [Firstfruits] in you. He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father [who will baptize with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit], and I will love him, and **will manifest [show] Myself [Jesus] to him [Christian]. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 2 - THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ALREADY INDIVIDUALLY (LUKE 24:31) [BY FAITH IN THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS] HAVING THE 'BORN AGAIN' FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT OF JESUS - THE CHURCH CORPORATELY (ALL IN ONE GROUP) RECEIVES THE 'EXPERIENCE' THE PROMISED BAPTISM OF THE FATHER THE COMFORT AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - NOTE: AT PENTECOST THE HOLY SPIRIT IS POURED OUT UPON THE ENTIRE WORLD [JOHN 16:8] - WITH PENTECOST [EMPOWERMENT FOR THE CHURCH, CONVICTION FOR THE WORLD] COMES THE BAPTISM OF PERSECUTION (FIRE) FOR THE CHURCH -'ACTS 2:1-5 AND WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST [LIT. 50 DAYS - AFTER THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS] [5TH LEVITICAL FEAST - LEVITICUS 23:16] WAS FULLY COME, THEY [CHRISTIANS] WERE ALL WITH ONE ACCORD IN ONE PLACE [IN THE UPPER ROOM]. AND SUDDENLY THERE CAME A SOUND FROM HEAVEN AS OF A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND, AND IT FILLED ALL THE HOUSE WHERE THEY WERE SITTING. AND THERE APPEARED UNTO THEM CLOVEN TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE [REFINEMENT, TRIALS, PERSECUTION], AND IT SAT UPON EACH OF THEM. AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED [EMPOWERED] WITH THE HOLY GHOST, AND [EXPERIENTIALLY] BEGAN TO SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES, AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE. AND THERE WERE DWELLING AT JERUSALEM JEWS, DEVOUT MEN, ***OUT OF [REPRESENTING] EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN.' - 'JOHN 16:7 NEVERTHELESS I [JESUS] TELL YOU THE TRUTH; IT IS EXPEDIENT FOR YOU THAT I GO AWAY [BACK TO HEAVEN]: FOR IF I GO NOT AWAY, THE COMFORTER [HOLY SPIRIT] WILL NOT COME UNTO YOU [AT PENTECOST]; BUT IF I DEPART, I WILL SEND HIM UNTO YOU. AND WHEN HE [HOLY SPIRIT] IS COME, ***HE WILL REPROVE THE *WORLD [PENTECOST IS AN OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UPON THE ENTIRE WORLD] OF SIN, AND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND OF

JUDGMENT: OF SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME [JESUS]; OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE I GO TO MY FATHER, AND YE SEE ME NO MORE [AFTER THE ASCENSION]; OF JUDGMENT, BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD [SATAN - DEVIL] IS JUDGED.'

Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing up with the Eleven [Apostles - Judas has committed suicide], lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, *be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour [9:00 A.M.] of the day. **But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel [Joel 2:28-32]; And it shall come to pass in the Last Days [days since - The Triumphal Entry of Jesus in to Jerusalem], saith God, I will pour out of My [Holy] Spirit *upon all flesh [the entire world]: and your [Jewish, Christian and Gentile - *the entire world] sons and your daughters shall prophesy [at times everyone (inside and outside of the Church) speaks for a prophetic truth about God, however (outside of the Church) it is often a corrupted message i.e. New Age message (Acts 16:17-18)], and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants [Christians] and on My handmaidens [men and women] I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [including all days - even the days of Tribulation and Great Tribulation] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke [Tribulation]: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood [Great Tribulation], *before that Great and Notable Day of the Lord come [2nd Coming of Jesus]: ***And it shall come to pass [at any day, at any time, at any moment, Last Days, Church Age, Tribulation, Great Tribulation], that *whosoever [any person] shall call [at any time] on the Name [Jesus] of the Lord [that person] shall be Saved. - Pentecost, empowerment, witness and persecution: In the few days before Pentecost the Christian Church gathered in the Jewish Temple and worshiped Jesus [Luke 24:53] without any incidents because the Church was without the [external upon] witness of the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit upon the entire world, upon every individual and with the empowerment of the Christian Church by the Holy Spirit and now all of mankind with the increased presence of God among mankind the conflict between man and God has dramatically increased and the Christian Church is at the forefront of man's conflict with God. With Pentecost the desire for mankind to either accept or reject the Ministry of Jesus Christ has been heightened and those who reject God do so in a more violent manner. - Note: The Baptism of Fire (persecution) upon the Christian is a baptism directly enacted by Jesus [Matthew 3:11] therefore Jesus controls all aspects and intensities of the persecution (Baptism of Fire) in the life of each Christian. To receive the Baptism of Fire from Jesus is to be given the opportunity to grow in faith and trust in Jesus and it is to be trusted enough by Jesus to be able to endure in the Christian faith while continuing to be a witness of Jesus. - Also Note: With Pentecost and the global outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all mankind [since the blood, cross and death of Jesus - the blood of Jesus has cleansed the entire world (Acts 10:15) - the world [system] is now a clean - however [unclean from within] unsaved mankind is working overtime to corrupt what Jesus has cleansed upon] with the Holy Spirit upon all mankind Christianity and the resurrection life of Jesus Christ that Christianity represents is not a philosophy nor just an idea of a select few but Christianity is the living Spirit, Blood and Word Testimony of God and therefore because Christianity is a living Spirit that unsaved mankind then physically reacts out of proportion [sometimes in strong denial, rejection, even dangerously, etc.] to the Spiritual calling on their life by God in Jesus Christ. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 3 - THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONTINUALLY WORSHIPED AND SERVED JESUS CHRIST EVEN AFTER HIS BODILY ASCENSION BACK INTO HEAVEN - AS A PART OF THEIR CHRISTIAN DEVOTION TO JESUS THEIR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND THEM WERE DRAMATICALLY ALTERED BEING TRANSFORMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CONFORM WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF GOD -- 'ACTS 3:1-9 NOW PETER AND JOHN WENT UP TOGETHER INTO THE TEMPLE AT THE HOUR OF PRAYER [CHRISTIANS WENT TO THE TEMPLE ONLY TO PRAY AND PERFORM CERTAIN SERVICES BUT NO LONGER TO SACRIFICE (A LAMB) AS JESUS IS OUR ETERNAL SACRIFICE], BEING THE NINTH HOUR [3:00 P.M.]. AND A CERTAIN MAN LAME [UNABLE TO WALK] FROM HIS MOTHER'S WOMB [PHYSICAL BIRTH] WAS CARRIED, WHOM THEY LAID DAILY AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE WHICH IS CALLED BEAUTIFUL, TO ASK ALMS (GIFTS) OF THEM THAT ENTERED INTO THE TEMPLE; WHO SEEING PETER AND JOHN ABOUT TO GO INTO THE TEMPLE ASKED AN ALMS. AND PETER, FASTENING HIS EYES UPON HIM WITH JOHN, SAID, LOOK ON US [MAKE EYE CONTACT]. AND HE GAVE HEED UNTO THEM [LOOKED THEM IN THE EYE], EXPECTING TO RECEIVE SOMETHING OF THEM. THEN PETER SAID [WORLDLY WEALTH], SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE; BUT SUCH AS I HAVE [HEAVENLY WEALTH] GIVE I THEE: *IN THE NAME [AT JESUS' BIDDING] OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH RISE UP AND WALK. AND HE [PETER] TOOK HIM BY THE RIGHT HAND [CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP], AND LIFTED HIM UP [CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS]: AND IMMEDIATELY HIS FEET AND ANCLE BONES RECEIVED STRENGTH. AND HE LEAPING UP

STOOD [NEW LIFE

RESURRECTION], AND WALKED

[CHRISTIAN WALK], AND ENTERED WITH THEM [INTO FELLOWSHIP] INTO THE TEMPLE [TO PRAY TO GOD], WALKING, AND LEAPING, AND PRAISING GOD. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAW HIM WALKING AND PRAISING GOD ...' Acts 3:10-26 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the Temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he *answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? ***The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of [Pontius] Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer [Barabbas] to be granted unto you; And killed [Jesus] **the Prince of life, whom God hath raised [resurrection] from the dead; **whereof we are witnesses. And His Name [Jesus] *through faith [cross and resurrection] in His Name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him [Jesus] hath given him [lame man] this perfect [complete] soundness [health] in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it [crucified Jesus], as did also your rulers. *But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth *of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled. ***Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He [Father] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: [Jesus] *Whom the heaven must receive [remain] {this is where the concept of the Church Rapture emerges as Jesus is to remain in Heaven and not to come physically to the earth until the end of the Book of Revelation and His 2nd Coming to the Jews, Jesus will have gathered His Christian Church together unto Himself in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) avoiding coming to earth until later} until the times of restitution [end of the Book of Revelation] of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His Holy Prophets since the world began. **For Moses truly said (Deuteronomy 18:15) unto the fathers, A Prophet [who is God] shall the Lord your God raise up [resurrection] unto you of your brethren, [a leader of the people of Israel] like unto me [Moses]; Him [Jesus] shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet [Jesus], shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the Prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. *Ye [redeemed of God] are the Children of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with our fathers, **saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed [Jesus] shall all the Kindreds [Ethnicity] of the earth be Blessed. Unto you [Jews] first(,) God, having raised up [resurrection] His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you [Jews, first], in turning away every one of you from his iniquities [inability to have a real meaningful relationship with God]. - The Apostles Peter and John demonstrate to the people both in their life and in their preaching that the Spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ though it has only partially arrived [Firstfruits] for mankind the partial Kingdom of Jesus Christ fully Triumphs over and supersedes the current fallen physical realm and predicament of mankind. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 4 - THE GOSPEL OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST HAS BEGUN TO BE PREACHED (PROCLAIMED) TO MANKIND FIRST TO THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM THEN TO THE MIXED MULTITUDE [JEWS AND GENTILES] IN SAMARIA [THE ANCIENT (O.T.) KINGDOM OF NORTHERN ISRAEL] AND ULTIMATELY TO ALL THE GENTILES OF THE WORLD -- 'ACTS 4:1-4 AND AS THEY [APOSTLES] SPAKE UNTO THE PEOPLE, THE PRIESTS, AND THE CAPTAIN [OF THE GUARD] OF THE TEMPLE, AND THE SADDUCEES, CAME UPON THEM, *BEING GRIEVED [SINCE PENTECOST CHRISTIANITY IS A PERCEIVABLE SPIRIT THAT MEN EITHER REJOICE IN OR ARE GRIEVED BY] THAT THEY TAUGHT THE PEOPLE, *AND PREACHED THROUGH JESUS *THE RESURRECTION [OF JUST HUMANS] FROM THE DEAD. AND THEY LAID HANDS ON THEM, AND PUT THEM IN HOLD UNTO THE NEXT DAY: FOR IT WAS NOW EVENTIDE [LIT. CLOSE OF A REGULAR DAY G2703]. HOWBEIT MANY OF THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD BELIEVED; AND THE NUMBER OF THE MEN [CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY] WAS ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND.' Acts 4:5-31 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the High Priest [the Jewish appointed High Priest], and Caiaphas [the Roman appointed High Priest], and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred [Levitical Tribe] of the High Priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? *Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost [the continuing empowerment and witness of Pentecost], said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of

Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole [lit. Salvation]; **Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised [resurrection] from the dead, even *by Him [Jesus] doth this man stand here before you whole. *This [Jesus] is the stone which was set at nought of you builders (Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22), which is become the head of the corner. *Neither is there Salvation in any other: ***for there is none other Name under Heaven ***given among men, ***whereby we must be Saved [eternal resurrection life in Jesus]. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned [unschooled in ministry] and ignorant men [tradesmen], they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this Name [Jesus]. And they called them, *and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the Name of Jesus. **But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. *For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man [who was healed] was above forty years old [an adult], on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they [Christians] heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, **and said, *Lord, thou art God, *which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy Holy Child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of thy Holy Child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, *and they [Christians] spake the word of God with boldness. - Now the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ has been removed from the religious institutions and the Gospel News is to be brought directly to the people of the world directly from the Children of God. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 5 - WITH THE PRESENCE AND ASSISTANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO TRUST AND DISCERN THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY AND AS A RESULT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH REALIZES AN ENORMOUS, EXPLOSIVE, UNPRECEDENTED EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS -- 'ACTS 5:14 AND [CHRISTIAN] BELIEVERS WERE THE MORE ADDED TO THE LORD [JESUS CHRIST], MULTITUDES BOTH OF MEN AND WOMEN.' Acts 5:17-42 Then the High Priest [Annas] rose up, and all they that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees [liberal sect of Judaism (Democrats) - Pharisees are the conservative sect (Republicans)], and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. *But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, **and said, Go, stand and speak *in the Temple [speak to the inner spirit of man] to the people all the words of this [eternal resurrection] life. And when they heard that, they entered into the Temple early in the morning, and taught. But the High Priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council [Sanhedrin - Jewish Supreme Court] together, and all the senate of the children of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the [Jewish] officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the High Priest and the Captain [of the guard] of the Temple and the Chief Priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the Temple, and Teaching the people. Then went the Captain with the Officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the Council: and the High Priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this [Jesus] Name? and, ***behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your *doctrine, and intend to bring this man's [Jesus'] blood upon us. **Then Peter and the other

apostles answered and said, **We ought to obey God [Jesus] rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince [Son] and a Saviour, *for to give repentance to Israel, **and forgiveness of sins. ***And we are His witnesses of these things; ***and so is also ***the Holy Ghost, *whom God hath given [in comfort, wisdom and empowerment] to them that obey Him. *When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, *and took counsel to slay [kill] them. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named *Gamaliel [the Apostle Paul's teacher - Paul was a Pharisee], a doctor [teacher] of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the Apostles forth a little space [in another room]; And said unto them [Jewish Council], Ye men of Israel, *take heed [from God - pray first] to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas [a false christ], boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, *and [God] brought [it] to nought. After this man rose up Judas [false christ] of Galilee in the days of the taxing [about the time of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem], and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed [by God]. *And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: *for if this counsel or this work [of the Apostles] be of men [acting in the Name of God], it will come to nought: **But if it [ministry of the Apostles] be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him *they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and *beaten them, *they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go {they somewhat agreed}. And they [Apostles] departed from the presence of the Council, *rejoicing that they were counted worthy [by Jesus] to suffer shame for His Name. And daily in the Temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. - Note: The famous teacher Gamaliel [whose writings are still with us today - quoted in the Talmud] is who the Apostle Paul as a boy and as a young man received his instruction in the Torah (Bible) from before Paul (Saul) became a Christian. - [Gamaliel, also called Gamaliel I or Gamaliel the Elder was a first century authority on Jewish law who appears in the Acts of the Apostles. In Christian tradition, he was later considered to be a Christian saint (Saint Gamaliel). In Judaism he is a respected authority quoted in the Talmud referred to as Rabban Gamliel. - Wiki.com] (The title "Rabban," was borne only by presidents of the highest religious council, first prefixed to the name of Gamaliel - www.jewishencyclopedia.com). [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN:

BIBLE STUDY} THE APOSTLE PAUL - WHEN PAUL BECAME A CHRISTIAN, HIS VERY THOROUGH [JEWISH] EDUCATION WAS ENORMOUSLY HELPFUL - HE WAS ABLE TO ASSIMILATE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES RAPIDLY AND RELATE THEM ACCURATELY TO THE SCRIPTURE TEACHING HE HAD RECEIVED - FROM HIS EDUCATION, BOTH FROM GAMALIEL AND IN THE DESERT [SAUDI ARABIA] FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, PAUL DEVELOPED A DIVINE VIEWPOINT ATTITUDE TOWARD HUMAN HISTORY - *PAUL KNEW THAT THE EXISTENCE OF GOD [BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SINCE PENTECOST] CAN EASILY BE PERCEIVED BY ANYONE, *THAT MAN CAN BECOME AWARE OF GOD, *BUT THAT MANY MEN'S DELIBERATE SIN HALTED THIS GOOD BEGINNING [AFTER BECOMING AWARE OF GOD] BY [CONTINUED] IMMORAL ACTIVITIES WHICH ACCOMPANIED THEIR [PAST] IDOLATRY BLOG

The Apostle Paul - The apostle Paul was one of the most famous citizens of the Roman Empire and without question one of the most influential individuals in history. He was used by the Lord in his missionary and evangelistic activities to set in motion a great deal of the organization known as the Christian Church, the Body of Christ on earth, to the extent that billions of human beings have been directly or indirectly affected by his ministry. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the foundation documents for the Christian way of life, the Word of God which has changed the lives of millions. -- Paul's Education: Paul was educated by his mother until the age of five. From age five to ten he studied with his father in the Hebrew scriptures and traditional writings. At the same time, being a Roman citizen and living in a Greek and Roman environment, he received a thorough education in the Greek language, history, and culture. He was sent to Jerusalem at about the age of ten to attend the rabbinical school of Gamaliel, who was the son of Simeon the son of Hillel. Gamaliel was a most eminent rabbi who was mentioned both in the Talmud and in the New Testament (Acts 5:24-40; 22:3). Gamaliel was called Rabban - one of only seven teachers so called. He was a Pharisee, but he rose above party prejudice. He composed a prayer against the Christian "heretics". He lived and died a Jew. At this time, Herod was dead, and the Romans had complete control of Judea, hence, there was Roman money, language, and culture. The Jews, therefore, were inclined to cling more closely to their religion as the center of unity. [Refer to the topic: Judean History] There were two great rabbinical schools, those of Hillel and Schammai. Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel, held that tradition was superior to the Law. The school of Schammai despised traditionalists, especially when there teachings clashed with the writings of Moses. The religious school of Gamaliel (Hillel) was chiefly oral and usually

{BASIC CHRISTIAN:

CHURCH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM LEARN TO HANDLE THE CONTINUAL CONTROVERSIES AND CONFLICTS THAT ARISE BOTH FROM WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND FROM OUTSIDE THE CHURCH -- 'ACTS 6:1-7 AND IN THOSE [EARLY CHURCH IN JERUSALEM] DAYS, WHEN THE NUMBER OF THE DISCIPLES WAS MULTIPLIED, THERE AROSE A MURMURING OF THE GRECIANS [GREEK JEWS] AGAINST THE HEBREWS [ISRAEL JEWS], BECAUSE THEIR WIDOWS WERE NEGLECTED [NOT ON THE LIST] IN THE DAILY [FOOD GIVING] MINISTRATION. THEN THE TWELVE [THE ELEVEN PLUS MATTHIAS THE (TEMPORARY) REPLACEMENT FOR JUDAS - PAUL IN ALL LIKELINESS BECAME THE TWELFTH APOSTLE PERMANENTLY REPLACING JUDAS] CALLED THE MULTITUDE OF THE DISCIPLES UNTO THEM, AND SAID, IT IS NOT REASON THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE THE [STUDY AND PREACHING] WORD OF GOD, AND SERVE TABLES [DISTRIBUTE FOOD]. WHEREFORE, BRETHREN, LOOK YE OUT AMONG YOU SEVEN MEN OF HONEST REPORT, FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST AND WISDOM, WHOM WE MAY APPOINT OVER THIS [CHARITY] BUSINESS. BUT WE [LEADERS] WILL GIVE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER, AND TO THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD [BIBLE]. AND THE SAYING PLEASED THE WHOLE MULTITUDE: AND THEY CHOSE STEPHEN, A MAN FULL OF FAITH AND OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND PHILIP, AND PROCHORUS, AND NICANOR, AND TIMON, AND PARMENAS, AND NICOLAS A [GREEK - JEWISH CONVERT] PROSELYTE OF ANTIOCH: WHOM THEY SET BEFORE THE APOSTLES: AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, THEY LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM. AND THE WORD OF GOD INCREASED; AND THE NUMBER OF THE DISCIPLES MULTIPLIED IN JERUSALEM GREATLY; AND A GREAT COMPANY OF THE [LEVITICAL TEMPLE] PRIESTS WERE OBEDIENT [CONVERTS] TO THE [CHRISTIAN] FAITH. - NOTE: THE GRECIAN CHRISTIANS ISSUED THE COMPLAINT AND THE EARLY CHURCH (PRIMARILY HEBREW) RESPONDED NOT IN A COMPROMISE BUT BY SELECTING ALL SEVEN OF THE APPOINTED CHARITY WORKERS FROM THE GRECIAN GROUP. THE GREEK [GREECE THE 5TH KINGDOM OF THE WORLD - REVELATION 17:10] NATION RULED OVER ISRAEL FOR ABOUT 200 YEARS [336 B.C. - 149 B.C.] BEFORE ROME BEGAN TO RULE OVER ISRAEL AND THE GREEK CULTURE WAS DEEPLY IMPLANTED INTO JEWISH SOCIETY IN ISRAEL.' BLOG

BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 6 - THE

EARLY

CHRISTIAN CHURCH

AND

Acts 6:8-15 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain [Greek - Helenistic Jews] of the Synagogue, which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the [Holy] Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him [Stephen], and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this Holy place [Temple], and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place [Temple], and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, *looking stedfastly on him, saw [observed] his face [with the presence of the Holy Spirit upon him] as it had been the face of an angel [in the very presence of God]. - Stephen living enough in the presence of God to become loving enough to witness to the people around him becomes bold enough to die for the Christian faith and becomes the first Christian martyr. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 7 - STEPHEN UNDER ARREST FOR BLASPHEMY AND ON TRIAL FOR HIS LIFE IN JERUSALEM STEPHEN USES AS HIS DEFENSE THE KNOWN FACT THAT NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PROPHET OF IMPORTANCE TO ISRAEL THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL HAVE FIRST REJECTED THE TRUE PROPHET BEFORE THEY ULTIMATELY ACCEPTED THEM AND THEIR MINISTRY AS BEING OF GOD - STEPHEN IS SAYING THAT JESUS WAS OBVIOUSLY GOD IN THE FLESH THOUGH MANY PEOPLE REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT BUT THEN REJECTING THE TRUE PROPHETS OF GOD IS THE TRACK RECORD OF MANKIND WHEN IT COMES TO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MAN AND GOD - MANKIND HAS A PROPENSITY TO REJECT THE TRUE INTERACTION WITH GOD WHILE AT THE SAME TIME EMBRACE THE FALSE PROPHETS OF THE WORLD -- 'ACTS 7:52-53 WHICH OF THE [TRUE] PROPHETS HAVE NOT YOUR FATHERS PERSECUTED? AND THEY HAVE SLAIN THEM [TRUE PROPHETS] WHICH SHEWED BEFORE [PROPHESIED] OF THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE [JESUS CHRIST]; OF WHOM YE HAVE BEEN NOW THE BETRAYERS AND MURDERERS [THEIR JEWISH FOREFATHERS PUT TO DEATH THE TRUE PROPHETS BUT THEY MANAGED TO GO A STEP FURTHER AND PUT TO DEATH THE MESSIAH, JESUS THE ONE PROPHESIED ABOUT]: WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE LAW [THE IMAGE OF JESUS] BY THE DISPOSITION OF ANGELS, AND HAVE NOT KEPT IT [BECAUSE THE LAW REVEALED THE NATURE OF JESUS].' Acts 7:52-60 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One [Messiah]; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law [Divinely] by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart [enraged in their soul], and they gnashed on him with their teeth. *But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, *looked up stedfastly *into heaven, *and saw the glory of God, *and Jesus *standing [Jesus is standing as the Melchizedek High Priest ready to receive into Heaven the acceptable offering of the sacrifice and life of Stephen] on the right hand of God, And said, **Behold, I see the Heavens opened, and the Son of Man [Jesus] standing on the right hand of God [Father]. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city [outside the city limits, probably at the dump], and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul [later the Apostle Paul] {Note: Saul (the Apostle Paul) although perfectly within his rights did not throw a stone himself - Paul was not the violent aggressor that the secular world wants to portray}. And they [not Saul] stoned Stephen, ***calling upon God, and **saying [as Jesus said from His cross (Luke 23:46)], Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. *And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge [as Jesus had said from His cross (Luke 23:34)]. And when he had said this, he fell asleep [to the Christian death is as harmless as sleep and often in the Bible death is referred to simply as a [harmless] sleep for those who are saved and will awake in Heaven]. - Note: Normally in the Bible Jesus is represented as seated [enthroned]at the right hand of the Father Matthew 26:64)however Stephen describes Jesus as standing - standing is a part of the office of the High Priest sitting is a part of the office of the King. Jesus preforms all three offices of God as King of the Universe, High Priest [Melchizedek] and True Prophet. The Christian Stephen lived his life with Jesus as his example, he preached his life with Jesus as his example and in his death (sleep) he departed with Jesus as his example and as such Stephen saw Jesus standing in Heaven and was received directly into Heaven receiving what the Apostle Paul would call the martyrs death the "better resurrection" (Hebrews 11:35). [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} WIKIPEDIA.ORG - ST. STEPHEN'S DAY [DECEMBER 26TH]: COMMEMORATES SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST [COMMON] CHRISTIAN MARTYR St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian Saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on January 9 according to the Gregorian calendar used in secular (and Western) contexts. It commemorates St Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr. -- Protomartyr (Greek "first" + "martyr") is a term for the first Christian martyr in a country. Alternatively, the phrase the Protomartyr (with no other qualification of country or region) can mean Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church. -- See also: Boxing Day [day after Christiams] - The name derives from the English tradition giving seasonal gifts (in the form of a "Christmas box") to less wealthy people. In the United Kingdom this was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers, servants, tradespeople and postal workers. ... Boxing Day is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas Day. Unlike St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day is a secular holiday and is not always on 26 December: the public holiday is generally moved to the following Monday if 26

December is a Saturday. If 25 December is a Saturday then both the Monday and Tuesday may be public holidays. However the date of observance of Boxing Day varies between countries. In Ireland - when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the UK's Bank Holidays Act 1871 established the feast day of St Stephen as a nonmoveable public holiday on 26 December. Since Partition, the name "Boxing Day" is used only by the authorities in Northern Ireland (which remained part of the United Kingdom). Their Boxing Day is a moveable public holiday in line with the rest of the United Kingdom. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act of 1971 established "Boxing Day" as a public holiday in Scotland. In the Australian state of South Australia, 26 December is a public holiday known as Proclamation Day. -- Calendar: In the countries that observe this holiday, 26 December is commonly referred to both as Boxing Day and as St. Stephen's Day, no matter what day of the week it occurs. However, in some countries, holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are observed on the next weekday. Boxing Day cannot be on a Sunday, that day being the officially recognised day of worship, so traditionally it was the next working day of the week following Christmas Day, (i.e. any day from Monday to Saturday). In recent times this tradition has been either forgotten or ignored. Most people consider 26 December to be Boxing Day even when it falls on a Sunday. The last year 26 December was called Christmas Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada was 1993. The next time the date fell on a Sunday (1999), it was known as Boxing Day. If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, then Monday 28 December is declared a bank or public holiday. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, this is accomplished by Royal Proclamation. In some Canadian provinces, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday that is always celebrated on 26 December. As with most statutory holidays in Canada, if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, compensation days are given in the following week. If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday then Christmas Day would be on a Saturday, so in countries where these are both bank or public holiday, the Statutory Holiday for Christmas is moved to Monday December 27 and the Statutory Holiday for Boxing Day is moved to Tuesday December 28. If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, then Boxing Day is on Monday 26 December, and no Royal Proclamation is required. In such a circumstance, a 'substitute bank holiday in the place of Christmas Day' is declared for Tuesday 27 December, so the Boxing Day holiday occurs before the substitute Christmas holiday. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 8 - THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BEGINS TO EXPERIENCE WIDE SCALE OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION -- 'ACTS 8:1-3 AND SAUL [LATER THE APOSTLE PAUL] WAS CONSENTING UNTO HIS [STEPHEN'S] DEATH. *AND AT THAT TIME THERE WAS A GREAT PERSECUTION AGAINST THE CHURCH WHICH WAS AT JERUSALEM; AND THEY [CHRISTIANS - DISCIPLES] WERE ALL SCATTERED ABROAD THROUGHOUT THE REGIONS OF JUDAEA AND SAMARIA, *EXCEPT THE APOSTLES [APOSTLE MEANS 'SENT OUT' AT THIS POINT IN THE CHURCH THE DISCIPLES BASICALLY FLED WHILE THE APOSTLES REMAINED CALM]. AND DEVOUT MEN CARRIED STEPHEN TO HIS BURIAL, AND MADE GREAT LAMENTATION OVER HIM. AS FOR SAUL, HE MADE HAVOCK OF THE CHURCH, ENTERING INTO EVERY HOUSE, AND HALING MEN AND WOMEN COMMITTED THEM TO *PRISON [EARLY CHRISTIANS IN JERUSALEM WERE PRIMARILY SENT TO PRISON FOR A SHORT TIME].' Acts 8:4-25 Therefore they [Christian - Disciples] that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the [Gospel] Word. Then Philip [one of the seven servants as was Stephen] went down to the city of Samaria [ancient capital of Northern Israel], and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon [the Sourcer - Warlock], which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. *But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, *they were baptized, both men and women. *Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God [but not yet the actual Kingdom of God], they sent unto them *Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost [Jesus instructed that the Christian Church would expand orderly and with the participation of Peter (Matthew 16:17-19) the leading Apostle]: For as yet He [Holy Spirit] was fallen upon none of them [Pentecost empowerment]: only they were baptized [Firstfruits] in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they [Peter, John] their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost [i.e. the 2nd Pentecost of the Church "Samaritans" - with the 3rd Pentecost household of Cornelius (Acts 10) Romans-Gentiles yet to come]. And when Simon

saw that through laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given {actually a new mission field was opened up}, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. **But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee [Peter did not consider Simon the Sourcer to be saved], because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. *Thou [unsaved] hast neither part nor lot in this matter: *for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. *Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. *For I perceive [discern] that thou art in the gall of bitterness [against Jews and Christians], and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon [unwilling to go to God himself], and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Gospel in many villages [in the now open mission field] of the Samaritans. - The spread of Christianity being a work of God ordained in the Holy Spirit was spread only through the opening of opportunities by the Holy Spirit. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 10 - ACTS CHAPTER 10 - THE BIRTH OF THE GENTILE CHRISTIAN CHURCH -- 'ACTS 10:17 THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN IN CAESAREA CALLED CORNELIUS, A CENTURION [SOLDIER - COMPANY COMMANDER] OF THE BAND [UNIT] CALLED THE ITALIAN BAND, A DEVOUT [GENTILE] MAN, AND ONE THAT FEARED GOD WITH ALL HIS HOUSE, WHICH GAVE MUCH ALMS TO THE [JEWISH AND GENTILE] PEOPLE, AND PRAYED TO GOD ALWAY. HE SAW IN A VISION EVIDENTLY ABOUT THE NINTH HOUR [3:00 PM] OF THE DAY AN ANGEL OF GOD COMING IN TO HIM, AND SAYING UNTO HIM, CORNELIUS. AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM, HE WAS AFRAID, AND SAID, WHAT IS IT, LORD? AND HE [ANGEL] SAID UNTO HIM, *THY PRAYERS AND THINE ALMS [GIVING] ARE COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL [ETERNAL REMEMBRANCE] BEFORE GOD. AND NOW SEND MEN TO JOPPA, AND CALL FOR ONE SIMON, WHOSE SURNAME IS [APOSTLE] PETER HE LODGETH WITH ONE SIMON A TANNER, WHOSE HOUSE IS BY THE SEA SIDE: HE [PETER] SHALL [OPEN THE DOORS FOR THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO NOW RECEIVE GENTILE MEMBERS] TELL THEE WHAT THOU OUGHTEST TO DO. ...' Acts 10:7-48 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour ... And the voice [of God] spake unto him [Peter] again the second time, *What God hath cleansed [with His blood on the cross], that call not thou common [unclean]. ... Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. ... Now therefore are we all here present [back at the house of Cornelious in Caesarea] before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee [Peter] of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons [Jew or Gentile]: But **in every Nation he that feareth Him [God], and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The word which God sent unto the Children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all: That Word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea [Israel], and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; *How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. **And we are witnesses of all things which He [Jesus] did both in the land of the Jews, and in [Holy Week] Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed Him openly [visibly]; ***Not to all the people [only Christians (Firstfruits) those haven received the born again' Spirit of Jesus witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus], but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us [Apostles], who did eat and drink [feasting] with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick [living] and dead. To Him give all the prophets witness, that *through His Name *whosoever believeth in Him *shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, ***the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word [the 3rd and final ethnic Pentecost globally opening the Christian Church to Gentiles]. And they of the circumcision [Jewish Christians] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid [Baptism] water, that these should not be Baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? *And he commanded them to be Baptized in the Name of the Lord [Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit]. Then *prayed [communicated] they him to tarry certain days. - Note: By this time in history with the move of the Holy Spirit to allow Gentiles into the

Christian this is about 48 A.D. with the cross, resurrection and Pentecost occurring in about 33 A.D. the Christian Church has been firmly established and is about 15 years old when Gentiles are brought into Christian Fellowship with God. The as a result of Gentiles coming directly into the Christian Church in about 51 A.D. the Christian Church will have its first council the Council of Jerusalem to decide the validity and positioning of Gentiles in the already well-established Christian Church. The decision will be that Gentiles who have also been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ are to be welcomed into the Christian Church as full and equal members in the one universal Church body of the resurrected Jesus Christ. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 12 - THE APOSTLE JAMES THE REPRESENTATIVE OF [AND APOSTLE TO] THE REDEEMED GROUP OF MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION IS HIMSELF MARTYRED -- 'ACTS 12:1-2 NOW ABOUT THAT TIME HEROD [ANTIPAS] THE KING [THE SON OF KING HEROD THE GREAT OF MATTHEW 2:1] STRETCHED FORTH HIS HANDS TO VEX CERTAIN OF THE CHURCH. AND HE KILLED JAMES THE BROTHER OF JOHN WITH THE SWORD.' NOTE: JESUS ONLY ALLOWED THE DISCIPLES PETER, JOHN AND JAMES [EACH REPRESENTING A DISTINCT GROUP OF REDEEMED - SAVED PEOPLE] TO WITNESS AND PARTICIPATE AT THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION (MATTHEW 17:1) AND IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE (MARK 14:33) WHILE THE OTHER DISCIPLES WERE EXCLUDED.' - PETER THE APOSTLE REPRESENTING THE JEWS (GALATIANS 2:7), THE DISCIPLE JOHN REPRESENTING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (REVELATION 4:1) AND JAMES THE APOSTLE REPRESENTING THE MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION (ACTS 12:2) - JOHN AND JAMES WERE BROTHERS AS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND THE FUTURE [PRIMARILY GENTILE] MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION (REVELATION 6:9) ARE BROTHERS (REVELATION 13:7) BUT ARE NOT THE SAME GROUP - THE 144,000 (REVELATION 7:4) JEWISH WITNESSES OF REVELATION ARE ALSO MARTYRED (REVELATION 14:1) DURING THE TRIBULATION PERIOD. The death of Herod Antipas (who put John the Baptist to death) - Herod the Tetrarch (Matthew 14:1): Acts 12:20 And Herod was highly displeased with them [the cities] of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration [speech] unto them. *And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. *And immediately the angel of the Lord smote [stricken] him [Herod], **because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and [five days later] gave up the ghost. *But the Word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul [Apostle Paul] returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry [delivering contributions], and took with them John [Mark John writer of the Gospel of Mark - nephew of Barnabas], whose surname was Mark. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 13 - THE MISSIONARY EFFORTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH PRIMARILY TO GENTILES BEGINS WITH SAUL [APOSTLE PAUL] AND BARNABAS BEING SENT OUT (APOSTLE) BY THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE FIRST OF THREE MISSIONARY TRIPS UNDERTAKEN BY THE APOSTLE PAUL AND RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF ACTS -- 'ACTS 13:1-4 NOW THERE WERE IN THE CHURCH THAT WAS AT ANTIOCH CERTAIN PROPHETS AND TEACHERS; AS BARNABAS, AND SIMEON THAT WAS CALLED NIGER, AND LUCIUS OF CYRENE, AND MANAEN [A CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF HEROD], WHICH HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP WITH HEROD THE TETRARCH, AND SAUL [APOSTLE PAUL]. ***AS THEY MINISTERED TO THE LORD [FATHER, SON JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT], AND FASTED, *THE HOLY GHOST SAID, SEPARATE ME BARNABAS AND SAUL FOR THE [MISSIONARY] WORK WHEREUNTO I HAVE CALLED THEM. AND WHEN THEY [CHURCH FELLOWSHIP] HAD FASTED AND PRAYED, AND LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM, THEY SENT THEM AWAY. SO THEY, *BEING SENT FORTH BY THE HOLY GHOST, DEPARTED UNTO SELEUCIA [IN MODERN SYRIA]; AND FROM THENCE THEY SAILED TO CYPRUS.' - NOTE: WHERE JESUS IS THE HEAD AND AUTHORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IT IS PRIMARILY THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT IS IN CHARGE OF GATHERING, ASSEMBLING AND ORCHESTRATING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH INTO BECOMING THE ONE ASSEMBLED BRIDE OF JESUS CHRIST. Acts 13:43-52 Now when the [Jewish synagogue] (redeemed - Jewish redemption) congregation was [concluded for the Saturday] broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath day [Saturday] came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the Word of God [for salvation] should first have been spoken to you [Jews the redeemed of God]:

but seeing ye put it [Salvation] from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life [here and now], lo, *we turn to the Gentiles. *For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for *salvation [eternal life] unto the ends of the earth. *And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them [evicted] out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. - Note: What is being offered to the Jews is salvation. The [observant obedient - Synagogue] Jews are already redeemed (in the presence of God) and for the redeemed Jews salvation comes *after death. Jesus is offering Salvation [eternal life] here and now. The Gentiles [us]do not have redemption as the observant Jews do, some Gentiles are (saved) in that their conscience was a witness to them that there is a God but they were saved (also after death) not directly knowing God and not being in the presence of God as the redeemed Jews are. Gentiles who become Christians receive instantly both the Redemption (without sin in the presence of God) and Salvation (eternal life). Where the Jews have Jewish redemption and eventually (after death) eternal life (Salvation) a redeemed Jew can become a Christian and then also receive Salvation already having redemption but the Gentiles coming into the Christian Church only have the option of Salvation and with Christian Salvation comes redemption. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} PAUL [THE APOSTLE] HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN WHO EVER LIVED PAUL has been called the greatest Christian who ever lived. He also suffered greatly for the name of Jesus Christ. When Paul defended his calling to the Church, he defined suffering as a major proof of his spiritual office. 'I have worked much harder,' he insisted, 'been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again' (2 Corinthians 11:23). Strength in Weakness: But Paul's many trials did not deter him from living the Christian life. Neither did they restrict his preaching the gospel. To the contrary, suffering seemed to impel Paul to even greater spiritual service. The apostle Paul said something remarkable about his adversities: 'For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10). We shouldn't, however, think of Paul as bigger than life or an indestructible superman. There were times when the tremendous hardships he confronted were far beyond his human endurance. After suffering one rather malicious incident of persecution, Paul admitted he and his companions 'despaired even of life' (2 Corinthians 1:8). But Paul had faith in the living God to see him through his trial. 'On him we have set our hope,' wrote Paul, 'that he will continue to deliver us' (verse 10). But as Paul's life demonstrates, God usually delivers us out of troubles we are already in, not necessarily from troubles before they begin. Yet, as we must, Paul was able to rise above all his many afflictions. How did he do it? And how can we surmount our trials and troubles? Paul certainly didn't overcome by his own strength or will. He never took personal credit for being able to bear his painfully heavy cross. He attributed his spiritual muscle to its true source - Jesus Christ. Paul said: 'I can do everything through him who gives me strength' (Philippians 4:13). He exulted, not in his own will and courage, but in the power of Christ in him. By his example we know that we, too, have access to the same spiritual power and courage. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 15 - THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL TAKES PLACE ABOUT 52 A.D. AT THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM - THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL WAS SPECIFICALLY IN REGARD TO THE MAJOR NUMBER OF GENTILES THAT WERE NOW JOINING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH DAILY [PREDOMINANTLY THROUGH MISSIONARY EFFORTS] AND WHETHER OR NOT THE GENTILES WOULD HAVE TO BE CIRCUMCISED AND OBSERVE ANY OF THE JEWISH CUSTOMS OR TAKE PART IN ANY OF THE ESTABLISHED LAWS OF MOSES -- 'ACTS 15:6 AND THE APOSTLES AND [CHURCH] ELDERS [INCLUDING JAMES THE Â˝ BROTHER OF JESUS] CAME TOGETHER FOR TO CONSIDER OF THIS MATTER.' Acts 15:6-22 And the Apostles and Elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing [arguing], [Apostle] Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago [Cornelius and his household at Caesarea] God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, *giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, **purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore

why tempt ye God, to put a yoke [law of Moses] upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? **But we believe that through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jews who are Redeemed] shall be Saved, even as they [Gentiles who are now being Saved - Salvation]. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James [the ½ brother of Jesus - Church leader in Jerusalem] answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon [Apostle Peter] hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, ***to take out of them a [Christian] people for His Name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After [Gentile Christian Church] this I [Messiah] will return [2nd Coming], and will build again the Tabernacle [House Dwelling] of [the Throne of King] David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That [during the Christian Church Age] the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My Name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. ***Known unto God are all His works ***from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God [those who have the Holy Spirit]: But that we write unto them, *that they abstain from pollutions of [Gentile] idols, and from [Gentile] fornication, and from things strangled [Jewish law], and from blood [Jewish law]. **For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him [abstain from idols and fornication because it is un-Christian, abstain from unclean food and blood only if it offends the local Jewish population], being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole Church [in Jerusalem], to send chosen men of their own company to [the Church in] Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren … - Note: The early Church recognized that God was active in calling Gentiles into His Christian Church and they also recognized that the Gentiles would have to conduct their new life in a manner consistent with Biblical Christianity and finally they concluded that it is important for Christians not to openly offend those that have remained Jewish. Also Note: All food including blood is now clean because the eternal blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed the world. Eating animal blood and probably human blood if it were obtained in a legal manner does not make a person unclean. Satan has devised a scheme that the world is unclean however it is not. It is unprofitable to do questionable things and germs and disease might be involved but if someone for example drank pig blood thinking it is an evil act the act itself is not but the intentions of their heart might be. - Some cultures eat blood foods and if the Jews are simply notified that it is a custom and not a slight on Moses then they are free to eat their blood food of course not offering any of it to a devout Jewish person because that would be terribly offensive. The 1st Church council was saying to the Gentiles to have our Christian Gentile liberties but also to be mindful and respectful of the [Redeemed] Jews who do still follow the laws of Moses. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN:

BIBLE STUDY} ACTS 15 (PART 2) - CHRISTIAN CHURCH COUNCILS - ALL OF THE CHURCH COUNCILS THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE DEALT SPECIFICALLY WITH THE ISSUES OF GOD'S REDEMPTIVE AND SALVATION PLAN FOR MANKIND AND IN LIGHT OF GOD'S PLAN FOR MANKIND THE COUNCILS HAVE ALSO ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHO GOD IS TO MANKIND - A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT: PARTICIPATION IN THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY HAS BEEN GOING EXTRAORDINARILY WELL SINCE THE START OF THE STUDY AND IT CONTINUES AS ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE PROJECTS ON THE BASIC CHRISTIAN WEBSITE. I'M ENCOURAGED AND BLESSED DAILY BY THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SO ACTIVELY STUDYING THE BIBLE AND SEEKING A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN JESUS CHRIST. CONTINUE WITH PRAYER, STUDY AND FELLOWSHIP! CONTINUE THE GOOD WORK IN JESUS CHRIST! BLOG

individuals separated from God but were able through the instructions of their parents to follow substitutional sacrificial practices. This group highly separated from God consisting of individuals and families were known as the 'sacrificing righteous Gentiles' a group of disorganized individuals that encompassed the highly personally [self] esteemed Job and it finally the system spun completely out of control and came to an end in the folly of Balaam the last of the sacrificing Gentiles. God chose the man Abram (Abraham) and his wife Sarai (Sarah) from among the sacrificing Gentiles to become the father of the Jewish Nation of further redeemed of God. Jewish Redemption was to bring mankind through the laws, customs and representation of God into a more direct and more Redeemed presence of God [as an example for all of mankind] than any of mankind had previously been since the fall of mankind. God Redeemed the Jewish Nation of Israel through Covenants (Promises), Laws (Society), Kings (representation of God), Priests (access for the people to God), Prophets (access from God to the people) all a direct representation of the one coming Jesus Christ the Messiah of all mankind. With the now accomplished Redemption and Salvation for all mankind in the Messiah Jesus Christ the finalized Christian Salvation and Redemption provided in the Virgin birth, atoning Redemption blood and eternal Salvation resurrection life of Jesus Christ is the completed work of God among mankind however not everyone is yet at the completed Christian work of God in mankind. The work of God in convicting Gentiles [in remote areas who have not heard the Gospel] through their conscience about the Holy God and through the enormity and splendor of God's creation continues. Also the Redemption of the Jewish people and Nation of Israel continues and soon another group of Redeemed the End Time Martyred Saints of Revelation will be established and quickly joined by the Redeemed 144,000 [Jewish Firstfruits (Revelation 14:4), Jews who acknowledge Jesus and remain Jewish] Jewish Witnesses of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Then after the return of Jesus Christ and during His 1,000 year Righteous Kingdom reign here on earth there will be another group of Redeemed 'Millennial Saints' to continue to fulfill and establish the Redemption and Salvation plan of God in Jesus Christ existing for all of mankind throughout every age and into all of eternity. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM ACTS 15:6-31 (APPROX. 52 A.D.): WHERE WE READ OF THE FIRST GENERAL CHURCH COUNCIL - A SERIOUS QUESTION OF DOCTRINE AROSE, AND "THE APOSTLES AND THE PRESBYTERS CAME TOGETHER TO CONSIDER THIS MATTER" - THE DECREE OF THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM WENT ON, THEN, TO ESTABLISH A BINDING OBLIGATION UPON ALL CHRISTIANS IN THE LOCAL CHURCHES OF ANTIOCH, SYRIA AND CILICIA: "THAT YOU ABSTAIN FROM THINGS OFFERED TO IDOLS, FROM BLOOD, FROM THINGS STRANGLED, AND FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY" (ACTS 15:29) - DID THE LOCAL CHURCHES BRISTLE AT THIS IMPOSITION OF DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE FROM THE ECCLESIASTICAL LEADERSHIP OF THE WHOLE CHURCH? NOT AT ALL, BUT RATHER THEY "REJOICED OVER ITS ENCOURAGEMENT" (ACTS 15:31) {THE 50 A.D. JERUSALEM COUNCIL DECISION WAS YES, GENTILES CAN BECOME CHRISTIANS AND THEN SIMPLE DIRECTIONS AND REMINDERS WERE GIVEN SO THAT THE NEW GENTILE CHRISTIANS WOULD NOT OFFEND GOD. THE FOOD (ABSTAIN FROM EATING BLOOD) DECISION WAS GIVEN SO THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD NOT OFFEND THE JEWS. CHRISTIANS CAN EAT ANY FOOD HOWEVER GOD IS STILL PROTECTING THE JEWS AND HE DOES NOT WANT THEM OFFENDED BY OTHERS EVEN CHRISTIANS. ACTS 15:21 FOR MOSES OF OLD TIME HATH IN EVERY CITY THEM (JEWS) THAT PREACH (LAW) HIM, BEING READ IN THE SYNAGOGUES EVERY SABBATH DAY.} The Council of Jerusalem: We may prove this quite readily by turning to Acts 15:6-31, where we read of the first General Church Council. A serious question of doctrine arose, and "the apostles and the presbyters came together to consider this matter" (Acts 15:6). After hearing the arguments and testimony of Peter, Paul and Barnabas, the leader of the Council, James [half-brother of Jesus, writer of the book of James], then passed a decree with the words, "Therefore I judge" (Acts 15:19, 'dio ego krino'). This passage describes no truly democratic process, but rather it describes submission to the judgment of a central ecclesiastical authority [an authority completely submitted to Jesus Christ]. -After receiving the judgment of James, "it pleased the apostles and presbyters together with the whole Church" (Acts 15:22: 'apostolois kai tois presbyterois syn hole ekklesia') to dispatch delegates with a letter promulgating the decree of the Council. The council then drafted a letter in the name of "the apostles and the brother-presbyters" (Acts 15:23: 'hoi apostoloi kai hoi presbyteroi adelphoi'). This phrasing, and especially the apposition of 'presbyteroi' and 'adelphoi', is quite precise in establishing the authority of the decision of the Council in the office of the ministers who serve and lead the Church, as opposed to a democratic process. -- Does the phrase "whole Church" here refer to the universal Church, or merely to the entirety of the congregation at Jerusalem. Recalling that the leadership of the Council was comprised of the apostles who were planting local churches in the Hellenistic world, delegates of the Hellenistic churches, and the presbyters of the church at Jerusalem, we can only rightly conclude that they spoke in the name of the universal Church. Indeed, the letter explicitly states that the authors speak in the authority of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28); since Paul tells

us that it is by one Spirit that we were baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:13) which is Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) and over which Christ is the head (1 Eph. 1:22-23), when Luke writes in Acts 15:22 of the leadership of the whole Church assenting to the decree of James which is binding on all Gentile Christians, he is necessarily speaking of the Church in its universal or catholic sense. -- The Council then sent the letter to the local churches in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. This letter remarks that the false doctrine which the council repudiated was in fact discernibly false because "we gave no such commandments" (Acts 15:24). Hence, the Bible tells us that right doctrine is subject to the discernment of the leadership of the whole Church. The decree of the Council of Jerusalem went on, then, to establish a binding obligation upon all Christians in the local churches of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: "that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality" (Acts 15:29). Did the local churches bristle at this imposition of doctrine and practice from the ecclesiastical leadership of the whole Church? Not at all, but rather they "rejoiced over its encouragement" (Acts 15:31). Clearly, the Bible itself sets a precedent for the government of the universal Church by means of General Councils. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} 4 GREAT CHURCH COUNCILS PART 1 & 2 (MP3S) {NOTE: THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM ACTS 15:6-31 (APPROX. 52 A.D.) IS THE ORIGINAL AND FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH COUNCIL. ALL OF THE LATER CHURCH COUNCILS ARE MODELED AFTER THE FIRST JERUSALEM COUNCIL.} [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} THE BIBLE AND THE CREEDS - SERMON SERIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CREEDS (MP3S) Brian Borgman is the founding pastor of Grace Community Church. He earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Biola University (La Mirada, CA), a Master of Divinity from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary (Portland, OR) and a Doctor of Ministry from Westminster Seminary (Escondido, CA). [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} HISTORIC BAPTIST DOCUMENTS - CONFESSIONS, CATECHISMS, CREEDS Many contemporaries have a deep-seated suspicion of catechisms. In our own Baptist denomination, many would consider the words "Baptist catechism" as mutually exclusive. A popular misconception is that catechisms are used in times and places where inadequate views of conversion predominate or the fires of evangelism have long since turned to white ash. If the Bible is preached, they continue, no catechism is necessary; catechisms tend to produce mere intellectual assent where true heart religion is absent. This concern reflects a healthy interest for the experiential side of true Christianity. Concern for conversion and fervor, however, should never diminish one's commitment to the individual truths of Christianity nor the necessity of teaching them in a full and coherent manner.~An Encouragement to Use Catechisms, Tom Nettles. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} SUMMARY: THE APOSTLE PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME - THE FOUR DISPENSATIONS OF THE TIMES SINCE THE 1ST COMING OF JESUS CHRIST SEEM TO HAVE BEEN MAPPED OUT AND ENACTED THROUGHOUT PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME -- 1. THE APOSTLES DISPENSATION (ACTS 27:1-5) -- 2. THE COMMON CHRISTIAN CHURCH AGE (ACTS 27:6-44) -- 3. THE MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION TRIBULATION (ACTS 28:1-15) -- 4. THE 1,000 YEAR MILLENNIAL KINGDOM REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH (ACTS 28:16-31) 1. The Apostles Dispensation (Acts 27:1-5): Paul and the other Apostles [eyewitnesses] of Jesus Christ go into the world preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ. "Acts 27:3-5 And [representing the Apostolic Missionary Journey Age] the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave *him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the **winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia." {Note: Luke and the Apostle Paul seem to be recording two primary things. 1. Looking back on all of Paul's Missionary Journeys that Paul felt that they had gone well and that on the whole the Gospel was being well received "him liberty to go unto

his friends to refresh himself" that Paul had made a lot of friends on his Missionary Trips and was refreshed by the fellowship he had with the Gentile Christians. 2. Also noting that "the [spiritual] winds were contrary" seeming to imply that there was a great deal of spiritual (demonic) opposition to the Gospel Message going forward.} -- 2. The Common Christian Church Age (Acts 27:6-44): "Acts 27:6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein." {Note: The ship of the Apostolic Age has ended and the ship of the Common Christian Church Age has launched - carrying the nourishing wheat (Bible) and the four anchors (4 Gospels). The [Christian] ship spends a great deal of time in the port of "Fair Havens" and then departs into adversity to the extent that the storms of life strand and tear the ship apart. Noteworthy, the Church [ship] has the four anchors [4 Gospels] and correctly uses them to stabilize the ship in dangerous waters however also note how the cargo of wheat [Bible] is considered too big of a burden and is cast overboard (Acts 27:38) away from the Church. -- 3. The Martyred Saints of Revelation Tribulation (Acts 28:1-15): After the Christian Church Age has come to an end the Revelation Tribulation Age begins. {Note: The Saints of Revelation are washed ashore into a strange society and economy where they are refuges; destitute and in peril. Though working hard and trying to get along they are Bitten by the Beast and transported to fellowship with their fellow Martyrs. -- 4. The 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom Reign of Jesus Christ on earth (Acts 27:16-31): Having finally arrived in Rome the Throne of the King the Millennial Rein of Jesus Christ is now being depicted. {Note: As a type of a citizen of the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, Paul is sent not to jail but to his own house to live [for two years]. Once in his Millennial House the Apostle Paul immediately begins to fellowship with the Jews of the Millennial Age.} -- Paul's Journey to Rome and the book of Acts concludes "Acts 28:30-31 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, **Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} [PART 1 OF 3] INTRODUCTION: PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME - CHURCH HISTORY OUTLINE: CEASREA TO MALTA - END TIMES (ANTICHRIST) OUTLINE: MALTA TO ROME The Apostle Paul's "Journey to Rome" covered in Acts chapters 27 and 28 is a unique set of passages of scripture and seems to tell a parallel story to the main story of Paul's journey and shipwreck while in route to Rome. The first part of Paul's journey from Caesarea, Israel to the shipwreck off of the shores of the island of Malta seems to tell the parallel story of what has been much of Church history up until today. The second main segment of Paul's journey beginning with Malta then the departure and the sailing to Italy, seems to tell the parallel story of the End Times, the Antichrist and the Book of Revelation. - In looking at these events one primary set of verses in each segment is going to be crucial to the study. In the first portion the Church History outline the verses Acts 27:41 and Acts 27:44 [the actual shipwreck and making it to shore] are going to be the crucial verses for the first segment. - The second segment the End Times outline the island of Malta to Rome the main verses are going to be Acts 28:13-15, Paul's arrival in Italy but at first not in Rome. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} [PART 2 OF 3] CHURCH HISTORY OUTLINE: CEASREA TO MALTA - IN PAUL'S JOURNEY TO EVENTUALLY STAND AT THE FEAT OF [THE KING] CAESAR (ACTS 26:32) THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WITH THE GOSPEL DEPARTS FROM ISRAEL [WHERE CHRISTIANITY ORIGINATED] AT THE PORT OF CITY OF CAESAREA (ACTS 27:1-2) TO GO TO THE ROME AND THE GENTILE WORLD Christian Church Age: After making some [missionary] stops along the way Paul and company (Acts 27:6) transfer to a ship [carrying nourishing wheat] that can take them to Rome. While sailing "many days" on their voyage to Rome the ship [Christian Church] encounters the alternating "contrary winds" of persecution and also the favorable port of "Fair Havens" entailing that "much time had been spent" on the Journey. - The first real hint of trouble for the Christian Church comes in the form of the Apostle Paul admonishing the Church that the Jewish Feast day [the fast] of Yom Kippur had passed and that the primarily Gentile Church was no longer marking or paying attention to the Jewish Feast Days

putting the Christian Church in peril of not knowing the Times or the Seasons in which it sailed (Acts 27:9-12). The Church (ship) now unable to chart and follow its own course was caught in the winds of the days and the crew now instead of directing the ship the events of the day carried the ship (Church) along on its own course while the ship (Church) was mostly unable to affect, alter or counter any of the blowing winds (Acts 27:15). The ship (Church) tossed in the storms of life brought their sails down and just attempted to weather out the storm and at least they had four anchors to cast out into the water and help steady and protect (from hitting bottom) the Ship. The Apostle Paul then informs everyone that unless they remain aboard the one ship (of Christian faith) they cannot be saved (Acts 27:31). The one ship representing Christianity (the one true Church) then partakes in the act of Christian Communion (Acts 27:35). A distant land (Heaven) is sighted and the passengers (Christians) are not martyred but are able to reach the land (Heaven) alive as each person clings to some wood (cross of Jesus) from the one ship. The ship (Church) itself is finally caught in enough turmoil that it runs aground and breaks up [amazingly at a place were two sea's meet (Acts 27:41) - where the Eastern sea of Mysticism and the Western sea of Rationalism meet the Christian boat as one Catholic body gets stuck in the sand and breaks apart - into many denominations] though the individuals make it ashore (to Heaven) by clinging to wood (the cross of Jesus Christ), the one requirement to get a sinner into Heaven is to know that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on His cross. With the Church (ship) stuck and broken apart and ALL the passengers (Christians) from the one ship of Christianity safely ashore (in Heaven) the Christian Church Age comes to an end (Acts 27:44). -- "Acts 27:44 And the rest [of the Christians], some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship [all clinging to the cross of Jesus]. **And so it came to pass, **that they escaped [sin-death] **all safe to [Heaven] land." [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} WIKIPEDIA.ORG: SAINT PUBLIUS (ACTS 28:7) - SAINT PUBLIUS [A CHURCH APOSTOLIC FATHER] IS VENERATED AS THE FIRST BISHOP OF MALTA - PUBLIUS' CONVERSION LED TO MALTA BEING THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION IN THE WEST, AND ONE OF THE FIRST IN THE WORLD - HE WAS MARTYRED IN 125 A.D., DURING THE PERSECUTION OF EMPEROR HADRIAN It was the same Publius who received the Apostle Paul during his shipwreck on the island as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul cured Publius' dysentery-afflicted father. -- Book: by Rev. Alban Butler (1711-1773 A.D.). Volume I: January. "The Lives of the Saints" last published 1866. - St. Publius, Bishop and Martyr [died January 21, 125 A.D. in Athens, Greece] HE succeeded St. Dionysius the Areopagite in the see of Athens, as we are assured by St. Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius. 1 He went to God by martyrdom, and Saint Quadratus was chosen third bishop of that city. See Le Quien, Or. Christ. t. 2. p. 169. Note 1. Euseb. l. 4. c. 23. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} [PART 3 OF 3] END TIME OUTLINE: MALTA TO ROME - END TIMES MARTYRED SAINTS OF REVELATION: THE REFUGEES COME ASHORE UPON A FOREIGN ISLAND (MALTA) WITH "BARBAROUS PEOPLE" [BARBAROUS ONLY MEANS NOT ROMANS (NOT CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM) AND NOT JEWISH] Paul and the other castaways find themselves on an unfamiliar island (Malta), a society of unfamiliar people with unfamiliar customs. In the entire narration of their time on Malta only one person is identified by name (and also by title) and it is the intriguing person of Publius (Public) [Publius a Latin (Roman) name - definition of Public: of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community ardictionary.com]. The intriguing person Publius is the "chief" or first [G4413 - Protos] person of the Island of Malta and though Publius is not a Roman citizen he has a Roman name and connections to Rome. - In this scenario, in what we are trying to read between the lines that Luke wrote for us in his book of Acts Chapters 27 and 28 we have the scenario that the Church Age has ended (Acts 27:44), the one ship of Christianity has broken apart and ALL the Christians are in Heaven. Here upon Malta (Acts 28:1) we seem to have the dispensation after Christianity [after the Church Age] - the dispensation of the End Times and the Martyred Saints of Revelation. In this intriguing scenario one person is in charge [of buying and selling] for an entire society and also that person is not a part of the 6th Kingdom in Rome. Publius is not a Roman citizen, instead this very public and in charge figure is first in his own system (the 7th Kingdom Revised Rome). Publius {before he becomes a Christian} is a type of the Antichrist and the Island society of Malta is a type of the 7th Kingdom (Revised Roman Empire). Further establishing that Luke intends for Malta to represent the Martyred Saints of End Times is that Luke tells of Paul being bitten by a viper (Acts28:3) but then Luke chooses to call the poisonous viper a

"beast" (Acts 28:4,5) using the same word "beast" (G2342 - Therion) that John would later use in his Book of Revelation [Revelation 13:18 - the Mark of the Beast] to describe the Antichrist - Paul "he shook off the beast into the fire" (Acts 28:5) refusing to take the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 19:20). Luke is determined to present the spirit of Antichrist at the Island of Malta. - Note: The End Time events that Luke portrays on Malta is not quite like the End Times often portrayed today in common media, where saints are on the run for their lives. In this End Time depiction by Luke the Saints are busy, working, helpful and briefly an integrated part of the society of Malta. But the Saints have a determined destination and a departure date and depart the island society of Malta not out of anger or desperation but out of a necessity. It seems that Luke is portraying Malta [Revised Rome] as a society that is vastly different than today (there might not be any private property - everything might be 'public' in name only) a tightly controlled and managed society with each person knowing where they rank in society and one person Publius is first. Further after departing the island of Malta and continuing their Journey [a journey that is no longer given in great detail - because technically the Saints departed Malta as Martyrs]. The End Time martyrs of Malta continue on to their desired destination to the feet of the King [Caesar] but like the Book of Revelation the Martyrs of Malta do not go directly to Rome they depart the ship outside of Rome and fellowship with other believers for a while. In the Book of Revelation the 5th Seal "Revelation 6:9 And when He [Jesus] had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain (Martyrs) for [faith in] the Word of God, and for the Testimony [faith in Jesus] which they held:" The Martyred Saints of Revelation do not go directly (individually) to the Throne of Jesus but instead gather outside the Temple at the altar and fellowship until their numbers (dispensation) are complete. Then at the end of the End Times all the Martyred Saints of Revelation join (Revelation 7:9) in with the Christian Church also in Heaven worshiping at the feet of the King Jesus Christ. -- "Acts 28:14-15 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and The Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage." [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 GLOBAL KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH} CONCLUSION: THE APOSTLE PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME - ONCE IN ROME THE APOSTLE PAUL CONTINUES TO PROPHETICALLY ENACT OUT END TIME BIBLICAL EVENTS - AMAZINGLY THE APOSTLE PAUL DOES NOT GO TO JAIL WITH THE OTHER PRISONERS (UNBELIEVERS) INSTEAD PAUL SAFELY GOES AND LIVES IN HIS OWN HOUSE ENACTING OUT THE FORTH PART OF THE END TIMES - THE MILLENNIAL REIGN 1,000 YEAR KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST [THE 8TH KINGDOM] ON EARTH - (ACTS CHAPTERS 27 AND 28) In the last two chapters of the Book of Acts in chapters 27 and 28 there are three distinct portions of the Apostle Paul's journey to Rome [to stand before Caesar]. The First Portion, departing Israel with the Christian Gospel Message until the shipwreck and safely coming ashore at the island of Malta correlates with what has been the Christian Church Age. The second portion of Paul's journey, being stranded at Malta and then quickly getting to Italy but not Rome itself correlates with what is written in the Book of Revelation regarding the future End Times and the Martyred Saints of Revelation. Then the Third and final portion of Paul's journey to Rome correlates with what is written in the Bible regarding the Millennial Reign upon the earth of the Messiah [Jesus Christ] after the events of the Book of Revelation have occurred and been fulfilled. - Once arriving in Rome (Acts 28:16) Paul [a Christian] is allowed to go live by himself in his own house while the other prisoners (unbelievers) are sent to jail (John 12:31). Living in one's own house and dwelling safely is an unmistakable euphemism for the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah (1 Kings 4:25, Jeremiah 23:6). The Apostle Paul's recorded journey to Rome is concluded along with the Bible's Book of Acts in the last two verses of Acts. -- "Acts 28:3031 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house [i.e. the Millennial Reign of Christ], and [free to] received all that came in unto him, Preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} REVELATION 19 - THE GREAT ETERNAL CONGREGATION OF SAINTS IN HEAVEN ALL WORSHIP AND PRAISE GOD AT THE SAME TIME AND IN THE SAME PLACE -- 'REVELATION 19:1-5 AND AFTER THESE THINGS I HEARD A GREAT VOICE OF MUCH PEOPLE IN HEAVEN, SAYING, ALLELUIA; SALVATION, AND GLORY, AND HONOUR, AND POWER, UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD: FOR TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ARE HIS JUDGMENTS: FOR HE HATH JUDGED THE GREAT [UNFAITHFUL] WHORE, **WHICH DID CORRUPT THE EARTH WITH HER FORNICATION, AND HATH AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS AT HER HAND. AND AGAIN THEY SAID, ALLELUIA. AND HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOR EVER AND EVER. AND THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS AND THE FOUR BEASTS FELL DOWN AND

GOD THAT SAT ON THE THRONE, SAYING, AMEN; ALLELUIA. AND A VOICE CAME OUT OF THE THRONE, SAYING, PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL YE HIS SERVANTS, AND YE THAT FEAR HIM, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT.' WORSHIPPED

The Lord Jesus Christ begins to take physical possession of the earth to reign and rule on the earth for His Millennial (1,000 year)Kingdom on earth: Revelation 19:6-21 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent [all powerful] reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: *for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife [the Christian Church] hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [in Jesus Christ] of Saints. And he saith unto me, **Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb {probably occurring shortly after Revelation 4:1 and before the first Seal is broken}. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him [Angel]. And he [Angel] said unto me, See thou *do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the Testimony of Jesus: ***worship [only] God: **for the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse [the true conquering King Jesus]; and He [Jesus Christ] that sat upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in *righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were [judgment] as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns [authorities]; and He [also] had a [personal] Name written, **that no man knew, but [only] He himself {this unknown Name is a reference to God's creation (mankind) being at war with God, even after the cross of Jesus and no man can possibly know the agony of the experience of having to eternally judge mankind that God loves so much}. And He was clothed with a vesture [garment] dipped in [human] blood {we are offered to wear Jesus' shed blood for our eternal life covering but those who reject it God will shed their blood}: and His Name [Jesus] is called The Word of God. And the armies [various dispensations] which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword [word of God], that with it He should smite the Nations: and He shall rule [8th Kingdom] them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture [garment] and on His thigh a Name [we will all know] written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. **And the beast [Antichrist] was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. **These both [two parts of the unholy trinity ] were cast alive [directly] into a lake of fire burning with brimstone [skipping the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11)]. And the [unholy] remnant were slain with the sword [Word] of Him [Jesus Christ] that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} REVELATION 20 - SATAN IS TO BE INCARCERATED FOR THE ENTIRE 1,000 YEAR KINGDOM REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH -- 'REVELATION 20:1-3 AND I SAW AN ANGEL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING THE KEY OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT (REVELATION 9:1) AND A GREAT CHAIN IN HIS HAND. AND HE LAID HOLD ON THE DRAGON, THAT OLD SERPENT, WHICH IS THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, AND BOUND HIM A THOUSAND YEARS, AND CAST HIM INTO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, AND SHUT HIM UP, *AND SET A SEAL UPON HIM, THAT HE SHOULD DECEIVE THE NATIONS NO MORE, TILL THE THOUSAND YEARS [KINGDOM REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH, 8TH KINGDOM] SHOULD BE FULFILLED: AND AFTER THAT HE [SATAN] MUST BE LOOSED A LITTLE SEASON. - NOTE: THE HUMAN ELEMENTS OF SATAN'S 7TH KINGDOM THE HUMAN ANTICHRIST AND THE HUMAN FALSE PROPHET HAVE AT THIS POINT ALREADY BEEN SENTENCED TO THE ETERNAL LAKE OF FIRE. SATAN IS HELD IN CHAINS FOR THE 1,000 YEARS AND THEN HE IS RELEASED FOR A BRIEF FINAL TEMPTATION ON MANKIND.' Revelation 20:4-15 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and *which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; **and they [saints Martyred during the Tribulation period] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. *But the rest of the dead [all the unsaved] lived [manifested] not again until the thousand years were finished. **This is the first resurrection [the

resurrection of the Holy Saints of Jesus Christ]. **Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: **on such the second death [judgment] hath no power, but they shall be [Righteous, Melchizedek] Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, *Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the Nations [the new nations established or re-established during the 1,000 reign of Jesus Christ] which are in the four quarters of the earth, *Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:1-23), to gather them [sinners from the 1,000 Kingdom] together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed [encircled] the Camp of the Saints about, and the beloved city [Jerusalem]: and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them. And the devil [Satan] that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ***And [later the 1,00 years] I saw a Great White Throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. {Note: during the Great White Throne judgment there is no earth and no sky, and the people being judged are naked disembodied spirits - so apparently if they want to contend with God [and smirk and insult] during their judgment it will be more than a bit awkward for them having no body and even no planet to stand on.} And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the [judgment] books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, **according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead [demons] which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the [spiritual] dead [fallen angels] which were in them: and they were judged every man {human, demon and fallen angel} according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. **This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. - Note: After the Church age and after the Revelation [Martyred Saints, 144,000] Tribulation age there is then the 1,000 year Kingdom age. The testing by Satan after the 1,000 year Kingdom age is only for the people of the 1,000 year Kingdom age. The resurrected Saints are not judged again (Hebrews 9:27) not judged continually. A Saint that was with Moses in the desert and once resurrected that Old Testament Saint is not judged during the Church era and the Church is not judged in the Martyred Saints of Revelation era and only the people physically alive in the 1,000 year Kingdom reign are in a position to receive or reject their eternal salvation. Once a Saint receives resurrection [adoption as a Son of God] then it is eternal and being eternal it is secure. It is not even the remotest possibility [no longer even having a sin nature] that resurrected Christian Saints or resurrected Old Testament Saints could even rebel against God and then hypothetically need to be judged and removed from God's eternal Kingdom at any given point in time in the Kingdom. Once a Saint [we are born with a sin nature and die with our sin nature but we are resurrected without a sin nature] is in the resurrected Kingdom of God and God being faithful and love God does not ever turn against His own people (and again resurrected Saints will not even have a sin nature) so the eternal Kingdom of God is in all actuality, and in all reality, and for all purposes - eternity - and eternity with God is security and that is eternal. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} REVELATION 21 - THE EARTH AND SKY ARE GOING TO PASS AWAY AS HUMANITY ENTERS INTO A NEW EARTH AND A NEW SKY IN THE ETERNAL STATE WITH GOD -- 'REVELATION 21:1-5 AND I [ST. JOHN] SAW A NEW HEAVEN (SKY) AND A NEW EARTH: FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN (SKY) AND THE FIRST EARTH WERE PASSED AWAY; AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA. AND I JOHN SAW THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN, PREPARED AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND. AND I HEARD A GREAT VOICE OUT OF HEAVEN SAYING, BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE [DWELLING] OF GOD [THE FATHER] IS WITH MEN, AND HE [THE FATHER] WILL DWELL WITH THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND GOD [JESUS] HIMSELF SHALL BE WITH THEM, AND BE THEIR GOD. AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: **FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY. AND HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE SAID, BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, WRITE: **FOR THESE WORDS [BEING FROM GOD] ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.' The New Jerusalem, the new Holy City on the new earth is revealed and the gates of the Holy City are permanently open inviting all the eternal Saints to freely enter into the eternal city to bring in their glory and honor in worship and praise to God: Revelation 21:6-8 And He [God] said unto me [Disciple John], It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, *the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, ***and he shall be My [adopted] Son. *But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. ... Revelation 21:22-27 And [in the New

Jerusalem, the new Holy City on earth] I saw no Temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the Glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. **And the Nations of *them *which *are *saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings [mighty] of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the Nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but [only] they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. - Note: There appears to remain a societal structure for mankind (Saints) complete with individual Nations, cities and towns even out into the eternal state. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} REVELATION 22 - THE DISCIPLE JOHN IS SHOWN THE ETERNAL STATE OF THE SAINTS WITH THE NEW JERUSALEM CONTAINING THE ETERNAL THRONE OF GOD [FATHER, SON JESUS (LAMB), HOLY SPIRIT] ON EARTH - THE BELOVED DISCIPLE JOHN CLOSES THE GREAT REVELATION OF THE BELOVED JESUS CHRIST BY SEALING (THE 8TH SEAL) IT WITH A PROMISE, THIS FINAL SEAL IS AN UNBREAKABLE PROMISE FROM JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF TO RETURN QUICKLY, WHEN IT IS TIME (OPENED) AND WHEN THE 8TH SEAL IS OPENED JESUS WILL RETURN ACCORDING TO ALL OF HIS PROMISES - THE DISCIPLE JOHN THEN PRAYS IN AGREEMENT WITH JESUS CHRIST AND REQUESTS THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST - THE DISCIPLE JOHN THEN FINALIZES ALL HOLY BIBLE SCRIPTURE WITH A BLESSING FROM JESUS CHRIST TO ALL THE BELOVED SAINTS IN JESUS CHRIST -- 'REVELATION 22:1-6 AND HE [ANGEL] SHEWED ME A PURE RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, PROCEEDING OUT OF THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [IN THE NEW JERUSALEM]. IN THE MIDST OF THE STREET OF IT, AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, WAS THERE *THE TREE OF LIFE (GENESIS 2:9), WHICH BARE TWELVE MANNER OF FRUITS, AND YIELDED HER FRUIT EVERY MONTH: AND **THE LEAVES OF THE TREE WERE FOR THE HEALING [WELLBEING] OF THE NATIONS. AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE: BUT THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [JESUS CHRIST] SHALL BE IN IT; AND HIS SERVANTS SHALL SERVE HIM: AND THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE; AND HIS NAME SHALL BE IN THEIR FOREHEADS. AND THERE SHALL BE NO NIGHT THERE; AND THEY NEED NO CANDLE, NEITHER LIGHT OF THE SUN; FOR THE LORD GOD GIVETH THEM LIGHT: AND THEY SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, THESE SAYINGS ARE FAITHFUL AND TRUE: **AND THE LORD GOD OF THE HOLY PROPHETS **SENT HIS ANGEL [MESSENGER] **TO SHEW UNTO HIS SERVANTS [CHRISTIANS SAINTS] THE THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY BE DONE [ACCOMPLISHED].' The Bible's book of Revelation concludes completing the Holy Bible: Revelation 22:7-21 Behold, I [Jesus Christ] come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I [Jesus Christ] come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine Angel [messenger] to testify unto you these things in the Churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the [Holy] Spirit and the Bride [Christian Church] say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the Words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. He [Jesus Christ] which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY} THE REGION OF EPHESUS - EPHESUS [IN MODERN TURKEY] MAINTAINED ITS IMPORTANCE DURING THE [EARLY] PERIOD OF CHRISTIANITY; THE APOSTLE ST. PAUL ARRIVED THERE DURING THE YEARS OF 50 A.D., AND [THE DISCIPLE] ST. JOHN WAS BURIED ON THE HILL OF AYASULUK (SELCUK, NEAR IZMIR) AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2ND CENTURY [ABOUT

100 A.D.] - ON BULBUL DAG (NIGHTINGALE MOUNTAIN) THERE IS THE HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN [MARY] WHERE IT'S BELIEVED THAT SHE PASSED LAST YEARS OF HER LIFE AND PASSED AWAY - SHE [MARY - THE MOTHER OF JESUS] CAME TO EPHESUS TOGETHER WITH ST. JOHN AND TAKEN UP TO PANAGHIA KAPULU MOUNTAIN TO SURVIVE THE ROMAN PERSECUTIONS Ephesus: The findings obtained in this region where the native people, namely the Lelegs and the Carians have lived since the beginning, indicate that the city is dated back to 2000 years B.C. As far as the years of 1000 are concerned, it is assumed that the Ions came to this region, lead by Androckles. Ephesus was captured by the Kimmers (Cimmerians) in the 7th century B.C., by the Lydians in 560, and later in 546 B.C. by the Persians; and was rescued from the Persian domination when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in 334 B.C. -- Lysimachos, a commander of Alexander's, had the settlement removed from the whereabouts of the Temple of Artemis to the location between the Mount of Panayir and the Mount of Bülbül, and had a wall built around the city. The city was taken by the Kingdom of Pergamon after 190 B.C., by Rome in 133 B.C., and later by Byzantium. Ephesus maintained its importance during the period of Christianity; the apostle St. Paul arrived there during the years of 50 A.D., and St. John was buried on the hill of Ayasuluk (Selcuk, near Izmir) at the beginning of the 2nd century. Ephesus lived through its third glorious period during the reign of Justinian in the middle of the 6th century A.D. At this time, the Church of St. John was built by the Byzantine emperor. -The ruins of Ephesus, situated near Selçuk town at 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Izmir, is a main center of archaeological interest owing to the ancient remains that still exist. When you enter through the Magnesia Gate (south gate or upper gate), you can see the State Agora (or Upper Agora). The Temple of Isis is situated at the center of the Agora, and Stoa is placed on the North side of it. The Odeion (Bouletarion or Parliament) with a capacity of 1,400 persons is placed behind it and the Prytaneion (Town Hall) where the sacred fire used to burn, is on its flank. The Baths of Varius are placed on the east side of Odeion. On the west of the Agora, the Monument of Memmius built in the 1st century BC., the fountain of Sextilius Pollio built in the year 93 A.D., and the Temple of Domitian (81-93 A.D) are placed. On the south of the Agora, the fountain of Laecanius Bassus is situated. The Curetes street starts downwards from the Temple of Memmius. The Gate of Heracles (Hercules) is placed on this avenue. After passing through this part, the fountain of Trajan built in the years 102-114 is seen on the right hand side and after this, the Temple of Hadrian appears in front of us, in all its splendid beauty (117-138 A.D). The Scholastica Baths, built in the 4th century A.D., are situated behind the Temple of Hadrian. The houses of the rich people of Ephesus which were in front of it, have been restored and opened for visits at present with special permits. -- At the corner formed by the Curetes street and the Marble Road, the House of Love (Pornaion or Brothel) is placed and the Library of Celsus, restored and reestablished in recent years, stands right in front of this. The library which had been built in the name of proconsul Gaius Celsus completed in the year 135 A.D. by his son Tiberius Giulius Aquila, is entered by way of a stairway, 21 meters (69 feet) in width and having 9 steps. The southeastern gate of the Trade Agora opens to the Library of Celsus. Emperor Augustus' slaves, Mazaeus and Mithridates, liberated by him had this gate built in the year 1st century A.D.; it comprises three sections and has been restored today. The Corinthian columns of the Stoa encircling the Trade Agora with the dimensions 110 x 110 meters (361 x 361 feet), are standing erect today. The Temple of Serapes built in the period of Antony (138-192 A.D.) is placed behind the Trade Agora. -- One of the magnificent buildings of Ephesus is the Great Theater, largest in Asia Minor, which had a capacity of more than 24.000 people and is in a rather well preserved condition. The construction had started during the Hellenistic period but it could only be completed during the time of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). St. Paul was dragged into this theater to face the crowed because of his famous letter to Ephesians, but rescued by the security corps of the city. Festivals are celebrated in this theater today. -- All the streets of Ephesus were illuminated at night with oil lamps, this shows us the richness of the city. The Port Avenue extends in front of the theater. The avenue is 11 meters (36 feet) wide and 600 meters (1970 feet) long, and it has been called Arcadian Street because it was renewed during the time of Arcadius. On the whole north side of the avenue, there are the Harbor Gymnasium, baths and the Theater Gymnasium. The avenue that passes along the front of the theater, extends towards the Stadium built during the Nero period (54-68 A.D.) and towards the Vedius Gymnasium. The Church of the Virgin Mary built at the beginning of the 4th century A.D. is situated behind the Port Gymnasium just before the exit from the lower gate (north gate). **This was also the meeting place of the 3rd Ecumenical Council [The Council of Ephesus may refer to: The First Council of Ephesus of 431 AD. The Second Council of Ephesus of 449 AD. The Third Council of Ephesus of 475 AD. - Wiki.com]. ... The House of Virgin Mary: On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale mountain) there is the House of the Virgin where it's believed that she passed last years of her life and passed away. She came to Ephesus together with St. John and taken up to Panaghia Kapulu mountain to survive the Roman persecutions. The House was destroyed by many earthquakes and not discovered until 1951 thanks to a German nun, Catherine Emmerich, who saw its location in her visions. The site is recognized as a shrine by Vatican and visited by the Popes. Today, the House of Virgin Mary is renovated by George

Quatman Foundation from Ohio and serves as a small church which attracts many Christians as well as Muslims coming to pray for Her. The Mass is held here every Sunday. On the 15th August 2000 there was a great ceremony for the Assumption of the Virgin, the year which marked the two thousand years of the birth of Jesus. [link]

BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG BIBLE STUDY - GENESIS - REVELATION (PDF) The complete Through the Bible blog Bible Study in PDF format. [link]

ORTHODOXWIKI.ORG: TIMELINE OF CHURCH HISTORY: ANTE-NICENE ERA 100 A.D. - 325 A.D. The History of the Church is a vital part of the Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians are defined significantly by their continuity with all those who have gone before, those who first received and preached the truth of Jesus Christ to the world, those who helped to formulate the expression and worship of our faith, and those who continue to move forward in the unchanging yet ever-dynamic Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. [link]

WIKIPEDIA.ORG: SAINT PUBLIUS 33 A.D. - 125 A.D. (ACTS 28:7) -- SAINT PUBLIUS [A CHURCH APOSTOLIC FATHER] IS VENERATED AS THE FIRST BISHOP OF MALTA - PUBLIUS' CONVERSION LED TO MALTA BEING THE FIRST CHRISTIAN NATION IN THE WEST, AND ONE OF THE FIRST IN THE WORLD - HE WAS MARTYRED IN 125 A.D., DURING THE PERSECUTION OF EMPEROR HADRIAN It was the same Publius who received the Apostle Paul during his shipwreck on the island as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul cured Publius' dysentery-afflicted father. -- Book: by Rev. Alban Butler (1711-1773 A.D.). Volume I: January. "The Lives of the Saints" last published 1866. - St. Publius, Bishop and Martyr [died January 21, 125 A.D. in Athens, Greece] HE succeeded St. Dionysius the Areopagite in the see of Athens, as we are assured by St. Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius. 1 He went to God by martyrdom, and Saint Quadratus was chosen third bishop of that city. See Le Quien, Or. Christ. t. 2. p. 169. Note 1. Euseb. l. 4. c. 23. [link]

JUSTIN MARTYR (100-167 A.D.), PHILOSOPHER, APOLOGIST, AND MARTYR (1 JUNE 167 A.D.) - JUSTIN WAS BORN AROUND 100 A.D. (BOTH HIS BIRTH AND DEATH DATES ARE APPROXIMATE) AT FLAVIA NEAPOLIS (ANCIENT SHECHEM, MODERN NABLUS) IN SAMARIA (THE MIDDLE PORTION OF ISRAEL, BETWEEN GALILEE AND JUDEA) OF PAGAN GREEK PARENTS - HE WAS BROUGHT UP WITH A GOOD EDUCATION IN RHETORIC, POETRY, AND HISTORY - HE STUDIED VARIOUS SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY IN ALEXANDRIA [EGYPT] AND EPHESUS, JOINING HIMSELF FIRST TO STOICISM, THEN PYTHAGOREANISM, THEN PLATONISM, LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO HIS QUESTIONS - WHILE AT EPHESUS, HE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE STEADFASTNESS OF THE CHRISTIAN MARTYRS, AND BY THE PERSONALITY OF AN AGED CHRISTIAN MAN WHOM HE MET BY CHANCE WHILE WALKING ON THE SEASHORE - THIS MAN SPOKE TO HIM ABOUT JESUS AS THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISES MADE THROUGH THE JEWISH PROPHETS - JUSTIN WAS OVERWHELMED - "STRAIGHTWAY A FLAME WAS KINDLED IN MY SOUL" HE WRITES, "AND A LOVE OF THE PROPHETS AND THOSE WHO ARE FRIENDS OF CHRIST POSSESSED ME" JUSTIN BECAME A CHRISTIAN Justin became a Christian, but he continued to wear the cloak that was the characteristic uniform of the professional teacher of philosophy. His position was that pagan philosophy, especially Platonism, is not simply wrong, but is a partial grasp of the truth, and serves as "a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." He engaged in debates and disputations with non-Christians of all varieties, pagans, Jews, and heretics. He opened a school of Christian philosophy and accepted students, first at Ephesus and then later at Rome. There he engaged the Cynic philosopher Crescens in debate, and soon after was arrested on the charge of practicing an anauthorized religion. (It is suggested that Crescens lost the debate and denounced Justin to the authorities out of spite.) He was tried before the Roman prefect Rusticus, refused to renounce Christianity, and was put to death by beheading along with six of his students, one of them a woman. A record of the trial, probably authentic, is preserved, known as The Acts of Justin the Martyr. ... Justin's works are found in the multi-

volumed set called The Ante-nicene Fathers [Church leaders before the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.], and in various other collections of early Christian writings. [link]

DIONYSIUS (ABOUT 120-200 A.D.) - BISHOP OF CORINTH (ABOUT 165-195 A.D.) - OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH WAS THE BISHOP OF CORINTH DURING THE LAST HALF OF THE SECOND CENTURY - THE DATES OF HIS TENURE AS BISHOP OF CORINTH IS NOT KNOWN, BUT PART OF IT OVERLAPPED THAT OF SOTER OF ROME (ABOUT 167 TO 175 A.D.) - HIS FEAST DAY IS APRIL 8 Life: Little is known of the life of Dionysius, and what is known is from Eusebius Pamphilius and text fragments from his letters. It is clear Dionysius was held in high esteem as a writer of letters by the second century churches, not only from Eusebius' statement, but also from the fact that heretics thought it worthwhile to circulate interpolated and mutilated copies of his letters. That he wrote epistles to churches so widely scattered shows that he possessed a widely held reputation. Most of these letter are no longer extant. -- Dionysius can be dated to the second half of the second century from the dating of his letters to noted Christians of the time, such as to the Bishop of Rome Soter who served from about 167 to 175, a period of service overlapping that of Dionysius. -- Eusebius knew of a collection of seven Catholic Epistles by Dionysius, a letter to him from Bishop Pinytus of Knossus, a private letter of spiritual advice to a lady named Chrysophora, who had written to him, and his letter to Bp. Soter. In his letter to Bp. Soter, Dionysius lauds the practice of the Church of Rome for its practice of sending alms and gifts for the needy to churches in many cities. In a letter to Nicomedia, Bp. Dionysius praises the Nicomedians for their standing fast in the truth and condemnation of the heresy of Maricion of Sinope that was active in his day. The date and cause of Dionysius' death is unknown. He reposed [retired] before the year 199 A.D. While traditionally Dionysius has been held by some in the Eastern Church to be a martyr, there is no historical foundation for his martyrdom. [link]

ST. IRENAEUS OF LYONS, FRANCE (120-203 A.D.) - AS A BOY HE HAD, AS HE DELIGHTED TO POINT OUT, LISTENED TO THE SERMONS OF THE GREAT BISHOP AND MARTYR, POLYCARP OF SMYRNA, WHO WAS REGARDED AS A DISCIPLE OF THE APOSTLES [JOHN AND POSSIBLY PAUL] THEMSELVES - LATER HE WENT AS A MISSIONARY TO SOUTHERN GAUL [EUROPE], WHERE HE BECAME A PRESBYTER AT LYONS, FRANCE - THE ERA IN WHICH IRENAEUS LIVED WAS A TIME OF EXPANSION AND INNER TENSIONS IN THE CHURCH - IN MANY CASES IRENAEUS ACTED AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN VARIOUS CONTENDING FACTIONS - IRENAEUS ADOPTED A TOTALLY NEGATIVE AND UNRESPONSIVE ATTITUDE, HOWEVER, TOWARD MARCION, A SCHISMATIC LEADER IN ROME, AND TOWARD THE VALENTINIANS, A FASHIONABLE INTELLECTUAL GNOSTIC MOVEMENT IN THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING CHURCH THAT ESPOUSED DUALISM - AGAINST SUCH STATEMENTS IRENAEUS MAINTAINS THAT THE BISHOPS IN DIFFERENT CITIES ARE KNOWN AS FAR BACK AS THE APOSTLES AND NONE OF THEM WAS A GNOSTIC Relatively little is known of the life of Irenaeus. As a boy he had, as he delighted to point out, listened to the sermons of the great bishop and martyr, Polycarp of Smyrna, who was regarded as a disciple of the apostles themselves. Here he came to know, 'the genuine unadulterated gospel', to which he remained faithful throughout his life. Perhaps he also accompanied Polycarp on his journey to Rome in connection with the controversy over the date of celebrating Easter (154 CE). Later he went as a missionary to southern Gaul, where he became a presbyter at Lyons. A Catholic Encyclopedia article is online at St. Irenaeus. Irenaeus was absent from the city when the persecution there reached its zenith. It seems that he had been sent to Rome by the Gallican churches in order to confer with Pope Eleutherus, perhaps as a mediator in the Montanist disputes. Evidently Irenaeus stayed in Rome for just a short time, and soon after the end of the persecution we find him again in Lyons as the successor to Bishop Pothinus (178). When and how he died is unknown to us. Jerome and others state that he died as a martyr in the persecution under the Emperor Septimus Severus (202), but there is no certainty about this tradition. In short, we know Irenaeus almost solely from his writings, and these have not been preserved in their entirety. ... The era in which Irenaeus lived was a time of expansion and inner tensions in the church. In many cases Irenaeus acted as mediator between various contending factions. The churches of Asia Minor (where he was probably born) continued to celebrate Easter on the same date (the 14th of Nisan) as the Jews celebrated Passover, whereas the Roman Church maintained that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday (the day of the Resurrection). Mediating between the parties, Irenaeus stated that differences in external factors, such as dates of festivals, need not be so serious as to destroy church unity. Irenaeus adopted a totally negative

and unresponsive attitude, however, toward Marcion, a schismatic leader in Rome, and toward the Valentinians, a fashionable intellectual Gnostic movement in the rapidly expanding church that espoused dualism. Because Gnosticism was overcome by the Orthodox Church, Gnostic writings were largely obliterated. In reconstructing Gnostic doctrines, therefore, modern scholars relied to a great extent on the writings of Irenaeus, who summarized the Gnostic views before attacking them. After the discovery of the Gnostic library near Nag Hammadi in Egypt in the 1940s (see Robinson), respect for Irenaeus increased. He was proved to have been extremely precise in his report of the doctrines he rejected. The oldest lists of bishops also were countermeasures against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself. Against such statements Irenaeus maintains that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles - and none of them was a Gnostic - and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of the Scriptures. With these lists of bishops the later doctrine of "the apostolic succession" of the bishops could be linked. [link]

HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME (170-235 A.D.) - PHOTIOS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE DESCRIBES HIM IN HIS BIBLIOTHECA (COD. 121) DISCIPLE OF IRENAEUS, WHO WAS SAID TO BE A DISCIPLE OF POLYCARP A DISCIPLE OF THE APOSTLE JOHN

AS A

Hippolytus of Rome (170 - 235) was the most important 3rd-century theologian in the Christian Church in Rome, where he was probably born. Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca (cod. 121) as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from the context of this passage it is supposed that he suggested that Hippolytus himself so styled himself. However, this assertion is doubtful. He came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival bishop of Rome. For that reason he is sometimes considered the first Antipope. He opposed the Roman bishops who softened the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts. However, he was very probably reconciled to the Church when he died as a martyr. He is the person usually understood to be meant by Saint Hippolytus. Starting in the 4th century, various legends arose about him, identifying him as a priest of the Novatianist Schism or as a soldier converted by Saint Laurence. He has also been confused with another martyr of the same name. [link]

TERTULLIAN.ORG: THE 'NODDY' GUIDE TO TERTULLIAN - TERTULLIAN LIVED IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF CARTHAGE [NORTH AFRICA] IN WHAT IS NOW TUNISIA, SOMETIME AROUND 200 A.D. - TERTULLIAN WAS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN WRITER TO WRITE IN LATIN - HE WAS DEEPLY CONSCIOUS OF HIS OWN FAILINGS, AND HAD A BURNING DESIRE FOR TRUTH AND INTEGRITY - HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORK IS THE APOLOGETICUM, IN DEFENSE OF THE CHRISTIANS - RUNNING IT CLOSE MUST BE ADVERSUS PRAXEAN, IN WHICH THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY COMES INTO CLEAR FOCUS FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN RESPONSE TO A HERETIC WHO WAS TWISTING THE BIBLICAL BALANCE BETWEEN THE PERSONS OF THE GODHEAD - IN THIS WORK, HE CREATED MOST OF THE TERMINOLOGY WITH WHICH THIS DOCTRINE WAS TO BE REFERRED AND IS STILL, SUCH AS TRINITAS (TRINITY), ETC. - TERTULLIAN HAD GROWN ANGRY AT WHAT LOOKED LIKE COMPROMISE CREEPING INTO THE CHURCH - UNWILLINGNESS TO BE MARTYRED, WILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE MORE SERIOUS PUBLIC SINS AND ALIGNED HIMSELF WITH THE MONTANISTS - IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THIS INVOLVED ACTUALLY LEAVING THE CHURCH - AS SUCH HE WAS NOT RECOGNISED AS A SAINT, DESPITE HIS ORTHODOXY, AND HIS WORKS WERE ALL MARKED AS CONDEMNED IN THE 6TH CENTURY DECRETUM GELASIANUM Tertullian lived in the ancient city of Carthage in what is now Tunisia, sometime around 200 AD. Very little is known about his life - that little comes either from writers two centuries later, or from the scanty personal notes in his works. Much of it has been asserted to be untrue anyway by some modern writers. He was born a member of the educated classes, and clearly gained a good education. Life in his times wasn't very different in some ways to the modern day - he indulged his passions as he saw fit, including sex, and like everyone else attended the games where gladiators killed each other and criminals were eaten alive, for the enjoyment of the spectators. But among the sights he saw, was that of Christians being executed this way. He was struck with the courage with which stupid and contemptible slave men and little slave girls faced a hideous death, against all nature; and after investigating, became a Christian himself, and turned his budding talents to writing in defense of this despised and victimised group. Tertullian was the first Christian writer to write in Latin, and was described three centuries later as writing 'first, and best, and incomparably', of all the writers to do so. (by the unknown author of 'Praedestinatus'). His writing is aggressive, sarcastic and brilliant, and at points very funny even after 2000 years. He was deeply conscious of his own failings, and had a burning desire for truth and integrity. He was described by Jerome as celebrated in all the churches as a speaker; and his works bear the marks of the

need to keep an audience awake! His erudition was immense. Much of what he read is lost, but what remains gives a picture of wide reading, which was celebrated even in antiquity. He wrote a great number of works - how many is unknown. Thirty-one are extant; lists of known lost works are elsewhere on this site; but we have no reason to suppose this to be anything like an exhaustive list. Most of those extant have come down to us by the slenderest of threads, and the very nature of Tertullian's terse and ironic style, means that copyists made many errors, and in some cases his text is beyond certain restoration. Not all of his works were ever completed. His most important work is the Apologeticum, in defense of the Christians. Running it close must be Adversus Praxean, in which the doctrine of the Trinity comes into clear focus for the first time, in response to a heretic who was twisting the biblical balance between the persons of the Godhead. In this work, he created most of the terminology with which this doctrine was to be referred (and is still), such as Trinitas, etc. His discussion of how heretical arguments are in general to be handled in De praescriptio haereticorum also deserves wider recognition. Tertullian wrote no systematic theology; all of his works are brought forth by a local event, a persecution, or a heretic. In his time, the church finally decided to reject a movement calling itself 'The New Prophecy', and known later as Montanism. The New Prophecy made no doctrinal innovations, but said that the Holy Spirit was calling Christians to a more ascetic position. But obeying the prophets inevitably meant a problem, if the bishop did not recognise their authority. Tertullian had grown angry at what looked like compromise creeping into the church - unwillingness to be martyred, willingness to forgive more serious public sins - and aligned himself with the Montanists [it was a prophetic movement that called for a reliance on the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit and a more conservative personal ethic. Parallels have been drawn between Montanism and modern day movements such as Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement - wiki.com]. It is unclear whether this involved actually leaving the church, but his later works are avowedly Montanist, and one or two explictly attack the mainstream church on these points. As such he was not recognised as a Saint, despite his orthodoxy, and his works were all marked as condemned in the 6th Century Decretum Gelasianum. His later life is unknown, and we do not know if he was martyred or died of old age as Jerome says. [link]

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (150-211 A.D.) - CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR GREEK-SPEAKING THINKERS OF THE EARLY CHURCH - HE CAME FROM A PAGAN BACKGROUND AT ATHENS AND HIS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY WAS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY GREEK PHILOSOPHY - CLEMENT TAUGHT AT THE CATECHETICAL SCHOOL IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, WHERE HE WAS SUCCEEDED BY ANOTHER GREAT TEACHER, ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA - CLEMENT'S BEST-KNOWN WORK IS A SET OF THREE TREATISES ENTITLED PROTREPTICUS, PAEDAGOGUS, AND STROMATA - ACCORDING TO A TRADITION CITED BY EUSEBIUS, ST. MARK [WRITER OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK] IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA -- BETWEEN ST. MARK AND BISHOP DEMETRIUS, WHO GOVERNED THAT CHURCH IN 221 A.D., JULIUS AFRICANUS COUNTS TEN BISHOPS - {THE HERETICS} VALENTINE [THE VALENTINIANS], CARPOCRATES, AND BASILIDES WENT OUT FROM ALEXANDRIA TO ESTABLISH THEIR DISSIDENT SECTS, A CIRCUMSTANCE WHICH ALONE IMPLIES THAT, ALREADY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SECOND CENTURY (150 A.D.), THE INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY THERE WAS INTENSE Clement was born probably c. 150 A.D. of heathen parentage at Athens. The circumstances of his conversion are not known. It is supposed that he was troubled, like Justin, by the problem of God and, like him, was attracted to Christianity by the nobility and purity of the evangelical doctrines and morals. His conversion, if it had not yet taken place, was at least imminent when he undertook the journeys spoken of in his writings. He set out from Greece and travelled through southern Italy, Palestine, and finally Egypt, seeking everywhere the society of Christian teachers. -- Towards 180 A.D., he met Pantaenus at Alexandria, and took up his permanent residence in that city. There he was ordained a presbyter and, from being a disciple of Pantaenus, became, in 190, his associate and fellow-teacher. In 202 A.D. or 203 A.D., he was forced to suspend his lessons on account of the persecution of Septimius Severus, which closed the Christian school of Alexandria. He withdrew into Cappadocia, residing there with his former disciple, Bishop Alexander. We meet him again in 211 A.D., carrying to the Christians of Antioch a letter from Alexander, in which are mentioned the services he, Clement, had rendered in Cappadocia.-- In 215 A.D. or 216 A.D.the same Alexander, now bishop of Jerusalem, writes to Origen and speaks of Clement as having gone to his rest. Clement must therefore have died between 211 A.D. and 216 A.D. Ancient authors speak of him as St. Clement, but his name was not admitted to the Roman Martyrology by Benedict XIV. [link]

ORIGEN ADAMANTIUS

ALEXANDRIA (184-254 A.D.) - ORIGEN

WAS AN EARLY

CHRISTIAN ALEXANDRIAN

SCHOLAR AND

THEOLOGIAN, AND ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED WRITERS OF THE EARLY

CHURCH - AS EARLY AS THE FOURTH CENTURY, HIS ORTHODOXY WAS SUSPECT, IN PART BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF SOULS - TODAY HE IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE CHURCH FATHERS Origen was probably born in Alexandria, to Christian parents. Origen was educated by his father, St. Leonides, who gave him a standard Hellenistic education, but also had him study the Christian Scriptures. In 202, Origen's father was martyred in the outbreak of the persecution during the reign of Septimius Severus. A story reported by Eusebius has it that Origen wished to follow him in martyrdom, but was prevented only by his mother hiding his clothes. The death of Leonides left the family of nine impoverished when their property was confiscated. Origen, however, was taken under the protection of a woman of wealth and standing; but as her household already included a heretic named Paul, the strictly orthodox Origen seems to have remained with her only a short time. -- Eusebius of Caesarea, our chief witness to Origen's life, says that in 203 Origen revived the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement of Alexandria had once taught but had apparently been driven out during the persecution under Severus. Many modern scholars, however, doubt that Clement's school had been an official ecclesiastical institution as Origen's was and thus deny continuity between the two. But the persecution still raged, and the young teacher visited imprisoned Christians, attended the courts, and comforted the condemned, himself preserved from persecution because the persecution was probably limited only to converts to Christianity. His fame and the number of his pupils increased rapidly, so that Bishop Demetrius of Alexandria, made him restrict himself to instruction in Christian doctrine alone. -- His own interests became more and more centered in exegesis, and he accordingly studied Hebrew, though there is no certain knowledge concerning his instructor in that language. From about this period (212-213) dates Origen's acquaintance with Ambrose of Alexandria, whom he was instrumental in converting from Valentinianism to orthodoxy. Later (about 218 A.D.) Ambrose of Alexandria {not to be confused with Saint Ambrose (337 - 4 April 397 A.D.) Bishop of Milan}, a man of wealth, made a formal agreement with Origen to promulgate his writings, and all the subsequent works of Origen (except his sermons, which were not expressly prepared for publication) were dedicated to Ambrose. In 213 or 214, Origen visited Arabia at the request of the prefect, who wished to have an interview with him; and Origen accordingly spent a brief time in Petra, after which he returned to Alexandria. In the following year, a popular uprising at Alexandria caused Caracalla to let his soldiers plunder the city, shut the schools, and expel all foreigners. The latter measure caused Ambrose to take refuge in Caesarea, where he seems to have made his permanent home; and Origen left Egypt, apparently going with Ambrose to Caesarea, where he spent some time. Here, in conformity with local usage based on Jewish custom, Origen, though not ordained, preached and interpreted the Scriptures at the request of the bishops Alexander of Jerusalem and Theoctistus of Caesarea. When, however, the confusion in Alexandria subsided, Demetrius recalled Origen, probably in 216 A.D. -- Origen excelled in multiple branches of theological scholarship, including textual criticism, biblical interpretation, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality. Some of his teachings, however, quickly became controversial. Notably, he frequently referred to his hypothesis of the pre-existence of souls. As in the beginning all intelligent beings were united to God, Origen also held out the possibility, though he did not assert so definitively, that in the end all beings, perhaps even the arch-fiend Satan, would be reconciled to God in what is called the apokatastasis ("restitution"). Origen's views on the Trinity, in which he saw the Son of God as subordinate to God the Father, became controversial during the Arian controversy of the fourth century, though a subordinationist view was common among the ante-Nicene Fathers. A group who came to be known as Origenists, and who firmly believed in the preexistence of souls and the apokatastasis, were declared anathema in the 6th century. This condemnation is attributed to the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, though it does not appear in the council's official minutes. Few scholars today believe that Origen should be blamed, as he commonly was in the past, for tentatively putting forward hypotheses, later judged heretical, on certain philosophical problems during a time when Christian doctrine was somewhat unclear on said problems. [link]

EUSEBIUS

CAESAREA (263 - 339 A.D.) ALSO CALLED EUSEBIUS PAMPHILI - A ROMAN HISTORIAN, EXEGETE AND CHRISTIAN POLEMICIST - HE BECAME THE BISHOP OF CAESAREA IN PALESTINE [ISRAEL] ABOUT THE YEAR 314 A.D. - TOGETHER WITH PAMPHILUS, HE WAS A SCHOLAR OF THE BIBLICAL CANON OF

Eusebius of Caesarea (c. AD 263 - 339) also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a

scholar of the Biblical canon. He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, and On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text. As "Father of Church History" he produced the Ecclesiastical History, On the Life of Pamphilus, the Chronicle and On the Martyrs. ... Little is known about the life of Eusebius. His successor at the see of Caesarea, Acacius, wrote a Life of Eusebius, but this work has been lost. Eusebius' own surviving works probably only represent a small portion of his total output. Since he was on the losing side of the long 4th-century contest between the allies and enemies of Arianism (Eusebius was an early and vocal supporter of *Arius), posterity did not have much respect for Eusebius' person and was neglectful in the preservation of his writings. Beyond notices in his extant writings, the major sources are the 5th-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, and the 4th-century Christian author Jerome. There are assorted notices of his activities in the writings of his contemporaries Athanasius, Arius (Arianism heresy), Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Alexander of Alexandria. Eusebius' pupil, Eusebius of Emesa, provides some incidental information. -- By the 3rd century, Caesarea had a population of about 100,000. It had been a pagan city since Pompey had given control of the city to the gentiles during his command of the eastern provinces in the 60s BC. The gentiles retained control of the city in the three centuries since that date, despite Jewish petitions for joint governorship. Gentile government was strengthened by the city's refoundation under Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BC), when it had taken on the name of Augustus Caesar. In addition to the gentile settlers, Caesarea had large Jewish and Samaritan minorities. Eusebius was probably born into the Christian contingent of the city. Caesarea's Christian community presumably had a history reaching back to apostolic times, but it is a common claim that no bishops are attested for the town before about AD 190, even though the Apostolic Constitutions 7.46 states that Zacchaeus was the first bishop. -- Through the activities of the theologian Origen (185/6-254) and the school of his follower Pamphilus (later 3rd century - 309 AD), Caesarea became a center of Christian learning. Origen was largely responsible for the collection of usage information regarding the texts which became the New Testament. The information used to create the late-fourth-century Easter Letter, which declared accepted Christian writings, was probably based on the Ecclesiastical History [HE] of Eusebius of Caesarea, wherein he uses the information passed on to him by Origen to create both his list at HE 3:25 and Origen's list at HE 6:25. Eusebius got his information about what texts were accepted by the third-century churches throughout the known world, a great deal of which Origen knew of firsthand from his extensive travels, from the library and writings of Origen. In fact, Origen would have possibly included in his list of "inspired writings" other texts which were kept out by the likes of Eusebius, including the Epistle of Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, and 1 Clement. On his deathbed, Origen had made a bequest of his private library to the Christian community in the city. Together with the books of his patron Ambrosius, Origen's library (including the original manuscripts of his works formed the core of the collection that Pamphilus established. Pamphilus also managed a school that was similar to (or perhaps a re-establishment of) that of Origen. Pamphilus was compared to Demetrius of Phalerum and Pisistratus, for he had gathered Bibles "from all parts of the world". Like his model Origen, Pamphilus maintained close contact with his students. Eusebius, in his history of the persecutions, alludes to the fact that many of the Caesarean martyrs lived together, presumably under Pamphilus. [link]

WELCOME! GREETINGS AND BLESSINGS TO EVERYONE! THE BASIC CHRISTIAN: BLOG HISTORY STUDY - CHRISTIAN CHURCH HISTORY STUDY PORTION HAS BEGUN AND IS WELL UNDERWAY! - THE TIMELINE OF THE STUDY IS NOW AT THE POINT WHERE THE LAST APOSTLE, THE BELOVED DISCIPLE JOHN, HAS PASSED AWAY AT ABOUT THE YEAR 100 A.D. NEAR THE TOWN OF EPHESUS IN ASIA -- THE CHURCH HISTORY STUDY IS NOW GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THE EARLY CHURCH HISTORY ERA STUDYING MATERIAL AND CHURCH HISTORY FROM THE CLOSE OF THE APOSTOLIC ERA IN ABOUT 100 A.D. UP UNTIL 312 A.D. AND THE TAKEOVER OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BY THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT SPECIFICALLY BY THE TACTICS OF THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE IN 313 A.D. WITH HIS GOVERNMENTAL EDICTS AND HIS PERSONAL PREFERENCES CORRUPTING AND EVEN REPLACING THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE DOCTRINES OF THE APOSTLES BY A SECULAR (WORLDLY) GOVERNMENT BEGINNING TO DIRECTLY DICTATE TO AND OVER THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH The foundation of the study has been laid and it consists of beginning in the Old Testament by showing the prophesies of the book of Malachi in about 400 B.C. and of the continued revelation of the coming Messiah Jesus Christ. Revealing that the much prophesied Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the existence of His Christian Church is exactly the foretold works, accomplishments, plans, directions and ownership of the Lord Jesus Christ. -- The foundation of the study begins with some Old Testament prophecies of the Coming Messiah Jesus Christ then enters the New Testament Gospels at the birth in the year 0 A.D. of the Messiah Jesus Christ then highlights the Sermon on the Mount in 31 A.D. given by Jesus to His

Disciples, more teachings of Jesus, then His Mount Olivet Sermon given in 33 A.D. to a few of His Disciples, then following through Holy Week in 33 A.D. with the Triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the rejection followed by His crucifixion and resurrection then 40 days later His bodily ascent back into Heaven. Then the empowering of the Christian Church by the Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost followed by the Church building Ministries and Missions of the Apostles of Jesus Christ, notably Peter, John and Paul, including the first Church Council the Council of Jerusalem in about 47 A.D. then concluding the introduction to the study with Jesus' promises of His Eternal Kingdom found at the Bible's conclusion at the end of the Book of Revelation. [link]

THE APOSTOLIC AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CLOSES IN ABOUT THE YEAR 100 A.D. WITH THE COMPLETE BIBLE SCRIPTURES NOW WRITTEN, CONFIRMED AND IN THE PRESENCE OF A STILL YOUNG CHRISTIAN CHURCH. -- "JUDE 1:3 BELOVED, 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 [COMPLETELY] DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS [CHRISTIANS]." With the close of the Apostolic Age [the actual original Disciples of Jesus Christ] four main things happened to the Christian Church. 1. The greater [catholic] Church had the Bible Epistles (letters) in their possession and with the teachings, doctrines, known customs of Jesus and the Apostles [i.e. love, grace, fellowship, teaching, baptism, communion, etc.], along with the scriptures of the Holy Bible and the presence and direction of the Holy Spirit the Christian Church grew exponentially even though several obstacles existed that opposed the Christian Church. 2. Physical opposition and persecution against the Christian Church continued to grow in intensity. 3. Spiritual opposition primarily in the form of Gnosticism along with attacks on the Bible's authenticity and canonicity also grew and intensified against the Christian Church. 4. With the original Apostles no longer alive and among the Christian Church then Social opposition; the subtle deceit, compromises, worldly gain, financial benefit and common deceptions of the world began to enter into and infiltrate the Christian Church in a much more unprecedented and less restricted way. [link]

MARCIONISM WAS AN EARLY CHRISTIAN DUALIST BELIEF SYSTEM THAT ORIGINATED IN THE TEACHINGS OF MARCION OF SINOPE AT ROME AROUND THE YEAR 144 A.D. -- MARCION BELIEVED JESUS CHRIST WAS THE SAVIOR SENT BY GOD AND PAUL OF TARSUS WAS HIS CHIEF APOSTLE, **BUT HE REJECTED THE HEBREW BIBLE AND THE GOD OF ISRAEL (YHWH ELOHIM) - MARCIONISTS BELIEVED THAT THE WRATHFUL HEBREW GOD WAS A SEPARATE AND LOWER ENTITY THAN THE ALL-FORGIVING GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT THIS BELIEF WAS IN SOME WAYS SIMILAR TO GNOSTIC CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY; NOTABLY, BOTH ARE DUALISTIC -- MARCIONITE CANON: TERTULLIAN CLAIMED MARCION WAS THE FIRST TO SEPARATE THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT - MARCION IS SAID TO HAVE GATHERED SCRIPTURES FROM JEWISH TRADITION, AND JUXTAPOSED THESE AGAINST THE SAYINGS AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS IN A WORK ENTITLED THE ANTITHESIS - MARCION PRODUCED THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CANON, OR LIST OF THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE THAT HE CONSIDERED AUTHORITATIVE - HIS LIST [11 BOOKS], HOWEVER, WAS MUCH SMALLER THAN THAT CURRENTLY RECOGNISED [66 BOOKS] AS VALID BY MOST CHRISTIANS - MARCION OMITTED PAUL'S PASTORAL EPISTLES, ADDRESSED TO TIMOTHY AND TITUS AND HE COMPLETELY REJECTED THE OLD TESTAMENT, BELIEVING AND TEACHING THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE PART OF THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE AND WAS OF NO VALUE TO CHRISTIANS (SOURCE: RELIGIONFACTS.COM) -- THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 1913 CHARACTERIZED MARCION AS "PERHAPS THE MOST DANGEROUS FOE CHRISTIANITY HAS EVER KNOWN." {NOTE: MARCION IN 144 A.D. AND LATER MURATORIAN'S CANNON [A LIST FROM AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR - FOUND IN THE LIBRARY OF AURELIUS AMBROSIUS (ST. AMBROSE)] OF ABOUT 155 A.D. WERE BOTH ATTEMPTING TO HINDER, LIMIT AND RESTRICT THE ALREADY GENERAL (CATHOLIC) CANON OF SCRIPTURE [66 BOOKS] THAT EXISTED WITHIN THE TRUE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. -- MURATORIAN'S DISCOVERED LIST IS FROM A CONTEMPORARY OF MARCION AND THOUGH THE UNKNOWN AUTHOR REFUTES MARCIONISM HE GOES ON AND ATTEMPTS TO HINDER AND RESTRICT KNOWN STANDARD BIBLICAL TEXTS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ATTEMPTING TO PROMOTE EXTRA BIBLICAL MATERIALS THAT WERE KNOWN TO BE HERETICAL AT THAT TIME I.E. 'THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS' BOTH MARCION AND THE UNKNOWN AUTHOR OF MURATORIAN'S CANNON WERE IN EFFECT CREATING A TWO PRONGED ASSAULT AGAINST THE KNOWN AND TRUSTED SCRIPTURES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.}

Marcionism, similar to Gnosticism, depicted the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as a tyrant or demiurge (see also God as the Devil). Marcion was labeled as gnostic by Eusebius. **Marcion's canon consisted of [only] eleven [NT] books: A gospel consisting of ten sections from the Gospel of Luke edited by Marcion; and ten of Paul's epistles. All other epistles and gospels of the 27 book New Testament canon were rejected. Paul's epistles enjoy a prominent position in the Marcionite canon, since Paul is credited with correctly transmitting the universality of Jesus' message. Other authors' epistles [Notably: Peter, James, Jude, Matthew and John] were rejected since they seemed to suggest that Jesus had simply come to found a new sect within broader Judaism. Religious tribalism of this sort seemed to echo Yahwism, and was thus regarded as a corruption of the "Heavenly Father"'s teaching. ***Marcionism was denounced by its opponents as heresy, and written against, notably by Tertullian, in a five-book treatise Adversus Marcionem, written about 208 A.D. Marcion's writings are lost, though they were widely read and numerous manuscripts must have existed. Even so, many scholars (including Henry Wace) claim it is possible to reconstruct and deduce a large part of ancient Marcionism through what later critics, especially Tertullian, said concerning Marcion. [link]

THE MURATORIAN CANON FRAGMENT (ABOUT A.D. 155) - IT IS CALLED A FRAGMENT BECAUSE THE BEGINNING OF IT IS MISSING - THE MURATORIAN FRAGMENT IS [AMONG] THE OLDEST KNOWN LIST OF NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS - THE LIST ITSELF IS DATED TO ABOUT 170 A.D. BECAUSE ITS AUTHOR REFERS TO THE EPISCOPATE OF PIUS I OF ROME (DIED 157 A.D.) AS RECENT - THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER [2ND PETER] IS MENTIONED AS A BOOK WHICH "SOME OF US WILL NOT ALLOW TO BE READ IN CHURCH" The Muratorian Fragment is the oldest known list of New Testament books. It was discovered by Ludovico Antonio Muratori in a manuscript in the Ambrosian Library in Milan, and published by him in 1740. It is called a fragment because the beginning of it is missing. Although the manuscript in which it appears was copied during the seventh century, the list itself is dated to about 170 because its author refers to the episcopate of Pius I of Rome (died 157) as recent. He mentions only two epistles of John, without describing them. The Apocalypse of Peter is mentioned as a book which "some of us will not allow to be read in church." A very helpful and detailed discussion of this document is to be found in Bruce Metzger's The Canon of the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), pp. 191-201. [link]

RELIGIONFACTS.COM: MARCION (110 A.D. - 160 A.D.) - MARCION TEACHINGS WERE CONDEMNED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS HERESY

SINOPE

WAS AN EARLY

CHRISTIAN

TEACHER WHOSE

Life of Marcion: Marcion was a native of Sinope (modern Sinop, Turkey), in Pontus, Asia Minor. He was a wealthy shipowner. According to St Hippolytus, he was the son of a bishop who excommunicated him on grounds of immorality. He eventually found his way to Rome (140 A.D.) and became a major financial supporter [infiltrator] of the Church there. In the next few years after his arrival in Rome, he worked out his theological system and began to organize his followers into a separate community. He was excommunicated by the Church at Rome in 144 A.D. From then on, he apparently used Rome as a base of operations, devoting his gift for organization and considerable wealth to the propagation of his teachings and the establishment of compact communities throughout the Roman Empire, making converts of every age, rank and background. A story told by Tertullian and St IrenĂŚus of Lyons says that Marcion attempted to use his money to influence the Church to endorse his teaching; they refused. His numerous critics throughout the Church include the aforementioned, along with St Justin Martyr, St Ephraim of Syria, Dionysius of Corinth, Theophilus of Antioch, Philip of Gortyna, St Hippolytus and Rhodo in Rome, Bardesanes at Edessa, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON - THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IS THE SET OF BOOKS CHRISTIANS REGARD AS DIVINELY INSPIRED AND CONSTITUTING THE NEW TESTAMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE - FOR MOST, IT IS AN AGREED-UPON LIST OF TWENTY-SEVEN BOOKS THAT INCLUDES THE CANONICAL GOSPELS, ACTS, LETTERS OF THE APOSTLES, AND REVELATION - THE BOOKS OF THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WERE WRITTEN MOSTLY IN THE FIRST CENTURY AND FINISHED BY THE YEAR 150 AD. [ACTUALLY ABOUT 100 A.D.] Writings attributed to the Apostles circulated among the earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epistles were circulating, perhaps in collected forms, by the end of the 1st century A.D. - Justin Martyr (103 A.D - 165 A.D.) in the mid

2nd century, mentions "memoirs of the apostles" [New Testament] as being read on Sunday alongside the "writings of the prophets" [Old Testament]. A four gospel canon (the Tetramorph) was asserted by Irenaeus, c. 180 A.D., who refers to it directly. -- By the early 200s A.D., **Origen may have been using the same twenty-seven books as in the Catholic New Testament canon, though there were still disputes over the canonicity of the Letter to the Hebrews, James, II Peter, II and III John, and Revelation, known as the Antilegomena. Likewise, the Muratorian fragment is evidence that, perhaps as early as 200 A.D., there existed a set of Christian writings somewhat similar to the twenty-seven-book NT canon, which included four gospels and argued against objections to them. Thus, while there was a good measure of debate in the Early Church over the New Testament canon, the major writings are claimed to have been accepted by almost all Christians by the middle of the 3rd century. -- In his Easter letter of 367 A.D., Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, gave a list of the books that would become the twenty-seven-book NT canon, and he used the word "canonized" (kanonizomena) in regards to them. The first council that accepted the present canon of the New Testament may have been the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa (AD 393); the acts of this council, however, are lost. A brief summary of the acts was read at and accepted by the Councils of Carthage in 397 A.D. and 419 A.D. These councils were under the authority of St. Augustine, who regarded the canon as already closed. Pope Damasus I's Council of Rome in 382 A.D., if the Decretum Gelasianum is correctly associated with it, issued a biblical canon identical to that mentioned above, or, if not, the list is at least a 6th-century compilation. Likewise, Damasus' commissioning of the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible, c. 383 A.D., was instrumental in the fixation of the canon in the West. In c. 405 A.D., Pope Innocent I sent a list of the sacred books to a Gallic bishop, Exsuperius of Toulouse. Christian scholars assert that, when these bishops and councils spoke on the matter, however, they were not defining something new but instead "were ratifying what had already become the mind of the Church." -- For the Orthodox, the recognition of these writings as authoritative was formalized in the Second Council of Trullan of 692 A.D., although it was nearly universally accepted in the mid 300's A.D. The Canon of Scripture was the result of debate and research, reaching its final term for Catholics at the dogmatic definition of the Council of Trent when the Old Testament Canon was finalized in the Catholic Church as well. -- Thus, some claim that, from the 4th century, there existed unanimity in the West concerning the New Testament canon (as it is today), and that, by the 5th century, the Eastern Church, with a few exceptions, had come to accept the Book of Revelation and thus had come into harmony on the matter of the canon. Nonetheless, full dogmatic articulations of the canon were not made until the Canon of Trent of 1546 A.D. for Roman Catholicism, the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563 A.D. for the Church of England, the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647 A.D. for Calvinism, and the Synod of Jerusalem of 1672 A.D. for the Greek Orthodox. [link]

THE TEN MAJOR PERSECUTIONS OF THE EARLY CHURCH 54 A.D. - 304 A.D. 1st Under Caesar Nero A.D. 54-68 {the last Caesar} The Apostle Paul was beheaded during this persecution. -- 2nd Under Emperor Domition A.D. 81- 96 The Apostle John was [said to have been] boiled in oil and survived through a miracle of God. Later he [John] was banished to [the island of] Patmos (Revelation 1:9). -- 3rd Under Emperor Trajan A.D. 98-117 Ignatius was martyred. -- 4th Under Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus A.D. 138-180 Polycarp (a disciple of the Apostle John) of Smyrna was martyred (Saturday, February 23 in about either 156 A.D. or 166 A.D.). -- 5th Under Emperor Severus A.D. 193-211 Irenaeus (a disciple of Polycarp), Bishop of Lyons, was beheaded in 202 A.D. The two women Perpetua and Felicitas were martyred in the city of Carthage, North Africa in the year 203 A.D. -- 6th Under Emperor Maximus A.D. 235-238 In some provinces everything was done to exterminate all Christians. -- 7th Under Emperor Decius A.D. 249-251 This persecution was brought on because of Decius's hatred for his predecessor Emperor Phillip [from Syria - Reigned 244-249 A.D.] a Christian, and partly by his jealously concerning the amazing increase of Christianity. Heathen temples began to be forsaken, and the Christian churches grew. -- 8th Under Emperor Valerian A.D. 253-260 The martyrs that fell during this time period were innumerable and their tortures were various and painful. Neither rank, gender, nor age were regarded. The Edict of 257 A.D. and 258 A.D. ordered all Christian leaders to be put to death that did not take part in sacrificing to the gods. -- 9th Under Emperor Aurelian A.D. 274-287 He had the whole legion [of Christian soldiers] butchered by the other soldiers. This event took place on 09/22/286 A.D. -- 10th Under Emperor Diocletian A.D. 292-304 During this persecution, the emperor ordered 4 edicts against the Christians. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: NERO - HE

IS INFAMOUSLY KNOWN AS THE

EMPEROR

WHO

"FIDDLED

WHILE

ROME

BURNED" AND AS AN EARLY

PERSECUTOR OF CHRISTIANS - THE GREAT FIRE OF ROME ERUPTED ON THE NIGHT OF 18 JULY TO 19 JULY 64 A.D. - IT WAS SAID BY

SUETONIUS AND CASSIUS DIO THAT NERO SANG THE "SACK OF ILIUM" IN STAGE COSTUME WHILE THE CITY BURNED He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned", although this is now considered an inaccurate rumor, and as an early persecutor of Christians. He was known for having captured Christians burned in his garden at night for a source of light. This view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, the main surviving sources for Nero's reign. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favorable light. Some sources, though, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East. The study of Nero is problematic as some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts. ... According to Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat [for the fire] and rumors held Nero responsible. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned. [link]

SAINTS PERPETUA, FELICITAS, AND COMPANIONS - MARTYRS 203 A.D. - FEAST DAY: MARCH 6 - THE RECORD OF THE PASSION OF ST. PERPETUA, ST. FELICITAS, AND THEIR COMPANIONS IS ONE OF THE GREAT TREASURES OF MARTYR LITERATURE, AN AUTHENTIC DOCUMENT PRESERVED FOR US IN THE ACTUAL WORDS OF THE MARTYRS AND THEIR FRIENDS - IT WAS IN THE GREAT AFRICAN CITY OF CARTHAGE, IN THE YEAR 203 A.D. DURING THE PERSECUTIONS ORDERED BY THE EMPEROR SEVERUS, THAT FIVE CATECHUMENS [UNDERGOING CATECHISM STUDIES] WERE ARRESTED FOR THEIR FAITH - THE GROUP CONSISTED OF A SLAVE REVOCATUS, HIS FELLOW SLAVE FELICITAS, WHO WAS EXPECTING THE BIRTH OF A CHILD, TWO FREE MEN, SATURNINUS AND SECUNDULUS, AND A MATRON OF TWENTY-TWO, VIVIA PERPETUA, WIFE OF A MAN IN GOOD POSITION AND MOTHER OF A SMALL INFANT

Perpetua's father was a pagan, her mother and two brothers Christians, one of the brothers being a catechumen. These five prisoners were soon joined by one Saturus, who seems to have been their instructor in the faith and who now chose to share their punishment. At first they were all kept under strong guard in a private house. Perpetua wrote a vivid account of what happened. ... [link]

WIKIPEDIA: EMPEROR PHILIP [THE ARAB] OF SYRIA - ROMAN EMPEROR FROM 244 A.D. TO 249 A.D. - AMONG EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITERS PHILIP HAD THE REPUTATION OF BEING SYMPATHETIC TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - IT WAS EVEN CLAIMED THAT HE CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY, BECOMING THE FIRST CHRISTIAN EMPEROR - PHILIP AND HIS WIFE RECEIVED LETTERS FROM [CHRISTIAN WRITER AND THEOLOGIAN] ORIGEN - ORIGEN 184-253 A.D. WAS AN EARLY CHRISTIAN ALEXANDRIAN SCHOLAR AND THEOLOGIAN - PHILIP WAS OVERTHROWN AND KILLED FOLLOWING A REBELLION LED BY HIS SUCCESSOR [EMPEROR] DECIUS Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 - 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249 A.D. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium. Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen. Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius. -- Religious beliefs: Some later traditions, first mentioned in the historian Eusebius [Eusebius of Caesarea (c. AD 263 - 339) also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian] in his Ecclesiastical History, held that Philip was the first Christian Roman Emperor. According to Eusebius (Ecc. Hist. VI.34), Philip was a Christian, but was not allowed to enter Easter vigil services until he confessed his sins and sat among the penitents, which he did so willingly. Later versions located this event in Antioch. However, [modern] historians generally identify the later Emperor Constantine, baptised on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and generally describe Philip's adherence to Christianity as dubious, because non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign, Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow the state religion. Critics ascribe

Eusebius' claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed towards Christians. Saint Quirinus of Rome was, according to a legendary account, the son of Philip the Arab. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM, THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL - THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM IS GENERALLY DATED TO AROUND THE YEAR 49 A.D., ROUGHLY TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH, WHICH IS DATED ABOUT 33 A.D. At the time, most followers of Jesus (which historians refer to as Jewish Christians) were Jewish by birth and even converts would have considered the early Christians as a part of Judaism. According to Alister McGrath, the Jewish Christians affirmed every aspect of then contemporary (Second Temple) Judaism with the addition of the belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Unless males were circumcised, they could not be God's People. Genesis 17:14 said "No uncircumcised man will be one of my people." The meeting was called because, according to the NRSV translation of Acts 15:1-2, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." However, this command is given considerably before Moses' time, stemming from the time of Abraham (see also Abrahamic covenant), but it is cited as 'the custom of Moses' because Moses is the traditional giver of the Law as a whole. And then the circumcision mandate was made more official and binding in the Mosaic Law Covenant. Jesus himself also says in John 7:22 that Moses gave the people circumcision. It was hard for Gentile Christians to keep up with all the laws listed in the Jewish Scriptures, which many Christians came to generally call the "Old Testament", a term linked with Supersessionism. [link]

WIKIPEDIA: ANCIENT

CHURCH COUNCILS

(PRE-ECUMENICAL) -- PRE-ECUMENICAL

COUNCILS (ALSO KNOWN AS SYNODS) WERE

CONFERENCES OF ECCLESIASTICAL DIGNITARIES AND THEOLOGICAL EXPERTS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH THAT WERE CONVENED TO DISCUSS AND SETTLE MATTERS OF CHURCH DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE - THEY WERE HELD WHEN CHRISTIANITY WAS STILL ILLEGAL IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

- UNTIL THE EDICT OF MILAN, COUNCILS DID NOT HAVE A CIVIL, LEGAL STATUS - THEY MUST BE DISTINGUISHED FROM [LATER] ECUMENICAL COUNCILS WHICH ARE SEEN AS TRADITIONAL AND AS A CONTINUATION OF PREVIOUS COUNCILS OR SYNODS Such councils include the *Council of Jerusalem (50 AD) [Acts 15:6], the Council of Rome (155 AD), the Second Council of Rome (193 AD), the Council of Ephesus (193 AD), the Council of Carthage (251 AD), the Council of Iconium (258 AD), the *Council of Antioch (264 AD), the Councils of Arabia (246-247 AD), the Council of Elvira (306 AD), the Council of Carthage (311 AD), the Synod of Neo-Caesarea (314 AD), the Council of Ancyra (314 AD) and the Council of Arles (314 AD). -- and later the **Council in Nicaea, Bithynia (Turkey) in 325 A.D. [link]

REGARDING OUR FURTHER BLOG STUDIES - THE FIRST THREE MAJOR CHURCH COUNCILS - JERUSALEM IN ABOUT 49 A.D. (ACTS 15:6) ATTENDED BY THE APOSTLES AND SUPERVISED BY JAMES [A BROTHER OF JUDE AND HALF-BROTHER TO JESUS] - THE COUNCILS OF ANTIOCH [CHRISTOLOGICAL (IS JESUS REALLY GOD) CONTROVERSIES] IN 264-268 A.D. -- AND LATER THE NICAEA COUNCIL IN NICAEA, BITHYNIA (TURKEY) IN 325 A.D. ATTENDED BY THE CHURCH BISHOPS [CONSTANTINE HAD INVITED ALL 1800 BISHOPS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, ABOUT 1000 FROM THE ROMAN EASTERN EMPIRE AND 800 FROM THE ROMAN WESTERN EMPIRE - WIKI.COM] *SUPERVISED (INCOGNITO) BY ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I AKA CONSTANTINE THE GREAT The first Church Council in Jerusalem [about 49 A.D.] was to determine the important issue of allowing Gentiles access into the Jewish Christian Church (i.e. Genesis 12:3). The second Church Council the Councils of Antioch [in Turkey] where in regard to the important issue of letting Jesus have access back into His own Church (Revelation 3:20) [i.e. as the heritics, desert fathers (desert monasticism), etc. had attempted to remove Jesus from His Church -- Losing in the verdicts of the Councils at Antioch the heretics went out into the desert of Egypt and became the desert (monks) monastics]. The third Church Council Nicaea 325 A.D. was in regard to allowing the Roman Government access into and over the Christian Church (i.e. Romans 13:1). Constantine in a sense attempted to prevail for the Roman Government [in false doctrine] where the earlier heretic monks had failed to gain influence over the Christian Church at Antioch. Don't be misled the Arian heresy [Jesus as Son was not God] and the few other topics [The date of celebration of the Paschal (Passover)/Easter observation. The Meletian schism. The validity of baptism by heretics. The status of the lapse in the

(Christian) persecution under co-Emperor Licinius. - Wiki.com] were not about a healthy Church and doctrine but were about setting a secular Roman Government up as arbitrator and mediator over the affairs of the Christian Church. When we study Church History much of the study is going to be in regards to the give and take between Church Authority (i.e. Bishop Ambrose 339-397 A.D.) and Government (State) Authority (i.e. King James I of England 1566-1625 A.D.) -- Note: the Nicaea Council is often considered the first Church Council because it was the first Church/State Council and because it was the biggest and most impacting of the time. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 KINGDOMS

STUDY}

ALPHA & OMEGA MINISTRIES APOLOGETICS BLOG - I HAVE BEEN DOWNRIGHT ENCOURAGED TO NOTE THE RESPONSE THAT HAS APPEARED TO THE AMAZING STATEMENTS OF JAMES MCDONALD OF "VERTICAL CHURCH" WHEREIN HE BASICALLY THROWS NICENE ORTHODOXY UNDER THE PROVERBIAL BUS - NOW I KNOW THAT "EMERGENT" FOLKS HAVE AN ODD RELATIONSHIP WITH HISTORY---THEY LOVE TO DRAG STUFF OUT OF HISTORY, WITHOUT ITS ATTENDANT CONTEXT, AS IF IT IS "NEW" BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ACCEPTING THAT [WE] STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS AND THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT HAVE SIMPLY BEEN SETTLED IN THE PAST, THEY REBEL AND WANT TO PUT EVERYTHING "BACK ON THE TABLE" -- {NOTE: THE JERUSALEM CREED [1ST CHURCH COUNCIL ABOUT 49 A.D. IN JERUSALEM] HAS 4 CORNERSTONES THE FOURTH ONE BEING NOT TO OFFEND TRADITIONAL JEWS. THE CHURCH CREEDS [JERUSALEM, NICENE, ETC.] ARE IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT TO ALL OF CHRISTIANITY. SINCE ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF THE 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL IS TO SUPPORT JEWS AND TRADITIONAL JUDAISM IT IS AN ORIGINAL AND LONGSTANDING TENANT THAT TRUE CHRISTIANITY ACKNOWLEDGES ITS DEBT AND EMERGENCE FROM (GOD ORDAINED) MOSAIC JUDAISM. "ACTS 1:20-21 [THE JERUSALEM CREED - 1ST CHURCH COUNCIL ABOUT 49 A.D. IN JERUSALEM] BUT THAT WE [APOSTLES] WRITE UNTO THEM [GENTILE CHRISTIANS], (1.) THAT THEY ABSTAIN FROM [OCCULT] POLLUTIONS OF IDOLS, (2.) AND FROM [IMMORALITY] FORNICATION, (3.) AND FROM THINGS [CRUELTY] STRANGLED, (4.) AND FROM [LEVITICAL] BLOOD. **FOR MOSES OF OLD TIME HATH [TRADITIONAL JEWS] IN EVERY CITY THEM THAT PREACH HIM (MOSES), BEING READ IN THE SYNAGOGUES EVERY SABBATH DAY."} But even more importantly than the tweaking of Modalism so that it gets a place at the table is the attitude McDonald has displayed toward the Nicene definition. He says he does not trace his beliefs to creedal statements. Really? If by that he means creeds are always subject to the higher authority of Scripture, of course. But this is where you fall off the other side of the narrow path and rather than believing in sola scriptura, you end up with something much less, and in fact, much different. Nicea's authority comes from its fidelity to Scripture. It does not stand alone as a new revelation, and it survived simply because it is, despite all the arguments to the contrary, the consistent, harmonious testimony of divine writ. To throw its authority into the dustbin of history in the service of some kind of "emergent" attitude is not only to display an astoundingly arrogant hubris, it is to show deep disrespect to those who fought, and some who died, in defense of its truth. And for what? For some kind of post-modern feel-goodism that cannot even recognize modalism when it is standing right in front of you. A truly educational example of just how far the emergent movement is willing to go in pursuit of its ultimately destructive goals. -- Recently Jamin Hubner has raised issues relating to a simple question: is the modern secular state of Israel religiously and theologically significant? Is it "Israel" as in the Israel of Scripture, or Romans 11? And if it is not, is it open to criticism? He is concerned about the strength of the movement, mainly amongst American evangelicals, that has granted to Israel not only a theological position it does not actually hold, but which precludes even the slightest mention of criticism of a secular state. Now, I am not going to re-hash everything here, but he has even been accused of being a "shill for Hamas" due to sources he has cited and issues he has raised (which seems to me to provide strong evidence of the need to raise such issues and challenge the knee-jerk reactions of many in the Evangelical community as a whole). While he has sought fair and non-emotional responses to questions he has raised, his requests have, in the main, fallen upon deaf ears, for I see no evidence that his critics really want to have a give-andtake. [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 KINGDOMS STUDY} NOTE: REGARDING THE PREVIOUS "DECODING THE APOSTLES" BLOG SERIES THAT WAS RECENTLY PARTIALLY POSTED AT BASICCHRISTIAN.ORG - ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING ASPECTS OF LOOKING AT THE LIVES OF THE APOSTLES IS JUST HOW MUCH EACH OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL LIVES CHANGED - THE CHANGE AMONG EACH INDIVIDUAL APOSTLE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN HUGE AS IT ENCOMPASSED THEIR PERSONALITIES, INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR AND INDIVIDUAL OUTLOOK ON LIFE - THEREFORE THE MAJORITY OF THE BIBLICAL WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLES IS DIRECTED AT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EXPECTED GODLY BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION ... IN THE LIVES OF EACH NEW CHRISTIAN CONVERT - BUT BY THE TIME THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH MATURED INTO THE

LATER CHURCH COUNCILS THE MAJORITY OF THE ENTIRE CHURCH COUNCIL WAS NO LONGER ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION BUT INSTEAD BECAME VESTED, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY, IN INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN THOUGH, KNOWLEDGE AND DOCTRINE -

THOUGH

NOW

PASTOR RICK WARREN

CHRISTIAN CHURCH AWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BACK INTO THE REALM OF BEHAVIOR

AND MANY OTHERS ARE DRAMATICALLY SHIFTING THE CURRENT

FROM THOUGHT, CREEDS AND DOCTRINES AND ARE AGAIN SHIFTING THE

MODIFICATION BUT DISASTROUSLY IT IS NOT A RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION AND GODLY ACCOUNTABILITY THE

CHURCH APOSTLES

SOUGHT FOR EACH

INDIVIDUAL AWAY FROM

CHRISTIANITY

CHRISTIAN

CONVERT

- IT

IS INSTEAD A BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION THAT IS DIRECTING EACH

AND BACK INTO THE ABYSS OF THE WORLD

-- IN

THE FOLLOWING SIX POSTS ARE SEVERAL

EXAMPLES ALL FROM THE LAST WEEK OR TWO OF CURRENT CHRISTIAN EVENTS

One of the more interesting aspects of looking at the lives of the Apostles is just how much each of their individual lives changed and it changed primarily from their outlook from being socially [worldly, societally] aware to becoming Kingdom aware and eternally aware in Jesus Christ. The change among each individual Apostle seems to have been huge as it encompassed their personalities, individual behavior and individual outlook on life and in fact the very meaning of life itself for each of them. Therefore the majority of the Biblical writings of the Apostles is directed at a certain amount of expected godly behavior modification, in a good way i.e. removing doubt, uncertainty and fear, in the lives of each new Christian convert. The first Church Council in Jerusalem offered four behavior modification agendas to the new Christians. - But by the time the Christian Church matured into the later Church Councils (i.e. Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.) the majority of the entire Church Council was no longer about individual Christian behavior modification but instead became vested, almost exclusively, in individual Christian though, knowledge and doctrine. This later Christian Pastoral emphasis on individual Christian thought (i.e. think as I do) has continued on until the present modern Church day. Though now Pastor Rick Warren and many others are dramatically shifting the current Christian Church away from thought, creeds and doctrines and are again shifting the Christian Church back into the realm of behavior modification but disastrously it is not a return to the original behavior modification and godly accountability the Church Apostles sought for each Christian convert it is instead a behavior modification that is directing each individual away from Christianity and back into the abyss of the world specifically the very spiritually dangerous occult and pagan world. [link]

DESERT FATHERS - THE DESERT FATHERS WERE HERMITS, ASCETICS, MONKS, AND NUNS (DESERT MOTHERS) WHO LIVED MAINLY IN THE SCETES DESERT OF EGYPT {IN THE AREA OF SINAI PENINSULA, EGYPT - NOT THE MT. SINAI AREA OF SAUDI ARABIA} BEGINNING AROUND THE THIRD CENTURY [200'S] AD - THE MOST WELL KNOWN WAS ANTHONY THE GREAT, WHO MOVED TO THE DESERT IN 270-271 A.D. AND BECAME KNOWN AS BOTH THE FATHER AND FOUNDER OF DESERT MONASTICISM - BY THE TIME ANTHONY DIED IN 356 A.D., THOUSANDS OF MONKS AND NUNS HAD BEEN DRAWN TO LIVING IN THE DESERT FOLLOWING ANTHONY'S EXAMPLE HIS BIOGRAPHER, ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, WROTE THAT "THE DESERT HAD BECOME A CITY" [THE MOSTLY HERETICAL COMMUNITY OF PSEUDO-CHRISTIANS WERE MOVING AWAY FROM THE CITIES WHERE THEY WERE BEING EXPOSED AS HERETICS TO THE DESERT MUCH AS A RESULT OF THE CHURCH COUNCILS OF ANTIOCH IN 264-268 A.D.] Development of monastic communities: The small communities forming around the Desert Fathers were the beginning of Christian monasticism. Initially Anthony and others lived as hermits, sometimes forming groups of two or three. Small informal communities began developing, until the monk Pachomius, seeing the need for a more formal structure, established a monastery with rules and organization. His regulations included discipline, obedience, manual labor, silence, fasting, and long periods of prayer - some historians view the rules as being inspired by Pachomius' experiences as a soldier. -- The first fully organized monastery under Pachomius included men and women living in separate quarters, up to three in a room. They supported themselves by weaving cloth and baskets, along with other tasks. Each new monk or nun had a three year probationary period, concluding with admittance in full standing to the monastery. All property was held communally, meals were eaten together and in silence, twice a week they fasted, and they wore simple peasant clothing with a hood. Several times a day they came together for prayer and readings, and each person was expected to spend time alone meditating on the scriptures. Programs were created for educating those who came to the monastery unable to read. -- Pachomius also formalized the establishment of an abba (father) or amma (mother) in charge of the spiritual welfare of their monks and nuns, with the implication that those joining the monastery were also joining a new family. Members also formed smaller groups, with different tasks in the community and the responsibility of looking after each other's welfare. The new approach grew to the point that there were tens of

thousands of monks and nuns in these organized communities within decades of Pachomius' death. One of the early pilgrims to the desert was Basil of Caesarea, who took the Rule of Pachomius into the eastern church. Basil expanded the idea of community by integrating the monks and nuns into the wider public community, with the monks and nuns under the authority of a bishop and serving the poor and needy. -- As more pilgrims began visiting the monks in the desert, the early literature coming from the monastic communities began spreading. Latin versions of the original Greek stories and sayings of the Desert Fathers, along with the earliest monastic rules coming out of the desert, guided the early monastic development in the Byzantine world and eventually in the western Christian world. The Rule of Saint Benedict was strongly influenced by the Desert Fathers, with Saint Benedict urging his monks to read the writings of John Cassian on the Desert Fathers. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers was also widely read in the early Benedictine monasteries. -- Withdrawal from society: The legalization of Christianity by the Roman Empire in 313 A.D. actually gave Anthony a greater resolve to go out into the desert. Anthony, who was nostalgic for the tradition of martyrdom, saw withdrawal and asceticism as an alternative. **When members of the {desert monastic} Church began finding ways to work with the Roman state, {a few of} the Desert Fathers saw that as a compromise between "the things of God and the things of Caesar." **The monastic communities were essentially **an alternate [heretical] Christian society. The {few early} hermits doubted that religion and politics could ever produce a truly Christian society. For them, the only Christian society was spiritual and not mundane. -- {Note: Where the early (heretics) Desert Monks failed to influence the early Christian Church via their false doctrine the Roman Government via Constantine would succeed in exerting a secular influence over the Christian Church. Then with a Roman secular influence over the Christian Church [starting from about 313 A.D - 325 A.D. the Desert Heretics were then able to leave behind the desert and [under the guise of the 313 A.D. edict of religious tolerance] once again entered the cities to work as scholars, faculty, administrators, and priests for avenues to continue to influence the true Christian Church with their destructive and very unchristian heresies.} [link]

{BASIC CHRISTIAN: THE 8 KINGDOMS STUDY} PIETISM TIMELINE - "HEBREWS 10:18-25 NOW WHERE REMISSION (FORGIVENESS) OF THESE (SINS) IS, THERE IS NO MORE OFFERING FOR SIN. HAVING THEREFORE, BRETHREN, **BOLDNESS TO ENTER INTO THE HOLIEST [PRESENCE OF GOD] BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, BY A NEW [THE NEW TESTAMENT] AND LIVING WAY, WHICH HE (JESUS) HATH CONSECRATED FOR US, THROUGH THE VEIL [CLOSED PARTITION], THAT IS TO SAY, HIS FLESH [PHYSICAL APPEARANCE]; AND HAVING [JESUS] AN HIGH PRIEST [IN THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK] OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD; **LET US DRAW NEAR WITH A TRUE HEART **IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, HAVING OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE, AND OUR BODIES WASHED WITH PURE WATER [CREDO-BAPTISM]. LET US HOLD FAST THE PROFESSION OF OUR [CHRISTIAN] FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING; FOR HE (JESUS) IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED; AND LET US CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER TO PROVOKE [ENCOURAGE] UNTO LOVE AND TO GOOD WORKS: NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER, AS THE MANNER OF SOME IS; BUT EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: AND SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY [2ND COMING] APPROACHING." Pietism Timeline: The Cross and Resurrection birth of Christianity (about 33 A.D.) - 1st Church Council [Acts 15:2] in Jerusalem (about 47 A.D.) regarding Gentile Christian piety [holiness] - *Until about 313 A.D. the N.T. Epistles (Scriptures) and the O.T of the Holy Bible were being translated from the Greek and Hebrew into the common languages of the day i.e. Syrian, Egyptian, Arabic, etc. - Following the 313 A.D. Edict of Milan by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great which proclaimed religious tolerance the Bible in any language other than Roman [Latin] was not tolerated and all other versions of the Bible were deemed illegal by Rome. Latin was the only Bible Translation until the era of the Protestant Reformation Bible translators [John Wycliffe 1328-1384, Desiderius Erasmus 1466-1536, William Tyndale 1492-1536, Martin Luther 1483-1546, etc.] resulting in 1611 with the English language King James Bible [KJV 1611]. With the English Bible in the possession of the common person in England and accompanying Bibles [i.e. German, Dutch, French, etc.] in the possession of other common European citizens the people began to read the Bible and understand that Salvation [eternal life] in Jesus Christ is a free gift from God and is not to be confused with the works, tithes, customs, statutes and traditions of ordinary men and women. Then in about the mid 1650's to the late 1880's as the common person reading the Bible began to realize the assured nature of their own individual Salvation in Jesus Christ the Piety movement began as an answer of how then do we with eternal Salvation live and conduct our life here on earth. {Note: The modern (intentionally confused - not by Roman Catholicism but by occultists) bible versions [i.e. NIV,

NKJV, NET, NASB, Message, etc.] are in a sense a return to the Latin Bible where the only Bible translations of the time were in a version that could not be easily understood by the average citizen.} [link]

{CONCLUSION} EARLY CHRISTIANITY: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE (BEFORE 325 A.D.) ANTE-NICENE ERA - THE COUNCIL OF NICEA IN A.D. 325 IS A NATURAL TIME TO END "EARLY CHRISTIANITY" THE POST-APOSTOLIC PERIOD (100 AD. - 325 AD) - ALMOST EVERY HISTORY BOOK WILL REFER TO THE PERIOD FROM A.D. 100, WHICH IS ABOUT THE TIME OF JOHN THE APOSTLE'S DEATH, TO A.D. 325 AS THE "PRE-NICENE" OR "ANTE-NICENE" ERA -- NICEA (325 AD) SERVES AS A [CHURCH HISTORY] DIVIDING LINE BECAUSE THE [OCCULT LEADER] EMPEROR CONSTANTINE, THOUGH NEVER BECOMING A CHRISTIAN UNTIL HIS DEATHBED, GREATLY [PRETENDED TO] FAVOR CHRISTIANITY DURING HIS REIGN - AS A RESULT, THE NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS INCREASED FROM ABOUT 10% OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO ABOUT 90% - *MOST OF THESE CONVERTS WERE SIMPLY FOLLOWING THE EMPEROR, NOT SUBMITTING THEMSELVES TO JESUS - THE EFFECT ON EARLY CHRISTIANITY [AFTER 325 A.D.] WAS DRAMATIC {NOTE: THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA IS 0 A.D. TO 33 A.D. -- THE APOSTOLIC ERA IS 33 A.D. TO 100 A.D. -- THE ANTE-NICENE ERA IS 100 A.D. TO 325 A.D. -- THE EMERGENT HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE ERA IS 313 A.D. TO ABOUT 1521 A.D. -- THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION ERA IS ABOUT 1522 A.D. TO 1880 A.D. AND THE CURRENT EPOCH OF TIME IS THE MODERN EMERGENT RETURN TO OCCULT/PAGANISM ERA OF 1881 A.D. TO THE PRESENT TIME (2012)} Unity and Apostolic Truth in the Early Christianity: If I have to pick the outstanding feature of this era, then I choose the independence of the churches. People like to say that a hierarchy began to form before Nicea. It began in the 3rd century, but not in the 2nd. The ante-Nicene churches were simple and free. They found their unity in wholehearted devotion to Christ, not in a systematic theology or set of doctrines. ... Holiness in the Early Churches: The other notable thing about this era was the holiness of the early churches. Christians were still subject to intermittent persecution in the early Christianity. As a result, those who chose to follow Christ were those willing to commit everything to the kingdom of God. It could cost them their lives! Holiness and perseverance lessened as the 3rd century wore on; however, the remarkable lives of Christians during the 2nd century-their deep love for one another and their endurance during persecution-were powerful testimonies to the Romans around them. -- By the 3rd century, Christianity was becoming popular: The result was that there were Christians who were not so separated from the world as others before them. Tracts can be found calling Christians to separate from Roman entertainment and other worldly pursuits. ... Evangelism in Early Christianity: It is worth noting that unlike the apostolic era, Ante-Nicene Christianity had no famous evangelists or apostles. When Justin Martyr describes those converted to Christianity in the mid-2nd century, he says it was caused by: • The consistency they witnessed in their neighbors' lives, • the extraordinary forbearance they saw in fellow travelers when defrauded, • and the honesty of those with whom they conducted business. (First Apology 16) [link]

Resources BASIC CHRISTIAN 2011 EXTENDED VERSION - NEWS-INFO FEED (RSS) The 2011 Extended Basic Christian info-news feed - a longer list of past Info and RSS postings. [link]

BASIC CHRISTIAN WIKI: THE BASIC CHRISTIAN WIKI 'COMMON CHRISTIAN FAITH' (CCF) Preview: The Basic Christian Wiki 'Common Christian Faith' wiki website. [link]

BASIC CHRISTIAN: SELECT INTERNET MP3S - THE CHRISTMAS 2011 DOWNLOAD AND SHARE PROJECT - FREE DOWNLOADS (MP3S) The Basic Christian list of select Mp3 downloads from various internet websites. -- Selected as a part of the original 2003 Tract-CD Project the Basic Christian Ministry was asked to share two PDF resources [Basic Christian: Theology, Biblical Proof Jesus is God] with the Tract-CD project and in return a CD of Mp3's was mailed to the Ministry. -- These are some of those original Mp3s plus many more new mp3s have been added for download. [link]

MP3 LINKS (PART 2) - THE CHRISTMAS 2011 DOWNLOAD AND SHARE PROJECT - FREE DOWNLOADS (MP3S) Basic Christian: Links to Free Mp3s. [link]

UPDATE: 12-06-2011 - BACK HOME FOR A FEW DAYS BUT THE BLOG POSTINGS WON'T RESUME UNTIL JANUARY - HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON IN JESUS CHRIST! ~ GOD BLESS EVERYONE, DAVID ANSON BROWN The current Christmas blog postings are intended to be the only postings until after the end of the year. It seems important to be really focused on Jesus Christ during this 2011 Christmas Season so there won't be any other postings, posts that could get us off topic and get in the way of our Christian Worship of Jesus Christ during the Christmas Holiday Season. -- Currently I'm working on a few projects, mostly regarding the coming Church History blog Study and getting ready to resume the blog postings in January. I'll be out of town again during the Holidays so the blog will be on a break until January. [link]

COMING SOON: BLOG HISTORY STUDY - CHURCH HISTORY (RSS) A.D. 0 - 100 A.D., A.D. 100 - 200 A.D., A.D. 200 - 300 A.D., A.D. 300 - 400 A.D., etc. [link]

CHURCH HISTORY - THIS STUDY IS CRUCIAL FOR UNDERSTANDING WHAT GOD IS DOING IN OUR DAY - A CHURCH LECTURE SERIES - 13 LECTURES {THIS IS AN EXCELLENT INTRO INTO CHURCH HISTORY. IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE, THERE ARE A FEW MISQUOTES THOUGH SO SOME FACT CHECKING, AS ALWAYS, IS IN ORDER.} (FREE MP3'S) "Someone once noted that history was 'simply one thing after another.' However, for the Christian history represents an amazing story of the redemption of mankind in which our sovereign Lord is seen to be advancing His purposes towards His pre-ordained and pre-determined end. For the modern day believer, this study is crucial for understanding what God is doing in our day." [link]

CHURCH HISTORY - 35 MESSAGES ON CHURCH HISTORY BY PASTOR PHILLIPS - PASTOR PHILLIPS TAKES US ON A TOUR OF SOME OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AFTER THE DEATH OF THE APOSTLE PAUL (FREE MP3'S - NOTE: CHURCH HISTORY **JOHN BUNYAN 1628 - SAVE THE "PLAY!" VERSION, OPEN IT IN A PLAYER AND SAVE IT THAT WAY - THE MP3 DOWNLOAD VERSION HAS AN ERROR.) "WOW - what a great series!!" A couple years ago I followed the journey of the early church by a comprehensive study of the Acts of the Apostles, etc., and have wanted to fill in the gap of church history from that time to present, but don't have much time to read. I like to listen to sermons on the treadmill and in the tractor, so I searched for a series on church history. I found the first 3 and did extra time on the treadmill today so I could keep listening! Pastor Phillips has a way of telling the facts in a very interesting way and then finishes with application and lessons for today. After the 3rd sermon (on Augustine) I really wanted to hear more so I searched again. I was THRILLED to find 39 messages on church history by Pastor Phillips!! I plan to download all of them since spring seeding is coming up and I will be spending many hours in the tractor, and now I am looking forward to that! In the meantime, I'll keep at the treadmill. Thanks for posting all those great sermons! [link]

THE BLOG BIBLE STUDY HAS CONCLUDED THE BIBLE STUDY PORTION! - SOMETIME AFTER HOLY WEEK AND RESURRECTION DAY (EASTER) THE STUDY WILL CONTINUE WITH SOME ANCIENT HISTORY AND CHURCH HISTORY SEGMENTS - THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR PRAYERS! The blog Bible Study concluded fairly quickly - I had looked at the website visitor logs a couple of weeks ago and saw that people were scattered all throughout the study though primarily in the New Testament while the study was blogging O.T. studies at the time and that's a good thing because the material is designed to be a self-help service but with people so scattered [though many people were current] I decided to move along and if at all possible conclude the study and the study has been concluded. The material is now available as a complete resource for the convenience of anyone who wants to use it. The study really turned into an amazing, fascinating study! I learned a lot during the study and I mostly learned that I need to spend more time reading the Bible and being in prayer, and in fellowship and just in general being in a Christian life. We serve a Great God!!! Thanks to everyone especially for your prayers - the study truly encountered the heights of Heaven and the depths of other things unmentionable and through it all it was the prayers of the Saints in fellowship that gave us a tremendous victory! After Holy Week we will continue with the history portion of the study but in the time before Holy Week it seems like a good opportunity to look at some areas and aspects of the events of Holy Week as we prepare ourselves for Holy Week 2010. Then after Holy Week and some history segments the blog will continue with some basic Topical Bible studies and devotions. -- God bless everyone! ~ David Anson Brown [link]

David Anson Brown 16:20, 21 March 2013 (MST)

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