Sunday sermon
Acts
1:3
To
whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Links to my sites here and the bottom of every
post- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/
Sunday sermon video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjJRRUsa09w&t=8s
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205714658543929/
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMi0oTQlcxLhm8L-Wc
ON VIDEO
.The
longer reading
.Luke/Acts
.Who
wrote the most chapters in the New Testament?
.Who
wrote the largest part of the New Testament? – Good Question [Word
for word- Luke. Most letters- Paul]
.The
promise of the Spirit
.The
importance of the ascension
.The
Kingdom question in Acts 1?
.The
unfolding of the plan/mystery of God
.The
present ministry of Jesus
.Continual
intercession
.He
showed himself alive- after his passion
.How
about us?
.Passover-
Pentecost
.Jesus
and his church are the fulfillment of these great feasts
.The
good argument Justin Martyr made
.Tabula
Rasa
.The
2nd coming of Christ
Hebrews
7:25
Wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
TEACHING
[Past
posts below]
Today
I have no plan on making a video- so this will be it until Monday night.
I
just finished a study for the weekly text posts- and I’ll start a new one Tuesday, God willing. I want to wish all of you a great Lord’s day- hopefully most will attend a church service in the
city you live in.
I
realize some are not able to attend for various reasons- but would encourage you to fellowship with other believers- even if it’s in a home setting- it’s important for believers to meet together-
it builds each other up when we do this.
Ok,
that’s it for this brief note-
God
bless all
John
James 2:26
For
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
[These verses thru out the post are some I quoted on the video- all the verses I quoted or taught from are at the bottom of this post]
PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post- Verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-links-updated-10-2018/
https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/
https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/corinthians-links-4-2019/
Acts 1
POSTED
BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JANUARY 18, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
ACTS
1
Acts
1:8 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.
https://youtu.be/7UqPubfdyTM Acts 1
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-12-17-acts-1.zip
ON
VIDEO-
.The
Jesus movement
.Is
it just a ‘story’?
.Act’s
proven to be historically accurate
.How?
.Industrial
revolution leads to field of archeology
.We
found stuff
.field
of documentary evidence arose-
.That
proved it too
.Sir
Ramsey changed his mind
.Church
in world history
.Descartes-
Copernicus- etc.
.Acts-
.Jesus
ascends
.Wait
for the promise of the Father
.Judas
replaced
.Power
is on the way
.History-
.early
20th century- Spirit comes to Azusa
.Then
at Duquesne University
.Catholics
get it too
.Charismatic
movement
PAST
TEACHING [below are my past links/teaching I did that relate to today’s video- ACTS 1]
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ %5BMentioned Aristotle
and Plato on today’s video- Here’s my past teaching on them]
https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/
https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/
ACTS
study
Introduction;
Yesterday I took my kids to the mall after church, I usually get lost in the book store. Even though I bought an entire shelf of books a few months back, I still can’t help from buying more
books! So I picked up a few more and found a comfortable bench and started reading the History of Christianity. At the house I am almost thru with another ‘history of Christianity’ that covers
the story of the church from Pentecost to the present day. I own a few complete volumes and have checked out many from the libraries over the years. I read from both the Protestant and Catholic
[Orthodox] perspectives. I also read from the ‘out of the institutional church’ perspective. These are the histories of various groups of believers who never became Catholic, Orthodox or
Protestant. I consider all these groups Christian and appreciate the tremendous wealth of knowledge that these communities provide.
Now,
as we go thru Acts, I want to stay as close as possible to both the doctrine and practices of the early church as seen in scripture. We are not the first [or last!] study that has attempted to do
this. That is attempted to ‘get back to the original design’ as much as possible. Historically you have whole categories of believers who fit into this mindset. They are referred to as
‘Restorationist’ as opposed to Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox. The Church of Christ, The Disciples of Christ, the Anabaptists and others fall into this class. I believe you find true believers
in all of these groups.
As
you read the history of Christianity as told by the other perspectives, you will find it interesting as to the way the institutional church describes these ‘out of church’ groups. Some are called
heretics [Waldensians] others are simply seen as fringe groups. The strong institutional church has branded those who would reject her authority as schismatics and heretics on the grounds of
their refusal to submit to the hierarchy of the institutional church.
As
we go thru Acts, I want us to read carefully and see the story as told by Luke. We will not find ‘another more true group’ in the sense that I want to start some new denomination. I also don’t
want to simply find proof texts to justify doctrine. Many well meaning believers can find the verses they like the most and use them to combat the other points of view. We will see verses
emphasizing the importance of water baptism, or various truths on the outworkings of the Spirit. We will see prophets functioning and read texts that clearly teach Gods sovereignty [as many as
were ordained unto eternal life believed]. Instead of getting lost on these side trails, I want us to read with an open mind and allow our beliefs to be shaped by ‘the story’.
I
will spend time defending my own view of Local church. Not because I believe ‘my view’ is the only thing worth arguing about, but because I believe we see the intent of God for his people to be a
living community of believers in this book. Right off the bat we will see giving taught in a radical way. The early church at Jerusalem will ‘continue in the Apostles doctrine and breaking of
bread and prayers’. They then sell their goods and distribute to all who had need. Where in the world did they get this idea from? The Apostles doctrine obviously taught the plain teachings from
Jesus on sharing what you have with others. So instead of seeing an early tithe concept, you see an early ‘give to those in need idea’ straight from the teachings of Jesus. We will see this early
Jerusalem group meet daily, as opposed to seeing ‘Sunday worship’ as some sort of New Testament Sabbath. Of course this group will meet at the Temple [actually an out door courtyard called
Solomon’s Porch] and from ‘house to house’. But the simple realty of Christ’s Spirit being poured out on them as a community of people will be the basic understanding of what ‘church’
is.
You
will find citizens of many surrounding areas going back to the their home towns after Pentecost. These believers shared the gospel with those in their regions and this is how the early church
would spread. Some commentaries will show you how when Paul will eventually show up in Rome there already was an established church there. They obviously heard the gospel from these early Roman
Jews who were at Jerusalem during Pentecost. So we will see ‘church planting’ from the paradigm of simple believers going to areas with the message of Christ. Those who would believe in these
locations would be described as ‘the church at Corinth’ or ‘the church at Ephesus’ and so on. So we see ‘local church’ as communities of believers living in different
localities.
We
will see the development of leadership along the lines of ‘appoint elders in every city’. Not a top heavy idea of ‘Bishop’ in the later sense of Catholic belief, but a simple ordaining
[recognizing!] of those in the various cities who were stable enough in the basic truths of the gospel, that in Paul’s absence these elders were to be trusted as spiritual guides. Now, many of
our brothers can trace the historic office of Bishop as a fairly early development in church history. Polycarp and others were considered direct disciples of the Apostles who would be seen as
Bishops and even write of the importance of Bishops for the church ‘Where there is no Bishop there is no church’.
This
will cause many well meaning believers to eventually become Catholic/Orthodox as they read the church fathers and see the very early development of Catholic Christianity. In many of the church
fathers writings you will also see an early belief in the Eucharist as being the actual Body and Blood of Jesus.
To
the consternation of many Protestants you even find Luther condemning fellow Protestants for not taking literally the words of Jesus ‘this IS my Body’. Now, I will not defend transubstantiation,
but try to follow the trend lines in Acts as to the lack of this doctrine being a part of the early church. We will find Paul’s letter to the Corinthians addressing the Lords Supper, but for the
most part we do not see a strong belief in the transmitting of divine grace to the soul thru the eating of Christ’s literal Body and Blood as they ‘broke bread’. We do see the sharing of the
common meal and the ‘Eucharist’ as one meal called the ‘love feast’. Only later on in church history is there a division made between the full fellowship meal and the
Eucharist.
So
to be frank about it, I will challenge both our Catholic and Orthodox brothers on some very fundamental beliefs. Well I hope this brief introduction sets the proper tone for the rest of this
study, God bless you guys and I hope you get something out of it. John.
(738)
ACTS 1- Luke, the writer of this book, feels the need to document the ongoing work of Jesus and his revolution. He already wrote a gospel and believes this to be the beginning of the story. In
essence, the reality of Jesus and his resurrection are just the start, we have much more to do and become on this journey. Most writers jump to chapter 2. We have churches and music groups called
‘Acts chapter 2’. Why does Luke seem to wait till chapter 2 before getting to ‘the good stuff’? Chapter one records the 40 days of Jesus showing himself alive after his death. Luke feels this
singular truth to be important enough to simply stand alone [I do realize the early letters did not have chapter and verse divisions like today]. The real physical fact of Jesus bodily
resurrection is without a doubt the foundational truth of the gospel. The outpouring of the Spirit and the whole future of the church depends on the reality of the resurrected Christ. Paul will
write the Corinthians and tell them if the resurrection were not true then they are the most miserable of all people. Luke tells us Jesus gave instructions for the Apostles to wait at Jerusalem
for the Spirit. They will be witnesses of him to all the surrounding nations after the Spirit empowers them. We also see Peter emerge as the key spokesman for the group. He quotes freely from the
Psalms and reads their own history into the book. He sees the prophetic verse from David on ‘let another take his office’ as referring to Judas betrayal and death. They cast lots and choose
Matthias as the one to replace Judas. Peter shows the importance of Judas replacement to come from one that was with them thru out the earthly time of Jesus. Someone who saw and witnessed Jesus
after the resurrection. Scholars have confused this with the ‘ascension gift Apostles’. Some scholars have taken the truth of the early Apostles having the criteria of being actual witnesses of
Jesus, and have said ‘therefore, you have no Apostles today’. Paul will teach in Ephesians that after Jesus ascension on high he gave gifts unto men ‘some Apostles, others Prophets, etc.’ The New
Testament clearly speaks of Apostles as an ongoing gift in the church. Barnabas will later be called an Apostles [Acts 14:14] as well as many other references in the original Greek using the same
Greek word for Apostle. But here we find Peter seeing the need to replace Judas. Other scholars think Peter might have jumped the gun. They see Paul’s apostleship as the possible person the Lord
picked out as the replacement. You do find Paul referring time and again to his Apostolic authority as one ‘born out of due time’ who saw Jesus on the Damascus road. If Paul was simply an
ascension gift Apostle, why would he refer time and again to his authority based on being a witness who also saw Jesus? It’s possible that Paul was in this group of ‘Apostles of the Lamb’ who had
extra authority based upon their testimony of being eyewitnesses. So in chapter one we see that Jesus appeared for 40 days giving instructions to the early leadership and told them to wait at
Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We see the incarnational purpose of God, Jesus was and continues to be the express image of God to man. He was not some ‘phantom’ like the
Docetists will claim, but a very real physical resurrected Lord. Luke begins the early history of the church with this reality being important enough to stand on its own.
[parts]
(1357)
I WILL UNCOVER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN SINCE THE WORLDS FIRST DAY- [Jesus]. Yesterday I read an article in the paper that talked about an amazing dinosaur find in China; they found around 15
thousand fossils in a cave area. The amazing thing was the fact that so many dinosaurs would have been in one place right when they died. I immediately saw this as proof that would back up the
creationist cataclysmic view of a worldwide flood destroying all life on the planet. As I read thru the article they explained how much of ‘fossil science’ has been done thru finds in the U.S.,
but over the last few years China [and the eastern world in general] have undergone their own industrial revolution and this has led to the unearthing of new ground for the purpose of
construction and these new projects are unearthing these fossils. Much like what took place in the 19th century when many archaeologists were discovering ‘hidden things’ that seemed to be buried
‘since the foundation of the world’. In the 19th century it was popular for the intellectuals in theology to embrace the ‘historical/critical’ method of bible learning. Many began to reject the
early dating of the New Testament [early- a.d. 50-70] and began accepting a theory that said much of the New Testament was written in the 2nd century. These ideas were promoted by men like
Rudolph Bultman and were made popular at the German university which he taught at [in Marburg]. So it became ‘intellectually fashionable’ to accept this new way of critiquing scripture. One
problem- as the industrial revolution took off in the west archeology rose as a new science and we now had the ability to historically search for clues. A famous historian by the name of Sir
Ramsey went on this exhibition to see whether or not the bible was accurate when it spoke about ‘so called’ first century things. Our bibles do have lots of names of political characters and
certain historical events that can be measured for accuracy. Ramsey found to his dismay that all the evidence leaned towards the ‘less enlightened’ view of an early dating of the New Testament.
This was a tough pill to swallow by the intellectuals who had already formed their opinions on the subject, but in due time most trustworthy scholars would come to accept [for the most part] the
earlier dating. So now back to the dinosaurs, as the article went on they admitted that it’s possible that a Tsunami might have caused the dinosaurs to gather in one place before their deaths- A
FLOOD! It’s funny because some in the modern scientific community have argued, very convincingly, that the Geologic table and the extinction of the dinosaurs can be attributed to a world wide
flood. Others have vehemently opposed this idea [most evolutionists]. And now the new evidence seems to be backing up a flood theory, they simply don’t want to admit it. Like the intellectuals of
Sir Ramsey’s day, the smart thing to do is to go where the evidence leads. The facts don’t lie; these are ‘facts’ that are being now uncovered, things hidden ‘since the world’s first
day’.
[parts]
HISTORY
OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR
And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. … 2nd Thes. 2:10-13
https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo History of
everything in 1 hour [part 1]
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip
ON
VIDEO-
.Did
my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see
.They
said a rocket hit the plane
.What
did Patience say?
.Update
on detention center
.Bishop
Mulvey
.I
was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law
.Where
did the animals come from?
.Is
the story true?
Mesopotamia
.Palestine
.Aristotle
.They
were looking for the ‘LOGOS’
.Ptolemy
.Copernicus
.Cosmology
.Scientific/Industrial
revolution
.Sir
Ramsey and documentary evidence
.Luke/Acts
as historical evidence
.Phenomenological
language
.Aquinas-
Anselm and Augustine
.Richard
Dawkins alien creator
.Einstein
and the big bang
.C.S.
Lewis
.Everything
is proof of God
MY
LINKS-
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/
[parts]
(766)
Let me interrupt our Judges study a little. Right now [2008] there is another renewal/revival movement taking place in Florida [Lakeland]. The brother who was used as the ‘fire starter’ is Todd
Bentley. I have tried to catch the services on T.V. and appreciate the presence of the Lord. Of course you can go on line and read terrible stuff about the revival. Once again some are 100 %
against it, others are a little too exaggerated in their language in defense of it. What I mean is it’s easy to see a move of God and believe ‘this is the final move that will out do all other
moves in the history of the church’ the ‘latter glory’ if you will. Let’s do a little history on moves of God. The present Pentecostal movement started at the beginning of the last century [for
the most part]. You had a brother by the name of Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas who had this little bible school. One day they experienced an unusual event. Gods Spirit fell on the students and
they all ‘began to speak in other languages’. Now, to those who reject the modern gift of tongues as ‘gibberish’, I want you to see something. The ‘tongues’ [languages] of this experience were
actually real foreign languages that the speakers never learned. They were very much like the ‘tongues’ at Pentecost! Parham took this as a modern day Pentecost and began sending these students
to foreign countries, believing that they would be able to evangelize the world without having to teach the students/missionaries the foreign language of their field. Well this experiment
flopped! Even the accurate Pentecostal historians will tell you this. But we are still left with the supernatural account of the kids having spoken in languages that they never learned. Parham
was a strange type of fellow. He believed in the ‘seed of the serpent’ doctrine and a few other weird things. He was also very racist! He allowed a black student by the name of William Seymour to
sit out in the hall and hear his teaching. He could not ‘intermingle’ with the white students in class. Seymour was a humble uneducated man who had a heart for God. Seymour would eventually find
his ‘harvest field’ in Los Angeles. He began preaching at different churches and would experience strange manifestations equal to the things that Parham experienced. The churches did not
appreciate this unlearned, one eyed black preacher introducing these strange ‘manifestations’ into their congregations and eventually Seymour rented a building on Azusa street. In 1906 this Azusa
street mission would become ground zero for the outpouring of the modern day Pentecostal movement. Seymour was a very humble man by all accounts. He was known for sticking his head inside a box
on the pulpit so the people wouldn’t see him instead of the Lord. The L.A. papers would run front page stories on ‘the strange tongues of Babel’ and stuff like that. Though Seymour was young and
inexperienced at ‘running a revival’ he tried to the best of his ability to follow the Lord. He would contact Parham and ask him to come and check out the move. Parham came and totally denounced
the wild meetings as spiritists run amok! Even though Parham had himself experienced the gift of tongues at his bible school, he saw the unrestrained nature of Azusa and condemned it. Seymour
would never invite him back. The little mission building at Azusa would become the place of pilgrimage for 20th century Pentecostalism. Some were adamantly opposed to the outpouring, others 100 %
supporters. After 100 years of seeing what the outcome would be, the historical significance is hard to refute. Some still see the worldwide spread of Pentecostalism as error. Others see it as a
fulfillment of the scriptures that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh. I see Pentecostals as part of the Body of Christ and in no way reject them as heretics. This
doesn’t mean I agree with them in every doctrine! [As you can see when you read this site]. I feel we need to keep things in perspective when we feel God is moving in a new way. Is it possible
that ‘this move’[any move that you happen to be in at the time] will have worldwide historic results? Sure. But because the Body of Christ is so wide and diverse in our day, it is harder for a
single move to have the same type of impact as the original Pentecost. Should we judge the initial outpouring at Parham’s school as demonic? I don’t think so. The fact that they mistakenly took
the gift as being missionary in nature does not disqualify the gift. In Act’s chapter 2 the gift of being able to speak in a language never learned did allow the immediate hearers to hear the
gospel in their distinct languages. But the actual ‘missionaries’ [the hearers who went back to their towns] spread the message in their own known language. So in all types of moves you can find
real fault, as well as real truth [most of the time]. We as the people of God should ‘test the spirits, because every spirit is not of God’ [1st John] while at the same time keeping an open mind
like the head leader of religion in the book of Act’s, Gamaliel. He said ‘let’s leave the disciples alone for now, if this work is of God you will not be able to stop it. If it’s not of God it
will fall by itself’. I personally believe in most of the renewal and revival movements of our day. I try not to get over excited by some of the language that tends to see these moves as ‘the
last and greatest move of all time’. But I also avoid the constant attacks by the apologists who seem to never find a move they can agree with. [see entry # 844]
[parts]
The
Iliad and Odyssey [Homer]
I
want to cover some of the classics of Western Literature- when I do the philosophy and science stuff- the purpose is to show how God- and ‘religion’ are an inescapable thread that we see all thru
out history- and in fact- the rise of what we call ‘intellectualism’ did indeed come from the Judaic/Christian tradition [for instance- the modern day university system did come from the
Church].
Ok-
lets start with what most believe to be the greatest work from antiquity- outside of the bible.
These
are 2 poems by Homer- the Iliad and Odyssey.
These
poems were written in the 8th century BCE- and cover the Trojan war- which most believe was a real war- that took place in the 12th-13th century BCE.
In
Homers works we read about this epic battle.
The
war starts with- once again- a ‘woman’ issue.
Prince
Paris of Troy steals Helen of Greece- from her husband King Menelaus [king of Sparta].
The
Greeks- led by Achilles- lay siege to Troy.
In
Homers telling of the event- the Greeks are actually defending the honor of marriage- and are carrying out a just retribution against an unjust act.
Sort
of the same themes we read in scripture- when the sons of Jacob defended the honor of their sister Dinah- when she was treated unjustly by the pagan nation that took her- forcefully- to be the
wife of a kings son.
The
brothers meted out justice- by tricking these pagans to get circumcised- then- while recovering ‘from surgery’- the sons went in and wiped out the city- to their fathers
dismay!
In
the story- Achilles is a warrior- who displays extreme violence- and also the human traits of a man who acts out of selfish motives.
At
one point in the war- he removes himself from battle- because he feels his honor was betrayed.
The
only thing that brings him back is the killing of his close friend Patroclus- by Hector.
Achilles
leads the Greeks to victory- and reflects the struggle between living a long life- or dying young- yet dying for a just cause.
One
of the more famous quotes form Homer’s Poems- attributed to Achilles- is ‘I carry 2 sorts of destiny to the day of my death. Either, if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans, my
return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting; but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers, the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life- left for me, and
my end in death will not come to me quickly.’
There
has been some debate over the historicity of the war itself.
Some
scholars believe it was Myth [I’ll get to this in a moment].
That
is- they believe the war itself was not true- but a sort of Oral Tradition- that encompasses the reality of the human condition- and that Homers Poems are simply mythological ways to reveal the
true condition of man.
Yet-
much like the debate that took place in the 19th century German universities- over the ‘Myth’ of the bible- later on- the rise of what we now call Archaeology [because of the Industrial
revolution- a new field arose- men started digging up the ground- for the primary purpose of extracting materials from the earth- and at this time we also discovered ‘lost worlds’- that is we
could actually trace cities and lands that were once deemed fake].
So-
as with Homers Troy- and bible lands- these archaeologists did indeed find Cities that matched the stories.
In
1870 the German Archaeologist Schliemann discovered remains that seemed to find the city of Troy- the area is known today as modern day Turkey.
This
same thing happened with the bible- we did indeed find historical evidence that seemed to back up the historicity of the stories we find in the bible.
As
a matter of fact- a famous doubter of the bible embarked on a search- to prove the bible was ‘myth’ yet- after researching carefully the historical names and places we read about in the book of
Acts- he came to believe that the book of Acts- written by both an historian and doctor [Luke] was the most historically accurate writing that came from the first century [Acts has lots of names
of political figures- court proceedings- stuff like that- and when doing research like this- it is quite easy to debunk the historical reality of a fake work- but- when these names and places
were researched- from actual historical records dating back to the first century- it was amazing how the pieces fit].
The
Trojan War is found in many works of Greek literature- and art.
But
the most comprehensive account comes from Homer’s 2 poems.
Now-
in Homer’s poems there are obvious references to Mythology- Goddesses- Golden apples- the Greek gods intervening in the affairs of men.
So
yeah- we see that there are obvious mythological aspects to the work.
Yet-
the ancient Geeks did indeed believe the war itself was a real war that took place at around the 12th century BCE.
Some
believe that Homer never actually wrote the poems- but that he told the stories- like Oral Tradition- and they were later written down by others.
Sort
of like the classic- Paradise Lost- by John Milton. Milton was blind- and told the story to his daughters [oral tradition] and the actual work was penned by those who heard it.
Jesus
himself used this method- he never wrote a book- or letter in the New Testament- yet the gospels were compiled by his men after his death.
We
read about this when Luke [who I mentioned above] gives the reason for his documenting stuff in the book of Acts [read Acts chapter one].
Luke
also wrote his gospel a few years after the death and resurrection of Christ.
So-
some believe the same thing happened with Homer- those who heard him tell the story multiple times- simply put it together later on.
Most
scholars believe that Homer did indeed write the poems- and that the famous Trojan War was a real historical event.
Last
year- when in North Bergen- my atheist friend Daniel said he watched a PBS show- and he said ‘even a priest said the bible was Myth’.
I
explained to Daniel that when the more liberal scholars use this term [like in the writings of Bultman] that they do not mean ‘fake’- like Greek Mythology.
But
they mean that some of the stories in the gospels might be a compilation of the many Oral teachings of Jesus- and they were put together as one story [some think the Sermon on the Mount was
actually multiple teachings Jesus did- and they were compiled into one event].
Now-
when I explained this to Daniel- he said ‘see- even you believe it was Myth’.
I
told Daniel that no- I do not hold to this theory [not 100%] but that I was simply telling him that even those who use the term Myth- when talking about Theology- they do not mean Myth- as in
fake.
So-
I find it interesting that both the New testament- and Homers poems- got the same scrutiny.
In
these poems we do indeed see the condition of man- which Homer depicts as one of constant war- not peace.
The
letter of James in the New Testament says- James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
James
4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
James
4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it
[parts]
MY
VIDEOS
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-18-15-nietzsches-twilight-of-the-idols.zip
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-28-15-jean-paul-sartre.zip
On
today’s video- I attempted the impossible- to tell the story of ‘everything’ in 1 hour.
Ok
I bit off more than I could chew.
It
took 2 hours [the next video ‘history of the world- part 2’ will finish it].
But-
to sum up today’s video.
Is
the biblical account of creation accurate?
We
read that God made everything- by speaking.
Is
this even possible- or some silly fable?
Over
the history of time we read the story of the Jewish people- their trials and failures.
That’s
the majority of the history of the Old Testament.
They
believed the story in Genesis- while others questioned whether or not all things actually had a beginning point.
In
time- we see the rise of the Greek philosophers- during what we call the intertestamental period [the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew].
These
thinkers were looking for the answer to these questions- and the Greek word they used to describe this answer- was LOGOS- which is the Geek word- for WORD.
Then
we had the appearing of Christ in the 1st century- and the apostle John calls him the LOGOS.
Hmm?
That’s
the same word that the Greeks were looking for- John says ‘we have found him’.
Remember-
this is Jesus Christ- the living Word.
Ok-
over time we had the great movements of history- the Renaissance- the Reformation- the Enlightenment- the scientific revolution- the industrial revolution.
Most
scientists believed that all creation was eternal- so- for them- the answer to ‘everything’ was- it was always there.
In
the 20th century we had the great breakthroughs of Einstein- and we call one of them the Big Bang theory- meaning- all things did not always exist.
They
had a beginning point- which we call the point of singularity.
Ahh-
now we are back to ‘where did it all come from- if at the start- there was nothing’.
Yes-
‘In the beginning God spoke’.
So-
at the end of the story- of everything- we find the answer at the beginning.
In
the beginning God spoke-Yes- the early followers of Jesus called him by this name- THE WORD.
And
science and logic show us that all events need a cause [even the ‘event’ of creation].
So-
this history of the world- recorded in the scripture- was true all along!
Surprised?
[parts]
(1332)
Been doing some reading on church history/philosophy, it’s interesting to see the role that theology/Christianity played in the universities. Theology is referred to as ‘the queen of the
sciences’ and philosophy was her ‘handmaid’. They saw the root of all learning as originating with the study ‘of God’. Many modern universities have dropped the term ‘theology’ and call it ‘the
study of religion’. The study of religion is really the study of how man relates to God, his view of God; this would fit under anthropology/sociology, not under theology. Modern learning has lost
the importance of the study of God and the role it plays in all the other sciences. The classic work of Homer [8th century BC] called the Iliad, has Achilles debating whether or not he should
‘stay and
[parts]
WHAT’S
REAL? And HOLY SAVIOR
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/12-18-20-whats-real.zip
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/12-20-15-holy-savior.zip
https://youtu.be/1xlAC-2CHPw What’s real?
https://youtu.be/7RQ85MGE-8I Holy Savior
I
made these videos in Texas. Then didn’t have time to write the usual teaching. So I stuck them together and did the best I could.
ON
VIDEO’S- note- I mentioned on the video the philosopher who ‘doubted everything’. I wasn’t sure if I got it right. I said ‘maybe Blaise Pascal’- but it was Renee Descartes.
.Kill
Muslims?
.Bruce
Jenner- 2nd thoughts?
.Little
people
.He
eats with sinners
.Philosophy/Physics
.Arianism
.Islam
and Christianity
.Abrahams
kids
.Ishmael
too!
God
and Allah
.Chaz
Bono
.End
times war?
.In
defense of cops
.Hung
jury
.Columbus-
Aztecs- Conquistadores
PAST
POSTS [verses below]
.
REMINDER- This is a commentary I wrote years ago- the videos are new.
.CHAPTER
8- FEW POINTS;
1-
Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose him?
2-
When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection?
3-
Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked?
4-
Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’?
(839)ROMAN
8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of
sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled
in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been
legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no
condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the
Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things that many Catholic leaders were complaining about
before the Reformation. They did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more ‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down strong on most
pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus ‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position
was ‘God can’t declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially]. The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a person by faith alone’. Like
I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the
example from Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul agrees with both views, he says
‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually living the changed life] have no condemnation’.
[parts]
[parts]
(1242)
Read a few chapters from Brian McLaren’s ‘everything must change’ thought I’d comment. I like Brian’s writing style, I agree with him on believers needing to be challenged to see things
differently, but I disagree on some of his ‘everything’s’. He challenges the idea of objective thinking as defined as foundationalism. He explains well the questioning of modern intellectuals
after the world wars and Holocaust of the 20th century. He shows how certain thinkers began looking for answers to the problem of society’s failure as seen in these events. He also shows how some
blamed the events on ‘foundationalism’ which is a way of ‘seeing things’ [epistemology] as defined by Rene Descartes. These thinkers diagnosed the problem as society’s acceptance of absolutes,
they felt that this led to an ‘overconfidence’ in right and wrong and this in turn allowed for these atrocities to happen. Many modern thinkers would disagree with this conclusion. I find it
interesting that Brian makes some statements about Evolution that seem to say he accepts the theory, but yet he fails to see the role that Social Darwinism played as a precursor to the Holocaust.
You could make the opposite argument that it was the rejection of absolutes, and the rise of liberal theology from the universities in Germany that led to these events. Many scholars began
questioning Gods truth and laid a foundation that said ‘we really can’t trust Gods truth’ [or even know it]. To be honest these debates are a little philosophical and I didn’t think Brian would
go down this road, but he does so I will deal with it. Many ‘post moderns’ believe that one of the things that must change is the ‘old’ [what is termed modern] way of thinking. These new thinkers
assert that truth itself, as an absolute thing that people can know for sure, is out of mans reach. They question the modern way of thinking that teaches there are certain absolutes [preconceived
ways of thinking that everyone accepts]. These new thinkers say this ‘foundationalism’ is the problem. Did the enlightenment invent this mode of objectivism? No. Thinkers from Aristotle to
Aquinas to Descartes all approached thinking this way. It was defined more clearly during the enlightenment period. But this is a philosophical debate that goes on in these various camps. You
have had very smart people disagree on these things. The great theologian Karl Barth would say you are not truly educated until you can ‘affirm both sides of an argument, accept contradictory
definitions of the same thing’ many believe this would lead to lunacy! The two greatest theoretical physicists of the last century also disagreed on this. Neils Bohr would say that you can have
two contradictory truths about a subject, and they could both be true, Einstein disagreed. So these things have been around for a while, many of the eastern religions teach the same [Zen]. So I
would disagree with Brian on this, but do agree with him on the need for believers to expand their concerns from simple ‘going to heaven when I die’ concerns, to social justice concerns in the
nations. He does give some good examples along these lines.
[parts]
In
the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and
the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.
What
I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements
people began questioning stuff.
Was
it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.
Some
thinkers went back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists.
Rationalism-
as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the
church.
Math
became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic
world.
As
the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a
specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was
calculated to be there- was.]
These
calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.
There
are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book
was not written in math- but words.
Yes-
even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.
Now-
what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.
This
form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of
us understand the term. There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.
The
main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist.
This
philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember
when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].
Locke
developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.
Locke
was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.
He
lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to
have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.
Okay-
I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.
As
Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.
Go
slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.
Most
Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth
[Unicorns?]
Biblical
truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.
Christians
base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.
[parts]
VERSES-
Acts
1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Acts
1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Acts
1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God:
Acts
1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of
me.
Acts
1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts
1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Acts
1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Acts
1:8 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
1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Acts
1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Acts
1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.
Acts
1:12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
Acts
1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Acts
1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts
1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
Acts
1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took
Jesus.
Acts
1:17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
Acts
1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Acts
1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
Acts
1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
Acts
1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
Acts
1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Acts
1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Acts
1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Acts
1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Acts
1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
John
14:16
And
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John
14:26
But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John
15:26
But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John
16:7
Nevertheless
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Psalm
109:8
Let
his days be few; and let another take hisoffice.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Psalm
41:9
Yea,
mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John
13:18
I
speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
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Related
Sunday
sermon
Sunday
sermon 4-21-19
The
Seed [Galatians]
EPHESIANS- INTRO- CHAPTER 1
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
1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians
1- Intro.
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1-2/
ON
VIDEO-
.Butterfly
.Background
on the city of Ephesus
.Sovereignty
.Paul’s
prayer
.Plymouth
Rock
.Mayflower
.Jamestown
.Puritans
.Reformation
.Church
of England
.Some
history of the Puritans and their rejection of the Church of England [Anglican] keeping some of the High Church practices of the Catholic Church
NEW-
[Notes- corrections? Below]
Intro-
Ephesus was the capitol city of the Roman province of Asia- it was one of the top cities of the day [Like Rome- Corinth- Alexandria- etc].
It
was a major commercial center because of a port to the Aegean sea- [Now silted up]
And
if you remember my Acts study- the famous temple of Diana was located there- which was considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient
world- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
Paul
spent more than 2 years there and he probably penned this letter while sitting in jail at Rome [House arrest]
I
actually just covered the history of this in my study on the book of Acts- so I thought it fitting to now start a new study on the letter the apostle wrote to this Christian
community.
Chapter
1-
Paul
begins the letter acknowledging God’s sovereignty in his own calling-
Ephesians
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
His
own conversion was an example of God’s choice- God converted Paul that day on the Damascus road- when Paul was on the way to persecute
Christians- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
So
his own experience is seeing God picking him- not based on his [Paul’s] own choice-
And
Paul reminds the believers that is the same choice of God that picked them as well-
Ephesians
1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians
1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
The
doctrine of predestination is clearly taught in this passage-
It
has been a hotly debated doctrine thru out the history of the church-
But
it is simply stated in the above passage- God chose us to become his children- before the world was made.
Yet-
the purpose of God is greater than us- people in time- who have believed-
God’s
greater purpose is reconciling all creation to himself thru Christ- who was/is the eternal Logos who himself made all things-
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
1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Paul
also speaks of this redemption of creation in his letter to the Romans- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ [see chapter 8]
The
scope of what God has done in Christ is difficult to grasp at the start- and the apostle prays that their spiritual eyes might be able to see the bigger picture-
Ephesians
1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Ephesians
1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians
1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians
1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians
1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Ephesians
1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
The
raising of Jesus from the dead and his ascension to the right hand of the throne of God shows us that ultimate rule and authority are now exercised in the kingdom of God-
A
kingdom that is above all others-
Ephesians
1:21 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 which is to come:
This
authority given to Jesus Christ has also been delegated to us- the body of Christ-
We
are the community of people where the Spirit of God resides- Jesus being the head of the church- we being the Body- and all things having been put under his feet- speaks of all authorities being
subjected to the Body as well- who we are-
Ephesians
1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Ephesians
1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
All
of these great mysteries have come to pass- because these things are planned by the counsel of God himself-
Ephesians
1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
The
power given to the church is an enormous responsibility- the gift of the wisdom of God to enter into these realities also comes with a balance- a discretion-
Ephesians
1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
All
of these things were made possible only thru the obedient act of the Son who went to the Cross to redeem us-
8 And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Phil
2-
Ephesians
1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
The
death of Christ for the sins of man positions those who believe to stand blameless before the throne-
Ephesians
1:4
According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
As
we walk before him in love- seeing the grace and peace that has come to us as a free gift- we then can become change agents in the world-
A
world that is destined to be redeemed as well- a creation that looks forward to the final day of the redemption of all things-
16 The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For
the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For
the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
NOTES
[corrections?]- On this video I talked ‘off the cuff’ about the Puritans- the Mayflower- etc.
Then
a day or so later I watched a history special on PBS-
Sure
enough- I figured I better make a few corrections-
They
said the date for the Mayflower was 1630- but I just checked- I was right- I said the date was 1620- here’s a link http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower
The
PBS documentary also seemed to say William Bradford was not the governor of Plymouth colony [actually- they did not mention Bradford at all- but spoke of the whole story of the founding of
Plymouth colony]-
So-
I thought I was wrong on Bradford too- because I mentioned him as one of the original founders- and the governor-
But
as I just checked- I got that right too- http://www.history.com/topics/william-bradford
I
have written on Plymouth rock in the past- and will try and find those notes and add them below.
I
don’t mean to say ‘see- I was right’ – I actually was upset when I watched the PBS show- because I thought I was wrong on a lot of stuff- and that’s why I started ‘correcting’ the post right
now.
Then
found the above links.
It
simply shows us to fact check stuff- use more than one source.
It
is also frustrating because when I added one of the above links- I had to delete it and add it again- and it deleted all the notes I just wrote!
And
you are now re-reading the 2nd version.
So
yes- doing this takes time- takes checking- and sometimes it’s nice to see you did get it right- the first time around.
To
be fair- PBS is usually a reliable source- and I didn’t watch the whole documentary- I fell asleep while watching it- thinking ‘Geez- I will have to correct my post’-
We
live in a day where we talk about ‘fake news’ we see bias in all the media- whether they mean to do it or not.
On
the video I talked about the Puritans to show how their faith in God was THEE determining factor to sail the Mayflower and come to the new world.
It’s
also possible that some documentaries want to down play the whole aspect of God and the founding of the country.
William
Bradford was brought up in a Puritan home- his faith was the key reason he- and the others- sailed to America.
If
you read the founding documents [Mayflower Compact and others] you clearly see this- https://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/mayflower-and-mayflower-compact
But
the whole debate about the so called ‘separation of Church and state’- the establishment clause- comes into question when you see the actual writings of the founding fathers.
And
these might be reasons that good news outlets shy away from certain facts-
Not
that they are ‘wrong’ on their coverage [though they are at times] but that they might simply overlook the importance that certain people played in the actual stories of
history.
PAST
POSTS-
Did
a quick search of my past posts- here are a few where Plymouth Rock showed up in the text-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/04/27/stuff-2016/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/05/17/gideon/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/06/26/history-of-everything-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/28/samuel-revelation-kingdoms/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/22/acts-28/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/23/wednesday-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
You
might find some past teaching on the Puritans in these- I obviously do not re- read my past posts- I just try and copy the ones I think are relevant to each teaching post-
[past
stuff I taught]
I
mentioned our Revolutionary war- below are my past teachings that relate-
I
have taught in the past how some of our Founding Fathers were influenced- heavily- by Enlightenment thinking.
Thomas
Jefferson is the best example.
Why
is this important?
On
my previous post [Plymouth Rock] I tried to show the role that religion played in the founding of our country.
Yet-
at the time of the Continental congress [The first meeting was in 1774- the 2nd was in 75. The Declaration was approved in 1776] some of our founding fathers were leaning towards Deism [Ben
Franklin- etc.] and the wording of the Declaration of Independence [below] was written more along the lines of Enlightenment thinking [also strong influence from the writing of John
Locke].
The
phrase ‘we hold these truths to be SELF EVIDENT’ was indeed a contrast from the traditional view of the church.
Believers
do indeed believe in ‘self-evident’ truths [Romans1-2] but in context- this term challenged the historic thinkers of the church.
I
add this to simply show that Thomas Jefferson [who wrote the Declaration- at the young age of 33] added language that was in a sense- a ‘compromise’.
John
Adams- Jefferson’s colleague in the congress- would later be challenged in a presidential run by Jefferson.
The
accusations flew- and Adams supporters said the beliefs of Jefferson would be the downfall of Christianity in America!
Why
did they make this accusation?
Because
the Enlightenment thinkers were indeed challenging some of the core beliefs of Christianity in the 18th century.
Jefferson
spent 5 years in France- right at the time of French Revolution [remember the post I did recently on it?].
The
French Revolution was indeed a ‘revolution’ against the church in a way.
Many
Americans in the colonies were shocked by the bloodshed of the French Revolution.
Yet
Jefferson sided with it- and even wrote in support of some American merchants who were rebelling against paying their debts here in America.
This
outraged John Adams.
Eventually
Jefferson would serve on the cabinet under President Washington- and he would conflict with Alexander Hamilton over the direction of our New Republic.
Jefferson
felt that Hamilton wanted to give too much power to the Federal govt. [Federalism]
Eventually
Adams and Jefferson would be on opposing sides- of just about everything!
Adams
was a good friend of Jefferson during the continental congress in Philadelphia.
Jefferson
was the representative from Virginia- he was not an eloquent speaker- but he gained the respect of the other representatives.
He
was seen to be a hard worker-
When
the drafting of the Declaration came up- Benjamin Franklin turned down the job- and it was given to Adams and Jefferson.
Jefferson
wanted Adams to do it- yet Adams [Jefferson’s senior] recognized the great skills of his younger colleague-
And
Jefferson went to work.
Yet
their friendship was strained over the years- and at the end of their lives they became friends again.
Jefferson
would become the 3rd president of the U.S.
And
his legacy remains with us today.
It
has been said that our country is founded upon a Creed-
We-
as Americans- give our assent to a creed.
And
that creed- was penned By Thomas Jefferson.
A
preacher stopped at a tavern [Inn] In Virginia for the night.
The
story goes that he spoke with a stranger while there- they talked about mechanics- and the minister thought the man was an engineer.
They
then spoke on various subjects- and the preacher saw the stranger was knowledgeable in many fields.
They
finally spoke about religion- and the minister thought ‘he must be a preacher too’.
The
next day he asked who the man was- it was Thomas Jefferson.
How
did Jefferson gain all this knowledge?
At
the age of 6- he was reading the books from his father’s library.
He
learned Latin and Greek- on his own.
His
dad died when Jefferson was 14.
He
eventually went to the college of William and Mary- and became a dedicated student.
It
was said that 15 hours out of every 24- he was reading/studying.
Jefferson
kept this up throughout his life.
He
had a large library at Monticello- his home on a mountain in Virginia.
One
of his slaves [yes- slaves] said whenever someone had some question- Jefferson was well able to answer the question- and refer to one of his many books.
Jefferson
was the 2nd largest slave holder in his county- owning more than 200 hundred slaves at one time.
Yet-
he tried to enact legislation to outlaw slavery.
He
even added some language at the continental congress about it.
The
other representatives from the 13 colonies rejected it.
He
also tried to pass laws in Virginia against slavery.
Yet
he himself had them- how could this be?
It
even violated his own words in the Declaration ‘All men are created equal’.
Many
historians differ on why/how this could be.
In
the end- Jefferson was like all of us- he was able to articulate noble ideas- yet he himself struggled to fully live up to them.
We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Thomas Jefferson- Declaration of Independence.
[PARTS]
PLYMOUTH
ROCK
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-9-16-plymouth-rock.zip
https://youtu.be/DyDv5n6U-3o Plymouth Rock
ON
VIDEO-
.God’s
choice
.Mayflower
.John
Robinson
.Scrooby
believers
.William
Bradford
.Objections
.All
creation waits
.John
Locke
.King
James [bible]
.Puritans
.Geneva
bible 1st
.Virginia
colony- 1607
.Plymouth-
1620
.Cape
Cod
[Past
posts- verses below]
NEW
STUFF- As I cover some history from the 16th/17th centuries- a significant event came from the religious controversy over the Puritans [separatists] disagreement with the Church of
England.
After
the death of queen Elizabeth of England- she had no direct heir to the throne- and the son of Mary- queen of Scots- became the new king of England.
James
the 1st took the crown- and the Puritans had hoped that he would compromise with them.
They
disagreed with the role of Bishops in the church and other ‘Catholic’ beliefs.
Though
England broke from Rome- it was mainly in the area of the papacy- they were in reality a ‘Catholic’ church- with no pope [or the King of England replaced the Pope].
So-
the Puritans wanted more reform- sort of like what was taking place in Germany under Martin Luther.
But
James rejected the appeals of the Puritans- and gave them only one request- a new English version of the bible.
The
King James Version [1611] became the favorite bible for Protestants for many years [even till this day].
Yet-
it was actually not the ‘original’ Protestant bible.
The
first one was the Geneva bible- put together by the reformers.
So-
some of the Puritans who had already started their own churches [one in Scrooby England] fled England- and went to Holland.
The
pastor of the Scrooby church- John Robinson- stayed in the Netherlands for a few years, but then decided to go back to England.
In
1620- they agreed to leave England once again- and sail to the ‘new world’.
The
English already established a colony in Virginia in 1607- and their goal was to arrive in Virginia and hopefully have the freedom to worship God according to their conscience.
They
left on the Mayflower- with some other merchants and adventurers.
It
was a daring journey to say the least.
And
instead of landing in Virginia- because of bad weather- they hit Cape Cod instead.
Before
coming ashore- they made a ‘deal’- called the Mayflower Compact.
It
was a sort of Democratic agreement that would govern the new colony.
The
new colony was founded in what is now called Plymouth Massachusetts.
William
Bradford became the governor of the new colony- and was only a teen when he first left England with the Scrooby believers.
The
area in England where they left from- was called Plymouth [Devon- North England].
So
the new colony was named Plymouth.
PAST
POSTS-
.
JOHN LOCKE-
Locke
taught that each man has individual rights- and he empowers government- an elected designated body- to have rule-
[parts]
AN
UNJUST LAW
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/4-20-16-an-unjust-law-is-no-law-at-all.zip
https://youtu.be/oQMmaWERTYk An unjust
law is no law at all
ON
VIDEO-
.MLK
.Kennedy
.Andrew
Snowden
.USSR
.Saudi
Arabia
.911
hijackers- who were they?
.Release
the 28 pages
.Dow
18,000- sell! [remember- the video was made last week]
.Iran-
Yemen- Libya- Ukraine- Russia
.How
did we bail out the banks again?
.NATO
.Cuban
Missile crisis
.Did
Russia have the right to fly over our ship in Baltic Sea?
.War
Games
.Water
Gate- Nixon
POSTED
BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ NOVEMBER 22, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
ACTS
28- [Conclusion of the Act’s study]
Isaiah
25:7
And
he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Acts
28- https://youtu.be/JNtaYP1cqEs
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl/
https://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl-2/
ON
VIDEO-
.Stranded
on the island
.Melita
[Malta] founded by the Phoenicians around 1000 BC
.Paul
gets bitten by a snake
.The
‘natives’ think he is being judged
.Then
when he doesn’t fall down sick and die-
.They
think he is a ‘god’ [Fickle]
.Where
did these ‘natives’ get the concept of justice? [natural law theory is true]
.Paul
functions in the gift of healing
.The
ship he takes to Rome has the names ‘Castor and Pollux’- who were they?
.The
mythical sons of Zeus
.Paul
at Rome
.He
makes his case to the Jews
.Some
believe- some don’t
Note-
when we study church history we realize there was already a church [believers] at Rome before Paul got there
.So
we often teach that Paul was not responsible for the church at Rome
.Yet
here we see he did introduce some Roman Jews to Jesus- so he certainly played a role
.Paul
quotes from Isaiah 6- which in a way sums up the last half of the book of Acts [see my teaching below]
.Nero
After
thoughts-
.Would
you go to hell to save the world?
.A
talk I had with a homeless friend
.Do
we live with a self preservation mentality?
.Are
our churches centered around this mentality?
.Your
purpose is to fulfil the mission- even if it does not ‘save’ you [The Cross]
.A
polarized nation- our times
.Yet-
their is a redeemer- Jesus God’s own Son
NEW-
As we end the Acts study- I’ll add my past teaching below- and just mention a few things.
The
last few chapters was the lead up to the climax- Paul was going to Rome to appeal his case to Nero-
His
accusers have been on his trail the whole time-
And
as he arrives in Rome- he calls together the Jews to present his case first to them.
He
figured they heard all the rumors about him- and wanted to make a defense.
As
it turned out- they were not aware of all the stuff he was going thru.
So
he presents the gospel to them- some believe- others do not-
Then
he quotes one passage out of Isaiah 6-
Acts
28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Acts
28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Acts
28:27 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, and I should heal them.
Acts
28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
It’s
interesting- because the whole chapter of Isaiah 6 [posted below in the verses section] sort of sums up Paul’s whole experience in the last half of the book of Acts.
He
has been going from city to city- desperately trying to persuade his fellow Jews that Jesus is indeed the Christ- the anointed one- the promise that they have been waiting for.
And
in this excitement of the reality that they were living in the time when the promise made to their father’s thru the prophets- has now been fulfilled-
Yet-
he is dumbfounded that his fellow Jewish brothers refuse to believe it!
And
that sums up the chapter of Isaiah 6-
God
called the prophet to go and preach to his fellow Jews-
Yet
it was thru this preaching of Isaiah that their hearts would be hardened- and they would not believe-
Isaiah
even asks God how long will this go on- God says until he makes a full end.
Isaiah
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah
6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and
be healed.
Isaiah
6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Yet-
there is still the promise of the remnant- which Paul himself speaks about in his letter to the Romans-
Romans
11:5
Even
so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Paul
even quotes out of Isaiah again-
Romans
9:27
Esaias
also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
And
God also speaks about the remnant to Isaiah-
Isaiah
6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the
substance thereof.
Meaning
there would be a period of time in the history of God’s dealings with the Jewish people- and during this period of time- there will always be a small group of Jews who believe.
And
in the fullness of time- they will embrace Jesus as their messiah as a whole nation of people.
There
are many verses on this- but that is indeed what the bible teaches.
So
the process- in the frustration of a Paul- or Isaiah- or any one carrying the message to people who initially do not receive it-
Is
the promise that there are indeed some who are listening- some who are seeing what’s going on-
and
this remnant will have an impact on others as well.
The
preaching of the gospel- the setting forth of the message of Christ- in the day we live in- it’s not always embraced at the start.
Sure-
some have turned the message into a self help type thing- others have focused the message on material gain- https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/
These
messages do gain a following- because they appeal to the base nature of man-
But
the message of the Gospel- and the teachings of Jesus- are not about popularity-
The
message of the Cross is about sacrificing the temporary things of this life- to fulfill a greater purpose in God.
Paul
will go on to preach the gospel- the chapter [Acts 28] ends with Paul still waiting to appear before Nero.
Yet
later on in the letters of Paul we see that he more than likely was released from jail- and possibly even made it all the way to Spain [There is a tradition that says this- from the writings of
Clement]
Paul
sat in Rome from ad 60 to 62-
Then
was released- did some more missionary work- then probably rearrested and executed around ad 67.
Nero
set fire to Rome in ad 64- he blamed it on the Christians- and a great persecution of the saints took place.
Paul
finished his mission- he preached the gospel of Jesus and went thru much difficulty in his life-
We
continue to study his letters today- and the message he spoke- and wrote about- is still going strong.
Yes-
I guess you could say the small remnant has now become a multitude of people- too many to number-
Revelation
7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, 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;
Revelation
7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Revelation
7:11 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,
Revelation
7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
PAST
POSTS- [Verses below]
ACTS-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/15/tuesday-5/ %5BI made this
post the same day of the Acts 28 video]
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/19/sunday-sermon-15/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/03/acts-15/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/27/acts-17/
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/08/acts-18-acts-1828-for-he-mightily.html
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/20/acts-20/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/04/acts-21/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/20/acts-22-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/04/redo-acts-23-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/08/acts-24-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/14/acts-25-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/29/acts-26-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/06/acts-27/
(766)ACTS
28- After the shipwreck they wind up on an island called Melita. Paul meets the barbarous people and they welcome him. During a bon fire type thing, Paul is collecting wood and a poisonous snake
bites him. The people think ‘surely this man is a murderer and ‘vengeance’ got him!’ Notice the fact that moral/natural law was imbedded in the consciences of these savage like people. Where in
the world did they come up with such an idea of right and wrong and justice? The atheists say ‘well, all people simply come up with some type of code to live by. This is really not proof for
moral law’. The Christian answers ‘so how come you never find some isolated tribe who rewards murder and punishes goodness’! Now, I realize there are distant tribes who practice violent stuff.
The point is in all of these societies, there is a basic right and wrong that is honored. If the tribe is violent, they still don’t reward the cowardly killing of one of their own kids! These
savages had the built in conscience of moral law that Paul teaches in Romans. Now after Paul doesn’t get sick or die from the bite, they ‘change their minds’ and say he is a god! People are
fickle. Paul heals the father of the chief of the island, a small healing revival breaks out. Paul demonstrates the power of the gospel in word and deed. Even today, in many 3rd world countries
you see healings and miraculous signs along with the preaching of the gospel. They launch off and land in a few more spots and finally make it to Rome! Paul calls the Jewish leaders and makes his
familiar defense. He lists the accusations against him and defends himself. He thought the whole Jewish world knew about the gossip! The leaders tell him ‘we haven’t heard any stuff about you,
but tell us more about this sect’. Leaders, don’t make the mistake of defending yourself over personal stuff from the pulpit! Often time’s people don’t know what you are talking about. Paul does
set up a day and teaches the Jews in Rome from morning till evening showing them all the scriptures that testify of Jesus in the Law of Moses and the prophets. He ‘testified of the Kingdom of God
and Christ’ [they go hand in hand!] Some Jews believe, others don’t. Paul then quotes the most quoted verse from the Old Testament in the New Testament ‘Isaiah was right about you! Having eyes
you can’t see, ears you can’t hear…’ Luke ends the chapter [and book] with Paul living 2 years in a rented room and preaching the kingdom of God to all who will listen. Paul finished his days
infecting the capitol city of the empire with the gospel! Church history tells us that Paul [and Peter] were martyred under Nero’s persecution. John [the apostle] writes about the beast making
war against the saints and killing them. No wonder why the early church called Nero ‘the beast’. Paul writes one of his best letters to the Roman saints and the church will forever have an
‘eternal witness’ in the city of Rome. Paul got his wish.
(767)ACTS
CONCLUSION- As we finish our study in Acts, I want to review a few things. The ‘church’ [ecclesia] as seen in Acts are without a doubt ‘organic’ this term describes the community of people in the
various locations who believed the message of the Messiah. These people were not establishing ‘church meetings at the church on Sunday’ to compete with the Jewish meetings at the synagogues on
Saturday. The transition from the old law into the new covenant was not only one of a change in message [law versus grace] but also a transition from shadows to reality. All the ways of worship
and ‘liturgical’ form were part of the old law. The temple and priest and altar were important types and symbols of what was to come. But in the New Testament communities these ideas of physical
worship changed. The actual praise of Gods people and doing good deeds will become the sacrifices that God is well pleased with [New Testament]. The Lords meal was actually a meal! The gathering
on the first day of the week became a good tradition in memory of Christ’s resurrection. But as time went on many well meaning believers would return to the symbols and incorporate them into
their worship. The church would be seen as the ‘church house’ the altar would be seen as a real place upon which the ‘bloodless sacrifice’ [Eucharist] would be re offered again for the sins of
the world. The priest would be seen as having special powers given to him by Jesus, that during the mass the host becomes Jesus flesh and blood and as the people ‘eat’ him they are partaking,
literally, of Jesus flesh and blood. Now, are all these believers wrong? Should we see the development of sacramental theology as pagan? I personally don’t think so. I prefer to view the changes
that took place in the church as part of a process of Gods people grappling with doctrines and beliefs while at the same time struggling to maintain unity as the centuries progressed [I am not
making excuses for wrong doctrine, I think well meaning church fathers grasped wrong ideas out of a fear of loosing their identity. The idea of a strong magesterium [teaching authority] gave room
for wrong doctrines to become firmly entrenched in the collective mind of the early church]. For the first 1000 years of Christianity the people of God were primarily seen as Catholic. In 1054
the official split between eastern and western Christianity will take place. Another 500 years until the Catholic Church split again [1517]. The host of churches that came out of the Protestant
Reformation are too innumerable to mention. Should we view all of these groups as deceived religionists? Of course not. Do we find a pattern in Acts that would allow us to trace ‘the true group’
and lay claim to being the most authentic? I don’t believe so. But as all the people of God strive for the unity that we actually posses in Christ, we have the great resource of the church
fathers, the wisdom and insights of the reformers. The heritage of the outgrowth of the restorationist movements. The excitement of the Puritans as they launched out to found a new world free
from religious persecution. If it weren’t for the strong institutional church we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have even had a Luther [Wittenberg] Calvin [first Paris then Geneva] or
Zwingli [Zurich]! Or the ‘pre reformers’ Wycliffe, Huss and Knox. These men were products of Catholic higher learning! It was the reality of Catholic institutional Christianity that allowed for
these men to be trumpets of truth in their day! The university cities that they taught in as Catholic priests allowed for their influence to spread far and wide. In each generation of believers
you have had Gods people progress so far and leave us with great treasures that were intended to be passed on to future generations If we severe ourselves from historic Christianity, then we lose
the great gains that have been made in the centuries gone by! The book of Acts shows us the freedom of the people of God. ‘Where 2 or more are together in my name, I am in the midst’ isn’t some
description of ‘local church’. As in if we copy the formulas of what happened in Acts [break bread, prayer, etc.] then you ‘have a church’. Jesus promise to be with us when we are together is the
act of brotherhood. Surely we saw Jesus going along with the people of God all thru out Acts. The Spirit of God that indwelt them in chapter 2 was the promise that he would be with them. He
legitimized them! Not some institution [‘local church’] that they were to start! So today all the people of God are striving to find a closer identity with each other as fellow believers in the
Lord. I believe the book of Acts gives us a beautiful picture of the church in her infancy stage. I also believe the growth seen as we read Paul’s letters to these churches indicates the heart of
God for his people to remain in grace. Paul warns the churches to not fall into the legalism of observing days and regulations and legalistic requirements. He wants them to live simply, free from
sin and to be the people of God in society. Some branches of Christianity took hold of the strong ‘we are pilgrims’ view [which is true to a degree] and would separate from society. Not realizing
we are pilgrims and strangers to the worlds system, but our Father is God of heaven and earth! We are here to impact this planet! So let’s run with the exciting message and revolutionary mindset
that the early church possessed. They weren’t in this thing for what they could get out of it, they were really laying their lives down for the gospel. They were sharing their stuff with each
other. They were loving God and their fellow man in ways that were uncommon for their time. It wasn’t only what they said that allowed them to ‘turn their world upside down’ it was who they were,
the People of God.
VERSES-
Mark
16:18
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.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Luke
10:19
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 hurt you.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Acts
28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
Acts
28:2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Acts
28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Acts
28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth
not to live.
Acts
28:5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
Acts
28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that
he was a god.
Acts
28:7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
Acts
28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Acts
28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Acts
28:10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Acts
28:11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
Acts
28:12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
Acts
28:13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
Acts
28:14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
Acts
28:15 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.
Acts
28:16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
Acts
28:17 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.
Acts
28:18 Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
Acts
28:19 But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
Acts
28:20 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.
Acts
28:21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
Acts
28:22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Acts
28:23 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, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law
of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Acts
28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Acts
28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Acts
28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Acts
28:27 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, and I should heal them.
Acts
28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
Acts
28:29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
Acts
28:30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Acts
28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
Isaiah
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah
6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isaiah
6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isaiah
6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah
6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
hosts.
Isaiah
6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isaiah
6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Isaiah
6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isaiah
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah
6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and
be healed.
Isaiah
6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isaiah
6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isaiah
6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the
substance thereof.
MY
SITES
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Acts
9
POSTED
BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ APRIL 18, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
ACTS
9 [Zechariah 1]
https://youtu.be/VBw6tOxifc4 Acts 9
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1.zip
https://ccoutreach87.com/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1/
4 Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5 And
the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of
hosts.
Zech.
8
ON
VIDEO-
.Carnival
.Paul’s
conversion
.Prophecy
.Spirit
of poverty?
.Where
do the gifts function?
.And
why?
.Let’s
kill Paul now!
.Solomon’s
porch
.Peter
heals
.And
raises the dead
.Tabitha
.Resurrection
.Kingsville
Record
.
‘Child says he saw the Lord’
NEW-
Today I spoke on Acts 9- and at the end Zechariah chapter 1.
I’ll
just copy my commentary on Acts 9 below and make a few brief notes on Zechariah.
I
was reading about the 4 horns Zechariah saw in a vision- and he also saw 4 carpenters-
Zechariah
1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zechariah
1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
The
4 horns- not horns you blow- but animal horns- represent kingdoms- earthly dominions that oppress the people of God.
The
4 carpenters were ‘builders’ of the kingdom- sent from God.
In
the vision- these carpenters terrify the horns-
Zechariah
1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray [Terrify] them, to
cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
In
the letter to the Ephesians we read about the ‘5-fold’ ministry-
Ephesians
4:11 [Full Chapter]
And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Some
see a 4-fold ministry- connecting the Pastor/Teacher as one office.
In
short- the ministers of the Lord- they not only build up the people of God-
Ephesians
2:20
And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
But
they also have a prophetic aspect- that speaks truth to power.
In
the Acts study- we actually see this play out.
If
you go back and watch/read the posts on Act’s- you will see how the Apostles and believers were not only preaching Jesus- but they were telling those who crucified him ‘you are guilty of his
murder’!
It
seems strange for us in this day to see why they were doing this.
But
the unjust death of Christ- thru the manipulation of the ‘horn’ of Rome by the Jews- was indeed an oppression carried out thru corrupt government.
And
the early apostles were playing their ‘carpenter’ role as part of the 4- fold ministry.
I
also noticed a dynamic I ‘accidentally’ spoke about a few weeks ago [Permanent Record post- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/26/i-did-this-one-for-your-benefit/ ]
I
said there will be a day when we are dead- meaning both the messenger- and the one he is sent to give the message to-
We
will all be dead someday- yet the words themselves will go on forever.
Sure
enough that’s what God told the prophet-
Zechariah
1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
Zechariah
1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us,
according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
The
Word of the Lord endures forever.
We
still have the words of Peter- and Paul- and all the others who spoke the word of the Lord- who spoke truth to power.
Yet-Peter
and Paul are not on the earth anymore- nor are the corrupt ‘horns’ they spoke to.
But
the Words remain.
Yeah-
just like Zechariah was told.
PAST
POSTS [verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/moabdominions/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
ACTS
LINKS-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/
VERSES-
1
Corinthians 9:1
Am
I am not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
11 But
I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Gal.
1
Acts
14:14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Zechariah
1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zechariah
1:2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Zechariah
1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah
1:4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear,
nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Zechariah
1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
Zechariah
1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us,
according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Zechariah
1:7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo
the prophet, saying,
Zechariah
1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and
white.
Zechariah
1:9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
Zechariah
1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
Zechariah
1:11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at
rest.
Zechariah
1:12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these
threescore and ten years?
Zechariah
1:13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
Zechariah
1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zechariah
1:15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Zechariah
1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon
Jerusalem.
Zechariah
1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose
Jerusalem.
Zechariah
1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zechariah
1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
Zechariah
1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
Zechariah
1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out
the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
Ephesians
4:11
And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg
·1ST,
2ND CORINTHIANS
·1ST-
2ND SAMUEL
·1ST-
2ND SAMUEL [LINKS- UPDATED 3-17]
·1ST-2ND
KINGS
·ABOUT
·ACTS
·ATHEISM-
APOLOGETICS [LINKS ADDED]
·CHRISTIAN
RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION [LONG VERSION]
·CLASSICS
OF WESTERN LITERATURE
·DEUTERONOMY,
JOSHUA
·EPHESIANS
[HIGHLIGHTS]
·FURTHER
TALKS ON CHURCH AND MINISTRY
·GALATIANS
[LINKS]
·GALATIANS-
JOHN’S GOSPEL
·GENESIS
·HAGGAI
·HEBREWS-
UPDATED 2015
·HISTORICAL
FIGURES FROM CHURCH HISTORY
·HOUSE
OF PRAYER OR DEN OF THIEVES
·HURRICANE
HARVEY
·INSIGHTS
FROM A REVOLUTION
·ISLAM
·JAMES-
2015
·JOHN
[COMPLETE- LINKS ADDED]
·JONAH
[LINKS]
·JUDGES-
RUTH [VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED]
·JUSTIFICATION
BY FAITH
·MARK
[LINKS]
·MY
BIBLE COMMENTARIES [OTHER LINKS]
·MY
OTHER SITES
·N.J./NYC-
2017
·NEHEMIAH,
ISAIAH
·NYC-NEW
JERSEY TRIP- 2015
·OVERVIEW
OF PHILOSOPHY
·OVERVIEW
OF THE BIBLE
·PROTESTANT
REFORMATION- LUTHER
·QM
·RADIO
CATALOG
·RAPTURE-
2ND COMING- 2 EVENTS?
·ROMANS-UPDATED
2015
·RUSSIA-
U.S.- WORLD EVENTS
·THE
GREAT BUILDING OF GOD
·WESTERN
INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
//
romans-updated
2015
ROMANS-
2015- VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED
ROMANS
1-3
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-3-15-romans-1-3.zip
.CHAPTER
8- FEW POINTS;
·Did
God choose us to believe- or did we choose him?
·When
Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection?
·Does
God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked?
·Was
Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’?
(839)ROMAN
8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of
sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled
in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been
legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no
condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the
Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things that many Catholic leaders were complaining about
before the Reformation. They did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more ‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down strong on most
pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus ‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position
was ‘God can’t declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially]. The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a person by faith alone’. Like
I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the
example from Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul agrees with both views, he says
‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually living the changed life] have no condemnation’.
(840)ROMANS
8:5-13 Paul will teach the impossibility of the ‘carnal minds’ ability to submit to Gods law. Those who are ‘in the flesh’ [the unregenerate nature- not simply ‘in the body’. We will get into
these distinctions in a minute] can’t submit to God. Society spends so much time and effort trying to get the ‘lost man’ to do what’s right. The prohibition movement [outlawing liquor], the
increase in the severity of punishment for crimes dealing with drugs. Making the child kidnappers crime punishable by death. While all these laws are necessary and good [though some debate the
wisdom of the kidnapper one, they think the kidnapper might just go ahead and kill the victim if the same punishment applies to both crimes] they have little effect on getting ‘the carnal man to
submit’. Paul also says ‘if the Spirit of him who raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you, then he that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwells in you’. Let’s do a little teaching here. Most commentators see this as speaking of the promise of the resurrection ‘your mortal bodies’. I see this more in line with the
context of chapter 7. The discussion of ‘mortal bodies’ [your actual body, the flesh- which is different than ‘the fleshly nature’ which refers to the sinful nature] speaks of your actual life
now ‘let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies’. Also in verse 13 of this chapter the same theme is seen ‘if ye thru the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live’. I believe
Paul is primarily saying ‘if you are in the Spirit [born of God] the Spirit of life will make alive your physical life in such a way that you will glorify God in your body and spirit, which are
Gods’ [Corinthians]. Chapter 12 says your bodies are living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Now later on in this chapter [8] we do see the resurrection, which is called ‘the redemption of
the body’ [verse 23] so these two concepts work together. The fact that the believer is ‘training his mortal body’ for God [thru obedience] is sort of a precursor to the resurrection! Now, some
believers confuse the resurrection of the body and the work of regeneration in ‘making you alive’ [Ephesians 2]. The work of regeneration brings your dead spirit back to life [born again] when
you believe [which is a Divine imputation of faith at the moment of conversion, a sovereign act]. This ‘coming alive’ is purely spiritual. This qualifies you for the future physical resurrection
of the body [Ephesians calls this the ‘down payment’, the ‘earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession’. The word ‘earnest’ here is used in the same way as
‘earnest money’ in a real estate transaction. The fact that we have been ‘sealed’ with the Holy Spirit is our ‘guarantee of future bodily resurrection’]. Bishop N.T. Wright, the bishop of Durham
[the church of England- Durham is the 3rd most influential post in the Church of England. Canterbury is at the top] has recently written on the truths of the resurrection of the body. He is
an excellent scholar, way way above my league. He has been instrumental in ‘re introducing’ the reality of Christ’s resurrection as well as our future resurrection as a very real Christian belief
[and historic truth as well]. I have read some of Wrights stuff and am a little surprised at some of the ideas on ‘soul sleep’ and the immortality of the soul. Bishop Wright seems to side with
some of the ideas that certain restorationist groups [7th day Adventists] espouse, that the Catholic Church kind of corrupted the ideas of heaven and the soul by being overly influenced by
Greek thought. While it is possible for Bishop Wright to have come to his understanding entirely thru scripture and history, yet I felt it a little strange to see him make these arguments. For
the most part I like brother Wright and totally agree with his stance on the future ‘new heavens and new earth’ as the final place of rest [as opposed to dying and going to heaven now, which is a
temporary place] but there is the biblical reality of a present ‘heaven’ and this doesn’t only come from Greek thought. I have often used the Christian doctrine of the new heavens and new earth
while speaking with the Jehovah’s witnesses, I always agree on the reality of a future kingdom on earth. I simply steer the conversation back to ‘who qualifies for it’ and get straight to the
gospel. Well anyway we have a promise of a future resurrection, and also a ‘quickening of the body now’ [God actually using our physical life to glorify him]. These are both great
truths!
(841)ROMANS
8: 14-18 ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God’. Many of us are familiar with this verse [I hope!]. We often see it as saying ‘Gods direction in our lives is
proof that we are Christians’ true enough. But in context ‘being led by Gods Spirit’ means living the new life thru Christ. The putting to death of the old man and being ‘made alive’ thru Christ
is what this is saying. Paul agrees with John [1st John] ‘those that do what is right [led by the Spirit] are of God’. Paul says ‘we have received the Spirit and a natural result of this is
crying “Abba, Father”. I don’t want to do too much here, but Paul sees the ‘confession’ and heart cry of the believer as proof, a result of being ‘a habitation of the Spirit’. A sign, if you
will, of being born of God is confessing/ praying to the Father. Paul quoted David in chapter 4 ‘for this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found’ [Psalms
32- actually Paul quotes a different section from the Psalm, but this theme is consistent with Paul’s view]. Paul knew the reality of ‘the godly calling upon God’ they have an inner cry of ‘Abba,
father’. ‘We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ’. For many years this has been a popular verse among many believers, often times it is used to say ‘God owns the cattle on a thousand
hills’ [which he does] therefore if we are heirs ‘give me some cattle’! [stuff]. Here Paul uses this term in speaking of our identification with Christ’s sufferings. ‘If we suffer with him, we
too shall share [joint heir!] in his glory’ [future glorification at the resurrection- we shall see him and be changed in a moment, at the twinkling of an eye. This mortal shall put on
immortality]. It’s a symptom of modern American Christianity to view all these scriptures thru a materialistic lens, Paul held to the promise of a future reward [at the resurrection] that enabled
him to go thru great difficulty and suffering in this present life. He counted the suffering as a privilege that he shared with Christ.
(843)ROMANS
8: 19-25 ‘the sufferings of this present time [are you ‘presently’ suffering?] are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us’. Paul compares the difficulty to the
reward. The reward here is the future resurrection. Paul did not see suffering as ‘from the devil’ or the reward as something material [monetary stuff! The resurrection body will be ‘material’ –
real]. Paul teaches that the whole creation is waiting for this day. Not only will we get a ‘makeover’ but there will be a new heaven and a new earth! The creation itself longs for this [almost
as much as Al Gore!] This resurrection is called ‘the redemption of our body’. The next verse says ‘we are saved by hope’. John also says [1st John] that the future reality of the resurrection
‘causes us to be pure in this life’ [every one that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure]. Why? Because we know God has a purpose for our bodies as well as our spirits! The
‘getting saved by hope’ simply means the future hope of the resurrection ‘encourages’ us to live clean now. Once again ‘saved’ is a neutral term. In can apply to all sorts of things. I always
found it funny how when you read certain commentaries, that you see the difficulty Christians have when coming across these types of verses. There’s a verse that says ‘the woman will be saved
thru childbearing’ geez, you wouldn’t believe the difficulty some writers have when they come across this stuff. Some teach ‘she will be ‘saved’ thru the birth of a child [Jesus]’ and all sorts
of stuff. I think if we simply changed the word ‘saved’ for ‘delivered’ [which are basically the same thing] that maybe this would help. But thank God that we have a future resurrection to look
forward to, let this truth ‘deliver’ you from the temptation to think ‘what’s all this suffering worth, why even go thru it?’ Because we have a great promise at the other end!
(845)ROMANS
8:26-28 ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities’ why does Paul say ‘likewise’? He is saying ‘not only does the future hope of the resurrection sustain us, but also Gods Spirit helps
us’! He knows how to make intercession for us in ways that we cannot. I just finished an hour prayer time, not an ‘official’ intercession time [which I do a few times a week now]. But an
‘unofficial’ time where I try and hear what the Spirit is speaking. When you are ‘praying in the Spirit’ [which can include the charismatic expression of tongues] you are depending upon the
Spirit to transcend your limited ability to articulate what needs to be said. ‘All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are ‘the called’ according to his purpose’. A
very famous verse indeed. What does it mean? It means what it says! Over the years I have heard so many excuses for trying to get around difficult things. Why do the righteous suffer? Some taught
it was because of their ignorance of scripture. Why did the things that happened to Job happen? Some said it was because he ‘feared’ that the things would happen [this group seems to miss the
whole underlying reason for the book. Job’s friends are continually looking for a reason thru out the book. The point is, sometimes there is no reasonable explanation. I realize you can pick
apart certain statements from Job and come up with ‘reasons’, but the meaning of the book is God is sovereign and we shouldn’t always think we can figure him out or ‘work the system’]. Here Paul
says ‘whatever is happening to you right now [even very bad stuff!] will eventually work out for you benefit’. What about Hitler? Did he love God? I don’t believe so. This scripture says ‘to them
that love God’. Your only responsibility thru the difficulty is to ‘love God’.
(846)ROMANS
8:29-30 ‘for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed into the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them
he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: whom he justified, them he also glorified’. Let’s talk a little. When I first became a Christian I began a lifelong study of scripture,
where I continually read a certain amount of scripture every day for many years. Over the years I have varied on how fast I should read [that is how many chapters per day and so forth]. But
during the early stages I always took these verses to teach predestination in the classical sense. Simply put, that God ‘pre chose’ me [and all whom come to him] before we ‘chose him’. The
Fundamental Baptist church I began to attend [a great church with great people!] taught that ‘classic Calvinism’ [predestination] was false doctrine, and they labeled it ‘Hyper Calvinism’. I
simply accepted this as fact. But I never forgot the early understanding that I first gleaned thru my own study. I also was very limited in my other readings outside of the scripture. I did study
the Great awakenings and Charles Finney. I read some biographies on John Wesley and other great men of God. These men were not Calvinistic in their doctrine [which is fine], as a matter of fact
Wesley would eventually disassociate from George Whitefield over this issue. Whitefield was a staunch Calvinist! Over time I came to believe the doctrine again, simply as I focused on the
scriptures that teach it. Eventually I picked up some books on church history and realized that Calvinism was [and is] a mainstream belief among many great believers. I personally believe that
most of the great theologians in history have accepted this doctrine. Now, for those who reject it, they honestly struggle with these portions of scripture. Just like there are portions of
scripture that Calvinists struggle with. To deny this is to be less than honest. The Arminians [Those who deny classic predestination- the term comes from Jacob Arminias, a Calvinist who was
writing and studying on the ‘errors’ of ‘arminianism’ and came to embrace the doctrine of free will/choice] usually approach the verses that say ‘he predestined us’ by teaching that Gods
predestination speaks only of his foreknowledge of those who would choose him. This is an honest effort to come to terms with the doctrine. To be ‘more honest’ I think this doesn’t adequately
deal with the issue. In the above text, as well as many other places in scripture, the idea of ‘Gods foreknowledge and pre choosing’ speak specifically about Gods choice to save us, as opposed to
him simply knowing that we would ‘choose right’. The texts that teach predestination teach it in this context. Now the passage above does say ‘those whom he foreknew, he also did predestinate to
be conformed into the image of Christ’ here this passage actually does say ‘God predestinated us to be like his Son’. If you left the ‘foreknowledge’ part out, you could read this passage in an
Arminian way. But we do have the ‘foreknowledge’ part. So I believe Paul is saying ‘God chose us before we were born, he ‘knew’ ahead of time that he would bring us into his Kingdom. Those whom
he foreknew he also predestinated to become like his Son.’ Why? So his Son would be the firstborn among many. God wanted a whole new race of ‘children of God’. Those he predestinated he ‘called’.
He drew them to himself. Jesus said ‘all that the Father give to me will come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no way cast out’. Those who ‘come’ are justified, those who are justified
are [present tense] glorified. Gods design and sovereignty speak of it as a ‘finished task’ like it already happened. God lives outside of the dimension of time. I believe in the doctrine of
predestination. Many others do as well. You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to, but I believe scripture teaches it.
(847)ROMANS
8: 31-39 ‘What shall we say then to these things? [what things? The fact that God predestined us and has guaranteed completion of the purpose he has designed us for!] If God be for us, who can be
against us?’ Paul teaches that Christ is the only one with the ‘right’ or authority to pass judgment. If the only person in existence who can ‘officially’ condemn and pass legal judgment has
actually died for us for the purpose of ‘freeing us from a state of condemnation’, then who ‘gives a rip’ about others opinions and views of us? Most of us struggle with how others view us. Paul
did teach that Elders should have good character and a fine reputation in the community. But there is another type of ‘persona’ that preachers can fall into. A sort of ‘concern’ about what the
critics are saying. In this context Paul says ‘If the opinion of the only person in existence whose opinion really matters, is one of “I accept you unconditionally, I declare you free from what
others think, you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Ever since I have known you, you have been pleasing in my sight” [all true scriptures by the way] Then who cares what others think!
Paul also teaches that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love ‘not tribulation or distress or famine or persecution’ IN all these things we are more than conquerors thru him who loved us.
Most times we view this passage from a ‘Calvinistic’ lens. I want you to see the impact of this statement thru a different lens. In the American church we have taught people ‘would a good father
not pay the bills of his kids? Would a good father allow his kids to suffer? If you were really partaking of the New Covenant you would have it made’. While I do realize that many well meaning
ministers have taught these viewpoints with honest and sincere hearts, I also have seen how this mindset accuses the saints. It basically tells the struggling believer ‘what kind of father do you
have? If he really loved you would you be going thru these things’? In essence we are saying ‘tribulation and distress and persecution’ are all signs that ‘you have been separated from Gods
love’! Paul blows this false [materialistic] mindset out of the water. He says it is thru these things that we are more than conquerors. It is the ability to look into the face of Pontius Pilate
and say ‘you have no power over me, my father has permitted these things to take place. I am here to lay my life down for his glory’. Paul said all these things we are suffering are opportunities
to glorify our father. To look into the face of society and say ‘nay, we are more than conqueror’s thru him that loved us’. The early church set the world on fire when they were laying their
lives down for the cause, refusing to deny their Lord even at the point of death. They were ‘more than conquerors’.
ROMANS
9-
.PAUL-
SPURGEON- AND DAVE HUNT- DID THEY BELIEVE IN PREDESTINATION?
.HOW
DOES PAUL DEFEND AGAINST THE SEEMING ‘UNFAIRNESS’ OF IT?
.WHAT
DID THAT RUSSIAN ATHIEST SAY?
ACTS
5
Acts
5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts
5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
https://youtu.be/e3_HgRrIVis Acts 5
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-16-17-acts-5.zip
ON
VIDEO-
.Mark
Scott
.
Carolyn Vaughn
.Sandusky-
Innocent?
.Church
as community
.Some
sold all
.Solomon’s
porch
.Why
Deacons?
.Why
lie?
.CNN
special- on Jesus- yeah- ‘fake news’
.Gift
of miracles break forth- again
.Stop
preaching Jesus!
.No
way!
.Angels
on assignment
.2nd
Mile? [I think]
.Trump
tweet
.Nixon-
Watergate
.Media
.4ht
estate
.
‘Judges can do no wrong’!
.Really?
.They
once ruled Black people are ‘less than’ White people
NEW
[past links- verses below. I also added a note at the end of the entire post- about Trump]
Just
a few notes- I’ll add my commentary on this chapter below.
By
this time in the early Christian movement- we have seen how Peter and the apostles have already been warned not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus.
And
Peter continues to practice ‘civil disobedience’ and obeys God- rather than men.
The
council throws Peter into jail- and the angel of the Lord sets him free-
Acts
5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Acts
5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Acts
5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
He
is told to go ‘preach the words of this life’.
Acts
5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
And
sure enough- Peter goes back to the temple and preaches Christ-
Acts
5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
When
the religious leaders get word- they go and bring Peter- gently- before their court-
Acts
5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
Peter
once again preaches strongly ‘Jesus has been ordained of God- he is the Messiah- and you killed him’-
Acts
5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts
5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts
5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Yes-
Peter’s pattern is rough.
But
in previous experiences- the people ask ‘what shall we do’?
This
time they want to kill him-
Acts
5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Why
the difference now?
They
also say ‘are you trying to hold us accountable for this man’s Blood’-
Acts
5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon
us.
The
Sadducees were the ruling sect at this time- the high priest was a Sadducee-
Acts
5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Despite
the miracles and wonders still being done in the name of Jesus- they are now worried about the actual injustice itself- done in the criminal proceeding- that executed Christ.
We
must remember that from the simple standpoint of the law- there was corruption and criminality in the execution of Christ on the Cross.
We
read in the gospels how they had false witnesses- and even Pilate himself said Jesus was an innocent man-
59
Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
60
But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Matt.
26
Now-
imagine the pressure on those who were a part of this.
The
Sadducees are actually worried about this preacher- this simple fisherman- going around in the power of the Spirt- healing the sick- raising the dead [later on in Acts] and then telling everyone
‘you killed an innocent man’.
Yes-
we as believers understand why this happened- he died for us.
But
from the religious leaders standpoint- they are thinking ‘yeah- we killed an innocent man- unjustly- and we hoped it would fade from the scene- but if Peter keeps bringing it up- we too might be
held accountable’.
I
think that might be why these ‘hearers’ wanted to kill Peter.
As
the chapter closes- Gamaliel- a respected teacher of the law- and having a famous student under him by the name of Saul- stands up and saves the lives of Peter and his men.
The
Pharisees did believe in the supernatural elements of God.
The
Sadducees did not.
And
in the midst of this whole debate- they are not too willing to side with the Sadducees- in the attack against this new sect-
Especially
being this ‘new sect’ seems to be operating in all of these supernatural gifts- which the Pharisees themselves believe in.
So
yes- just like in our day- there are bias’s involved.
So
Gamaliel tells the council ‘wait- before we do something to these men that we might later regret- remember- there have been other movements- and followers of those men.
Yet-
they came to nothing in the end’-
Acts
5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little
space;
Acts
5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Acts
5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, 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 brought to nought.
Acts
5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were
dispersed.
‘Therefore-
if we simply leave this new movement alone- if it’s not of God- it too will fail.
But
if it is of God- well we don’t want to find ourselves fighting against God- do we’?
Acts
5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts
5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Wise
advice indeed.
At
the end of the chapter- they beat them- and let them go-
Acts
5:40 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.
And
the apostles praise God that they were found ‘worthy to suffer shame for his name’-
Acts
5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Ok-
Those are some of the high points I hit on in today’s video.
My
old commentary on this chapter will cover the rest [Below]
I
encourage you to read thru the book of Acts- as well as the other studies I’m currently doing.
And
mediate on the Word of God.
Try
and enter into the context of the time- see how there were real dynamics going on- things that people today also deal with.
There
were many things at play- that caused people to not want to admit that Jesus was alive- and his disciples were going around proving it by the miraculous signs that were being
done.
Do
we too have ulterior motives for why we- in our day- also look for reasons to deny the message of Christ?
Are
all atheists sincere in their unbelief?
Or
are there other reasons why the deniers of Jesus- actually deny him?
Is
it because they also do want to give an account for their actions? [sins]
Yes-
for the Sadducees- if this Jesus was really alive- then indeed- Peter was ‘bringing upon them the Blood of this innocent man’-
In
more ways than one.
PAST
LINKS [verses below]
Here
are my past teachings that relate to today’s video ‘Acts 5’.
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/
https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/
News
link [stuff I mentioned about local politics]
http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/28/council-votes-disqualify-scott-mayoral-candidate/98479374/
(739)
ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for.
Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most
part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just
prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church
history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the
only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and
the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them
about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since
Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority
of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went
thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well,
to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the
first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The
critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same
manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a
religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them
some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the
religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t
forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to
listen, most were not!
[parts]
SUNDAY-
2-19-17
Fatima
[2nd mile]
https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima %5B2nd mile]
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-19-17-fatima-2nd-mile.zip
NOTE-
I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But
I did journal every day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here.
ON
VIDEO-
.Herodians
.2nd
mile
.Sin
unto death
I
went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went to as a kid.
Turned
the camera on right at the end- then walked down Kennedy Blvd. – a walk I did many times as a kid.
I
talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared- and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’.
I
always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law versus grace.
I
also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was good to mention them again [past teaching- verses
below]
PAST
TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
.
The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander
the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They
could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some
Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This
was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.
A
Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.
The
scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-
Now-
when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they
were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.
I
did read up this week- and basically had it right.
The
earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These
manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.
The
only book missing was Esther.
So-
this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.
But
the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.
There
were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of
Christ].
These
are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.
Some
wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].
Some
thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the
Pharisees.
And
some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually
a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and
wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].
NOTE-
In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly-
there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or
stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually-
we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-
And
Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And
if true- it would not demean her in any way-
That’s
how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So
a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok-
Plot?
[parts]
VERSES-
Acts
5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Acts
5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts
5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Acts
5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto
God.
Acts
5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Acts
5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Acts
5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
Acts
5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Acts
5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee
out.
Acts
5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Acts
5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Acts
5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
Acts
5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
Acts
5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
Acts
5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of
them.
Acts
5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every
one.
Acts
5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Acts
5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Acts
5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Acts
5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
Acts
5:21 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 together, and all the
senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Acts
5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told,
Acts
5:23 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.
Acts
5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
Acts
5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
Acts
5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
Acts
5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Acts
5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon
us.
Acts
5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts
5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts
5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts
5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Acts
5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Acts
5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little
space;
Acts
5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Acts
5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, 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 brought to nought.
Acts
5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were
dispersed.
Acts
5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts
5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Acts
5:40 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.
Acts
5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Acts
5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Matthew
10:37
He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Luke
12:1
In
the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the
leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
LATE
NOTE-
I
made the video- post- the other day. As I type this- the news broke that there were indeed trump associates [campaign folk] who were ‘tapped’. Now- to some this is a surprise- even in the media
[though they are now saying ‘But Obama did not do it’!]. Why should it no be a surprise?
Because
the media already ‘leaked’ this fact. How? The reason General Flynn stepped down- was because the media reported on an actual fact- that he had contact with the Russians- and they knew this
because our intelligence agencies leaked the fact that they had actual surveillance on it. Which is simply the fact they did it- at least with Flynn. It’s also possible that they actually
‘surveilled’ Trump. Ok- if this is true [which today some reports in the media say it is] then Trump was partiality right. I only get into this issue to simply show how we are manipulated. For
instance- if the congressional committee now has actual evidence that Trump- an/or- his team were ‘surveilled’ then that’s the opposite of what the media has been reporting. When director Comey
[FBI] says ‘I have not seen any evidence’ that’s actually political speak- meaning- it might be there- but I personally have not ‘seen it’. Now- I actually do not care about it- but this is a
classic example of media manipulation. Months ago- the media told us themselves- that Trump associates were picked up thru surveillance [Flynn]. Probably thru FISA warrants on Russians. But the
head of the committee looking at it [Nunes] said today that some of what he has now seen seems to show that some of the surveillance had nothing to do with Russia- and it ‘puzzles’ him. Why
should it ‘puzzle’ anyone to think that intelligence people [CIA- FBI] could ‘do wrong’? Why should it puzzle anyone that judges could do ‘wrong things’? Why should anyone that reads/watches the
news be surprised that Trump associates were possibly ‘wire tapped’? Because the media themselves broke the story- when they reported the leaks from the intelligence agencies months ago- that
told us this.
The
New York Times ran an article a few weeks ago that said people who work for the intelligence agencies gathered- and purposefully leaked information about this. Yes- the New York Times reported
this.
The
main story is this- if in fact former intelligence people both gathered- and leaked information on American citizens- info they obtained- even if it was ‘incidental’- that is a
crime.
There
are now questions about ‘incidental’- meaning- did people basically target Trump and his campaign – because they had the power to do so?
It’s
possible that they did.
Do
our intelligence people ever lie about this?
Yes-
James Clapper lied to congress- in public about NSA data collection.
Yes-
he lied- to congress- under oath.
How
do we know this?
Because
he later admitted it.
Part
of ‘intelligence’ involves the collecting of data- secretly.
And
part of those who collect it- lie.
Because
that’s part of so called ‘intelligence’ [I’m referring to our agencies].
We
find corruption in all humans- whether they be presidents- media- Republicans- Democrats- it’s in ‘their nature’.
I
see the ‘spin’- I just heard Susan Rice say ‘to my knowledge no ORDERS were ever given to do this’ [ break the law].
Of
course- no ORDERS are ever given [officially]. In the end- there probably were indeed former ‘Obama’ people- working for the agencies- that did wrong- illegal stuff.
That’s
what trump said at the start.
Politics
is brutal- and to think that intelligence officials would never lie about it-
Well
just ask James Clapper- he was the ‘head’- and he lied- to congress.
As
I watch the evening news [3-22-17] The ‘new spin’ is ‘How dare the chairman [Nunes] reveal this to Trump’- Huh?
Yes-
the story is not ‘wow- we found out that Trump- and his people were surveilled’.
No-
the story is ‘Trump is in collusion with the republican chairman of the committee- yes- because the chairman told Trump about the surveillance that was collected on him-
incidentally’.
The
spin never stops.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/trump-team-communications-captured-by-intelligence-community-surveillance-nunes-says.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/devin-nunes-donald-trump-surveillance-obama-236366
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
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·Romans
5:1-9 ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ’. There are certain benefits ‘results’ of being ‘made righteous by faith’, peace being one of them.
Paul goes on and says we glory in hope and also trials, because we realize that thru the difficulties we gain experience and patience. Things that are needed for the journey, we can’t substitute
talent and motivation and ‘success principles’ for them. We need maturity and God produces it this way. Those who teach otherwise have a ‘self inflicted wound’ their teachings are very immature!
That is there was a ‘strain’ of teaching in the church that said ‘we don’t learn thru difficulty and suffering, we learn only thru Gods word!’ [that is reading it]. Those who grasped onto this
false idea have produced some of the most unbalanced teaching in the church, stuff that even the younger generation is saying ‘what in the heck are these guys preaching’? If you by pass the
difficult road, you will be shallow. Now Paul says ‘God commended his love toward us, that when we were sinners Christ died for us’ ‘being now justified by his death, we shall be saved thru his
life’ [saved from wrath thru him]. Once again this theme pops up; ‘since we are justified, made righteous by believing with the heart, we shall be saved [continual, future deliverance] from wrath
thru him’. I don’t know if you ever realized what a major theme this is in Romans? The ongoing, future ‘being saved’ is a result of ‘being made righteous’. Later on in chapter 10, when we read
that the righteous call for salvation, we need to understand this context. Remember, when the two are linked together in the same verse, it is not saying ‘saved’ in the sense of some sinner’s
prayer. It is speaking of the ongoing, promised deliverance [from many things, not just wrath!] to the ‘justified caller’. We have access ‘by faith into this grace wherein we stand’. Wow! That’s
some good stuff, Jesus ever lives so that those who come to him are ‘being saved’ to the uttermost. This grace we are in is available to us all of the time, are we availing ourselves of
it?
·ROMANS
5:10-21 ‘For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son… much more we shall be saved by his life’. Now, some have ‘divided’ the role of Jesus death and
resurrection in salvation. I heard a radio preacher teach that all the people who think they are ‘saved’ because Jesus died for them were deceived. He used this verse to say they need to believe
in his ‘life’ [resurrection] to ‘be saved by his life’. Well I get the point, but he was missing the meaning of the verse. Why? Because once again we see ‘saved’ as initially ‘getting saved’
while here it is in a continual sense. Paul is saying ‘if God reconciled us [justification] while we were deadly enemies, how much more shall the actual ministry and life of Jesus at Gods right
hand do for us!’ The New Testament teachers that we have actually entered into an eternal covenant with God thru his Son. Jesus ‘ever lives’ to make intercession for us [Hebrews]. Therefore he is
able to ‘save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him’. The bible teaches an ongoing ‘saving’ relationship that believers have with the Messiah. This ‘relationship’ would not be possible
if he were dead. Now we ‘joy in God thru Jesus Christ from whom we have received the atonement’ good stuff! Isaiah says God will meet with those who ‘rejoice and do what is right’. We have both
of these ‘abilities’ because of the atonement. The rest of the chapter teaches the Pauline doctrine of original sin. That because Adam sinned, death and sin passed to all men. So likewise the
‘righteousness’ of one man [Jesus- the last Adam] has passed upon all men [those who receive of the abundance of grace and the gift of life]. This is an interesting angle that Paul uses to teach
redemption. He shows the reality that there are only 2 ‘federal heads’ of mankind. You are either in the first or last Adam. The ‘righteous act’ is speaking of the Cross [Philippians says Jesus
was ‘obedient unto death’. The singular act of obedience that allows this righteousness to pass to all who believe is the Cross. Some have misunderstood this chapter to teach that the obedient
life of Christ, his sinless life, saves us. I feel this is a wrong reading of the chapter. The sinless life of Jesus, pre Cross, made him the true candidate to be the substitute for man. He was
able to die in our place [obedience unto death] because he was the sinless Son of God. We are now ‘saved by his life’ because he ever lives to make intercession for us]. All who believe in Jesus
can now trace their lineage to the ‘last Adam’ [Jesus] and be free from ‘original sin’.
·ROMANS
6- Lets talk about baptism. To start off I believe that the baptism spoken about in this chapter is primarily referring to ‘the baptism of the Spirit’, that is the work of the Holy Spirit placing
a believer in the Body of Christ. The Catholic and Orthodox [and Reformed!] brothers believe that Paul is speaking about water baptism. The MAJORITY VIEW of Christians today believe this chapter
is referring to water baptism. Why? First, the text itself does not indicate either way. You could take this baptism and see it either way! You are not a heretic if you believe in it referring to
Spirit or water. You are not a heretic if you believe in Paedo baptism [infant baptism]. ‘What are you saying? Now you lost me.’ Infant baptism developed as a Christian rite over the course of
church history. The church struggled with how to ‘dedicate’ new babies to Christ. Though the scriptures give no examples of infant baptism, some felt that the reason was because the scriptures
primarily show us the conversion of the first century believers. There really aren’t a whole lot of stories of ‘generations’ of believers passing on the faith to other generations. So some felt
that the idea of dedicating babies to the Lord through infant baptism was all right. The examples they used were the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. Infants were circumcised [a rite
that placed you under the terms of the Old Covenant] though they weren’t old enough to really understand what they were doing! This example was carried over into the Christian church and applied
to infant baptism. Now, I do not believe in infant baptism. But I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. As Christian theology developed thru the early centuries, particularly thru the
patristic period, you had very intellectual scholars grapple with many different themes and ideas. Some that we just studied in chapter 5. Some theologians came to see infant baptism as dealing
with original sin. They applied the concept of infant baptism as a rite that washes away original sin. The church did not teach that this meant you did not have to later believe and follow
Christ. They simply developed a way of seeing baptism as ‘sanctifying’ the new members of Christian households. This basic belief made it all the way to the Reformation. The Reformers themselves
still practiced infant baptism. It was the Anabaptists [re-baptizers] who saw the truth of adult baptism and suffered for it, at the hands of the reformers! Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer,
would have them drowned for their belief. Some Protestants stuck with the infant rite, while others [the Restorationists] would reject it. Today most Evangelicals do not practice infant baptism,
the majority of Christians world wide do. Now, the reason I did a little history is because Evangelicals [of which I am one] have a tendency to simply look at other believers who practice this
rite as ‘deceived’. Many are unaware of the history I just showed you. The reasons the historic church developed this doctrine are not heretical! They used scripture and tradition to pass it down
to future generations. I do not believe or practice infant baptism, many good believers do.
·ROMANS
6: 1-11 ‘shall we continue to sin, so grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ Now begins the ‘actual part’ the result, if you will, of being
‘made righteous by faith’. One of the main accusations against Paul, by the Jewish believers, was that he taught ‘sin a lot, because you are no longer under the law’. Paul spends time defending
himself against this accusation thru out the New Testament. Here Paul teaches that the believer has been joined unto Christ [baptized, immersed into him] and this ‘joining’ identifies him with
Christ’s death. So how can ‘we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in sin’? Paul’s argument for righteous living comes from the fact that we have died with Christ unto sin. ‘We have died with
him, and we have also been raised with him to new life’. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says we who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ. Now, we live a new life, free from sin
[practically speaking- not absolute sinless-ness!] because we are identified with Jesus in his new life, we are ‘alive with and in him’. ‘Since we have been planted together in the likeness of
his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection’! Jesus died once, and now he lives forever unto God ‘likewise count yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God thru Jesus
Christ our Lord’. Paul’s basis for the transformed life is Grace and being ‘in him’. Paul does not appeal to the law to try and effect holiness in the believer, he appeals to Christ ‘in him you
have died to legalistic practices, trying to earn salvation and acceptance; and now because of this new position [placement] you too have died to the old man [lifestyle] and are alive unto God’.
Paul obviously did not teach ‘sin hardily’ to the contrary he taught ‘live unto God’.
(834)Romans
6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’
for this reason don’t sin! Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For sin shall
not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this, don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law
actually quickens the fleshly nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace, does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the
explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law. Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we are not under the restraints of law,
yet the reality of sin, bondage and punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the
wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the victorious Christian life. He does not
deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are
not under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed the gospel into the believing
community.
Romans
6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Romans
6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Romans
6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans
6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
Romans
6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans
6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans
6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans
6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Romans
6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans
6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Romans
6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans
6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Romans
6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
Romans
6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans
6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Romans
6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans
6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Romans
6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans
6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your
members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Romans
6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Romans
6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Romans
6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[1768]
LUTHER- THE TOWER EXPERIENCE
Let’s
start with some church history. In the last post I covered the early years of Martin Luther- probably the most significant figure of the Protestant Reformation.
Luther
studied for the priesthood in Erfurt, Germany. He would eventually wind up in Wittenberg- one of the major university cities of the Reformation. Wittenberg was actually a small insignificant
town- but the political leader over the region- Frederick the Wise- sought to put it on the map.
He
wanted to turn Wittenberg into a German ‘Rome’. He wanted it to become a major Pilgrimage city where Christians would see Wittenberg as a destination- just like they saw Rome.
So
Frederick embarked on this plan and he searched thru all the Catholic learning centers of the time and finally recruited 3 top scholars to teach out of the university at Wittenberg- Luther was
one of the 3.
Just
as a side note- Frederick would succeed at making Wittenberg a major catholic center. He would eventually obtain over 19,000 Relics for the Cathedral church there [Relics were used in the ancient
system of buying indulgences and making special pilgrimage trips to important Churches. If the church/city that your making the Pilgrimage to has a lot of Relics- bones or other famous material
objects from church history- then the value of the Pilgrimage was high. In theory Frederick collected so many that if you added up all the ‘time off’ from Purgatory- you would get 1 million, 900
thousand years off! Some of the famous relics at Wittenberg were a hair from the beard of Jesus- straw from the manger Jesus was born in- and even a branch from the famous burning bush of Moses!
As you can see- there was a lot of commercializing going on- even back then].
When
Luther arrived in Wittenberg- he made a name for himself as a top scholar. Many protestants- who revere Luther- usually are not aware that he was a master Linguist [sort of like Rick
Perry!]
Yes
Luther mastered language- and he showed it in his teaching on the book of Psalms.
In
1515 he began his famous study on the book of Romans and as he went thru the very first chapter- something shook him. He came across the passage that says the Just shall live by faith. This verse
first appears in the O.T. book of Habakkuk- and is quoted 3 more times in the N.T.
Luther
was very aware of the concept of the righteousness of God- he struggled for many years trying to reconcile his own sinful nature with Gods holiness- but he never really ‘saw’ the biblical concept
of righteousness as a free gift that God ‘imputes’ to the sinner.
Yes-
for the 1st time in Luther’s life- after his years training for the priesthood- the pilgrimage he made to Rome- the thousands of hours he spent confessing his sins while a monk in Erfurt- he
never really understood that the righteousness of God was a free gift given to those who have faith.
It
was a giant weight lifted from his shoulders- Luther did not need to try any more to live up to the standards of God- in a way that would earn for him forgiveness- but he would simply believe-
and the righteousness of God would be counted to him as a gift.
Luther
would go on to call this an Alien Righteousness- that is it is not found within the person who tries to do all the church works he can- or buying all the indulgences- or any other of the many
religious actions he was practicing- but this free gift of being right with God- it came to those who had faith- the Just shall live by Faith- this was indeed good news for the
scholar.
As
time went on- Germany would get embroiled in the political machinations of the day- Luther’s top political cover was Frederick the Wise- hardly a Protestant Reformer! He spent lots of time trying
to make Wittenberg the major Catholic center in Germany.
But
at the time there was a political fight raging between Rome and some of the other nation/states. There was a figure head office called the Holy Roman Emperor. This office was really in name only-
but it rose up during the first Millennium of Christian history and sought to replace the influence that Rome was losing.
So
you had France, Spain and England all vying for the title. Eventually it would go to King Charles of Spain- but the Pope- who played a major role in nominating the person- he did not want any of
these top 3 to get the position. Henry the Eighth was the king of England at the time- and these ‘3 kings’ were sort of in competition with Rome- so the Pope tried to get Fredrick the Wise to
throw his hat into the ring.
Frederick
just happened to be one of the Electors of this position.
His
actual title was The Elector of Saxony.
So
Fredrick had lots of influence- and as Rome would eventually but heads with the stubborn bull of Wittenberg [Luther] Frederick would become the major protector of Luther.
Okay-
I think we’ll stop here for today. The experience that Luther had- the enlightenment that came to him while teaching the book of Romans- this is often called The Tower experience of Luther- it
took place in the year 1515.
http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com
Note-
Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John
VERSES-
Ephesians
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians
1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Ephesians
1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians
1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Ephesians
1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Ephesians
1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians
1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
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
1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians
1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Ephesians
1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Ephesians
1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of
promise,
Ephesians
1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Ephesians
1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Ephesians
1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians
1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians
1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians
1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Ephesians
1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians
1:21 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 which is to come:
Ephesians
1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Ephesians
1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
John
6:37
All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
John
6:39
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.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Proverbs
3:21
My
son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Jeremiah
10:12
He
hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews
11:10
For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews
11:16
But
now they 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.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
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Ephesians
1
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CHAPTER
9:
END
NOTES [chapter 9]
2
ROOMS.
THE
BRANCH THAT BUDDED.
WHEN
DOES A WILL HAVE POWER?
‘Then
verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary’ Let me stop here and cover some stuff. Some ‘old time’ churches [high church model] feel the future of
the church is ‘liturgical’. One of my favorite Catholic theologians is Scott Hahn. He believes and teaches that God’s purpose for all these Old Testament symbols was for the purpose of MORE
SYMBOLS! A lot of these brothers mean well, but I take Paul’s position. Here Paul states that the first covenant [notice, he calls the Old Law the ‘FIRST’ covenant, and the New covenant the
second [or last]. This refutes dispensational theology which sees the law as the 2nd or 3rd covenant after Abraham and Noah. Paul and Jesus refer to only 2 main covenants. The Old and
New] had a ‘worldly sanctuary’ but the second one doesn’t! The second covenant has Jesus in heaven at the real sanctuary in Gods presence. So you see right away Paul showing that all the earthly
‘liturgical symbols’ played a role in Gods purpose, but they were simply pointing to a future reality [Christ] that would be the fulfillment of the shadows. So the future of the church is not
‘liturgical’ in as much as it is ‘reality’.
We
are living under an open heaven right now. Jesus is really at Gods right hand advocating for us! ‘For there was a tabernacle made, the first [first room]wherein was candlestick, the table and the
shewbread..after the second veil the holiest of all…now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle [room]..but into the second room the high priest
went alone once every year, with blood, which he offered for himself and the sins of the people: the Holy Ghost signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not made manifest while the
first tabernacle was yet standing’ There is a lot here. Some commentaries confuse the ‘2 tabernacles’ as 2 different structures. What it is speaking about is one structure, with 2 different
rooms. Now the fact that the ‘first room’ had daily access by the priest, but the 2nd room had annual access only by the high priest once a year was in itself a symbol of grace in Paul’s
mind. Paul says ‘the fact that the first room [first covenant] stood in the way of the second room [a type of the 2nd covenant] was a picture of the 2 covenants. And the first one ‘blocked’
free entrance into the second one, so likewise today [1st century] the first room [old covenant] is standing in the way of the second room [new covenant]’. Wow! Paul really did do a lot of
‘reading into’ scripture. Hey, I like this stuff!
‘Which
was a figure FOR THE TIME THEN PRESENT, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in
meats and drinks, and DIVERS WASHINGS [remember what we said in chapter 6? ‘baptisms’ can be translated ‘washings’] and carnal ordinances [liturgy!] imposed on them UNTIL THE TIME OF
REFORMATION [the 1st century coming of Messiah]’ All the symbols were only given for a time. God always intended for there to be a day when his people would leave the symbols behind and move into
the reality. This is not to say that Christians have no reminders or ‘ordinances/sacraments’ in the sense that Jesus told us to ‘do this in remembrance of me’ at the last supper. So God does have
ways for us to remember the work of the Cross, but the overall ‘carnal ordinances’ of the law were only for a temporary period of time, when that which is perfect has come [Jesus] then that which
is in part passes away!
‘But
Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands… neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place [heaven in this context] having obtained eternal redemption for us…how much more shall the blood of Christ, who thru the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works [law, remember chapter 6 verse 1?] to serve the living God?’ Paul includes all 3 aspects of the Trinity here. Paul is telling the most fundamental
reality of the New Covenant. We are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb! To the Jew who was inundated with legalistic sacrifices his whole life, for him to be told that Gods own Son offered up
himself once and for all for all the sins of man, was an unbelievable freedom. Its like if you were brought up in a legalistic church [there are many of them!] and were taught from a young boy
that you had to pray for 3 hours a day, read 25 chapters of scripture, wear long pants and suits all day [even in summer!] and you lived under this bondage of a never ending strain to please God.
Then one day God reveals to you that you don’t have to do any of it anymore, Jesus did it all! You would be relieved, you would still pray and read scripture, but not out of a sense of
obligation, but more from a sense of thanksgiving [you would probably also burn all those suits as a sign of no more sacrifices!] So to the Jewish readers of this letter, it is absolutely too
good to be true to be told NO MORE SACRIFICES just rest in grace!
‘And
for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions under the FIRST [not 3rd!] testament… for a testament is of force after men
are dead’ Paul teaches that the death of Christ was for the purpose of redeeming those who had ‘built up’ a record of sin and transgression under the first testament. He shows that the law and
its sacrifices were a temporary fix that simply looked forward to Christ. In Peter’s epistle you also see the idea that those who were under the law were in a waiting stage[in death] until the
time of true redemption in Christ. These ideas were crucial for the 1st century Jew to understand that God allowed them to continue for many years under the Old Covenant, but it was for the
future purpose of Christ. Many times in theological discussions you will find believers saying ‘we have believed and done things a certain way for so long, how can you now come along and shake up
the apple cart’? The point is God often allows his people to function in limited paradigms until the time of reformation and change. The fact that he allowed you to continue for a long time in a
limited understanding, does not justify never moving on into maturity! Paul is telling Israel ‘God allowed you to build up a ‘record’ [deposit] of past sin and transgression, and he knew all
along that a day was coming when Christ would ransom all those who were in this limited system’.
‘Whereupon
neither the first testament was dedicated without blood…saying this is the blood of the testament…he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of ministry…it was necessary that the patterns of
things in the heavens should be purified, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us’ Paul says that just like the blood of the Old Covenant cleansed both the tabernacle and the vessels, so Jesus blood cleansed
‘heaven’ as well as ‘all the vessels of ministry’[us!] This speaks of themes found in Romans where scripture speaks of all creation yearning for redemption. There is a sense where the curse has
affected all creation, therefore the benefits of redemption will affect it as well. In these verses we are taught that the blood of Christ has already had a redemptive effect on ‘the
heavens’.
‘Nor
yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year…but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second
time without sin unto salvation’. Here we see the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice. Once and for all! While the Old Testament made temporary provision for mans sin, Jesus, as the mediator of a
new and better covenant, makes complete redemption and atonement for mans sin. The proof of this is the fact that Jesus sacrifice only happened once in history, therefore God must have accepted
it as sufficient for all time!
END
NOTES [chapter 9]
2
ROOMS.
THE
BRANCH THAT BUDDED.
WHEN
DOES A WILL HAVE POWER?
The
writer compares the earthly tabernacle- with the heavenly one [not meaning an actual tabernacle- like the earthly one- but heaven itself].
Under
the law- the priests went daily into the first room [the tabernacle had 2 rooms- separated by a veil].
The
high priest went into the back room [called the holy of holies] once a year.
In
this room the ark of the covenant rest- the ark was the ‘box’ that held the 10 commandments.
It
also had Manna- and the branch of Arron the priest- that budded [this was a sign when God chose which tribe would be for priests- they took a branch from each tribe- and the one that
supernaturally budded- would be the tribe. This was a sign/symbol of Christ- who was a ‘root out of a dry ground’- also called ‘the man whose name is the branch’]-
These
prophecies speak about Christ rising from the dead- and also being born from the Virgin Mary.
The
writer says that these Old Testament signs showed us that ‘perfection’ did not come from the law.
Because
those priests had to keep doing those things- year after year.
And
if their service was really effective- it would have come to an end- because once the offering was made- then that would put an end to the guilt of the people.
Jesus
offered himself once- showing that his sacrifice for the sins of men was the final one.
The
King James version says that the sacrifice of Christ frees the people from DEAD WORKS.
Some
translations simply say works of sin- which can be true.
But
I think- in this case- ‘dead works’ is better- because it can actually be speaking of the works of the law- meaning the sacrifice of Christ has freed us [them- 1st century Jew] from these
DEAD WORKS of the law- and they can now move on in the Cross of Christ.
We
also see that Jesus sealed this New Testament in his Blood- because it is only after the death of a person that the will has power.
So
Jesus died for our sins- thus giving power to the covenant.
Hebrews
9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
Hebrews
9:2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
Hebrews
9:3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Hebrews
9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the
covenant;
Hebrews
9:5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
Hebrews
9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
Hebrews
9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Hebrews
9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Hebrews
9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the
conscience;
Hebrews
9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Hebrews
9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Hebrews
9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Hebrews
9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Hebrews
9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews
9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Hebrews
9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
Hebrews
9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Hebrews
9:18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
Hebrews
9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the
book, and all the people,
Hebrews
9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
Hebrews
9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Hebrews
9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews
9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Hebrews
9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Hebrews
9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Hebrews
9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews
9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Hebrews
9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Exodus
24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exodus
24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
Exodus
24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
END
NOTES OF POST-
WHAT
ARE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS?
OCTAVIAN-
A GOD?
CICERO-
MARK ANTONY [or Anthony if you like].
WHO
WERE THE ESSENES?
DID
THE CHURCH ENGAGE IN A GRAND CONSPIRACY?
END
NOTES [I posted the video for this portion a few days ago- it goes along with Hebrews 7-9 video/post] The past few weeks I had a few friends ask me about the Dead Sea Scrolls- and a few other
questions about the ‘lost books of the bible’ and some other common- and mistaken ideas [like the original sin being Eve had sex with the serpent].
So-
I figured I would cover a little Jewish history- which would help in this study of Hebrews-
And
also hit on a few of these subjects.
As
we read Hebrews- it helps to also understand some of the history that we don’t have in our bibles [though the Catholic bibles do have some of it in the Apocrypha].
Ok-
the ruling empire at the time of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor- Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule-
Rome
was ruled by a senate- some famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one.
Caesar
Augustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius].
After
the death of Julius Caesar- there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous people.
Marc
Antony being one of them [Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure].
Now-
we read about Augustus in the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the Beast- and that those who don’t worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be
killed.
So-
Many Christians would be killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son of the Divine].
‘Wow-
how did he get a name like that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even to
me].
When
Octavian defeated Marc Antony at Actium [32 BC].
Herod
[The Great] had a problem- he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side.
Yet
he was smart- did some ‘brown nosing’ as we say-and patched things up.
Herod
had 3 sons- who would eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of Christ.
Herod
Antipas was over the region that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee.
Ok-
Octavian claimed deity because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’.
He
sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius Caesar.
‘John-
what in the heck does this have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’.
Ok-
good question.
The
Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander
the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They
could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some
Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This
was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.
A
Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.
The
scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-
Now-
when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they
were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.
I
did read up this week- and basically had it right.
The
earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These
manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.
The
only book missing was Esther.
So-
this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.
But
the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.
There
were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of
Christ].
These
are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.
Some
wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].
Some
thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the
Pharisees.
And
some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually
a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and
wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].
NOTE-
In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly-
there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or
stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually-
we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-
And
Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And
if true- it would not demean her in any way-
That’s
how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So
a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok-
Plot?
No-
just being careful.
So
there are other misguided beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to them.
I’ll
do one more in keeping with this post.
I
mentioned above that Caesar Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’.
And
some critics of the Church say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’.
I
watched one show a few years back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the
dead’.
Ok-
that show was ‘fibbing’ to put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish the Christians claim of Christ by doing this.
Now-
is there some truth to this at all?
Yes-
like I just mentioned above- Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’.
So-
how do we explain this?
In
the book of Galatians the bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’.
Jesus
came at a set time in history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what he did.
Now-
this is not special pleading here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity.
Yet
Jesus was in a region of the lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people under oppression.
Augustus
lived in the wealthy and influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was worshiped as a god.
Yet
in 3 short centuries- one of the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross-
He
would convert to Christianity- and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm.
He
would then ‘convert’ the pagan temples- into churches for these followers of Christ.
So
I don’t see the fact that Augustus claimed to be a son of god right before Christ- as some type of discredit to the claims of Christ.
No-
I see it as God’s way of pulling the rug out from the oppressor- see? [Oh- by the way- only one of them rose from the dead- can you guess?]
Psalm
109:1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
Psalm
109:2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Psalm
109:3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
Psalm
109:4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
Psalm
109:5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
Psalm
109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
Psalm
109:7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
Psalm
109:8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Psalm
109:9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Psalm
109:10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
Psalm
109:11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
Psalm
109:12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
Psalm
109:13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Psalm
109:14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Psalm
109:15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Psalm
109:16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
Psalm
109:17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
Psalm
109:18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
Psalm
109:19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
Psalm
109:20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
Psalm
109:21 But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
Psalm
109:22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
Psalm
109:23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
Psalm
109:24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
Psalm
109:25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
Psalm
109:26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
Psalm
109:27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.
Psalm
109:28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
Psalm
109:29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
Psalm
109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
Psalm
109:31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Psalm
110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psalm
110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psalm
110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Psalm
110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Psalm
110:5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Psalm
110:6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
Psalm
110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
Psalm
111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
Psalm
111:2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
Psalm
111:3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
Psalm
111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
Psalm
111:5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
Psalm
111:6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
Psalm
111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psalm
111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Psalm
111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
Psalm
111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
HEBREWS
10-13
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-17-15-aristotle-and-the-city-of-god-real-windy.zip
END
NOTES OF POST-
Masada.
Hadrian.
Judaism
in transition.
Did
they ‘move on’ ?
Who
was Elazar ben Yair?
End
notes of chapter-
IS
THERE MEANING TO THE ACTUAL ORDER OF BIBLE VERSES?
HOW
DID THE SPIRIT ‘TESTIFY’ TO THE FINAL SACRIFICE?
WHY
DOES THE WRITER CONTINUE TO SAY THE NEW COVENANT IS HARSHER?
CHAPTER
10:
‘For
the law having a SHADOW of good things to come, AND NOT the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto
perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshipers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again
made of sins every year’. Paul shows how the simple fact of ongoing sacrifices in and of itself testifies of the insufficiency of the law. The on going sacrifices were a reminder that the peoples
sins were still there. If the sacrifices really worked, then why do it over and over again every year? He will contrast this with the singular sacrifice of Christ. The fact that Jesus did it once
shows the superiority of his sacrifice over the law.
‘Wherefore
when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. THEN SAID
HE, lo, I come to do thy will O God. ABOVE WHEN HE SAID sacrifice and offering…THEN HE SAID, lo, I come to do thy will O God. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second’ Here Paul
uses the actual order of the verses in Psalms to prove that the Old law will pass away and a New covenant will replace it. The fact that David [Psalms] says ‘sacrifice and offering thou wouldest
not, but a body hast thou prepared for me’ in this order shows that God always planned on taking away the sacrificial system and replacing it with Christ [or fulfilling it!] So even in the simple
prophetic order of these statements Paul sees the Old law passing away and a new one being instituted. Wow again!
‘By
the which will we are sanctified thru the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every high priest STANDETH daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, SAT DOWN on the right hand of God’ The comparison here is that the priests under the law stood,
showing their sacrifices were never sufficient, they could never say ‘it is finished’. The fact that they stood while offering sacrifices showed the incompleteness of the system. Jesus sat down.
This showed that his sacrifice was once and for all. Now, no where does scripture teach this concept between ‘sitting and standing’. Where does Paul get this stuff from? From ‘revelation’, that
is God is supernaturally showing this stuff to Paul as he writes. This is the prophetic element of scripture. While we don’t ‘write scripture’ any more today, there are still lots of hidden
meanings that we don’t fully see yet. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to ‘bring to our remembrance all the things that Jesus taught us’ [also all the things about Jesus!] So when you read the
Old Testament, look for Jesus! He is there in more ways than you realize.
‘For
by ONE offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us [of what? Of the singularity of Christ’s offering. The fact that the Holy
Spirit thru Jeremiah prophesied that God would never remember our sins any more speaks to the truth of the one offering of Christ, we will read ‘if there is no more remembrance, then there is no
more sacrifice’] this is the covenant that I will make with them after those 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 is, there is no more offering for sin’. Do you see the point Paul is making? It is common for preachers and Christians to read
these letters and to simply glean practical truths from them. That’s OK. But like I said in the introduction, when you see these things in context, then you can still make practical application,
plus you are seeing the relevance behind the teaching. The practical part of this is ‘wow, God will not bring my sins back up into remembrance before his face!’ Now that’s
practical!
‘Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest [true holy place, that is Gods presence in the throne room] by the BLOOD OF JESUS, by a new and living way[ the early Christians were at
times called ‘the way’] which he hath consecrated for us, thru the veil, that is to say his flesh’ We now have total access to the Father thru the Son. This is the ONLY WAY man can have this
access! It is common today to teach a type of pluralism that says ‘all religions will eventually lead us to God’ some will lead straight to hell! Sorry. The only way to the Father is thru the
Son. God ordained it to be so. Don’t fight over it, God says ‘come freely’ those who don’t come, they will never GET THERE! Jesus flesh is called the ‘veil’. During the crucifixion the veil of
the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. Most believers know the significance of this. I would submit to you that when the scripture says ‘the veil was ripped’ that it was not only
speaking of the actual veil that was in the temple on that day, but it was also prophetically speaking of the true veil, Jesus Body, that was being torn apart on the Cross.
The
veil of the temple not only restricted access for man coming to God, but it also separated God from the true community of people. The tearing of the veil [Jesus body] not only allowed man to have
access to Gods presence in heaven, but it also opened the door for the Spirit of God to tabernacle with men on the day of Pentecost. After the tearing of Jesus flesh [which Jesus is also called
the door] it is like a door opened, both letting man into the presence of God, as well as ‘letting’ God tabernacle with men [note- Jesus ‘Emmanuel’ was ‘God with us’ so in a sense God was already
tabernacling among men thru Christ, but at Pentecost God ‘spread’ this ‘tabernacling’ to a community with worldwide potential, as Christians would increase thru out the ages, so would Gods
presence increase as he dwells in men. Thus the Kingdom starts small, like a little leaven, and before you know it the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It culminates at the
second coming of Christ].
‘And
having an high priest over the house of God [remember, even though in Hebrews Paul speaks of heaven itself as the tabernacle, yet he also told the Jews ‘who’s house are we, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end’] 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 [baptism]. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering [for he is faithful that promised] and let us provoke one another to love and good works: not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another…’
A
few things here. First, Paul is exhorting them to ‘get washed in pure water’ [baptism]. Remember, some of the recipients of this letter were believing in the message as Paul preached it as he
traveled thru their cities, others were still on the edge. In this chapter it seems as if he is saying ‘some of you who have heard and seen all of these things, it’s time to make the decision to
go all the way. Others have made a good profession, you too need to stick with the message’. Now, to those who would ‘revert’ back to the law, after they ‘received’ the truth, Paul says there is
only judgment down the road. Even though they heard and the message reached them. Even though Paul presents the gospel in a way that says ‘you are all sanctified’ yet there was always the danger
of apostasy. Those who believe you can lose your salvation [Arminians] take these verses and say ‘see, those who were once sanctified, if they sin, they face judgment’. I have actually viewed
this chapter in different ways in the past. I never saw it as the Arminians, but I have debated over whether or not Paul was saying ‘now that you are believers, don’t think you can get away with
sin, remember there is only one sacrifice, if you keep sinning God will judge you’ [not hell, but chastening]. But I have come to view it more along the lines of ‘those of you who are still in
transition, you have made a good profession, Jesus blood has sanctified everyone [in a sense] so if you continue to sin [go back to the old system that taught that continual sin was part of the
plan. Remember, the law made provision for continual sinning. This worldview of sin and judgment was unique to the Jewish community of the day.
It
really should have been easier to convert Israel, they already had a ‘Jewish’ world view. But one of the dangers of this world view was they had provision for ongoing sin. The idea of ‘continuing
to sin’ was engrained in their culture. Paul is warning them that in Christ the fact that there is only one sacrifice means you cant still live with the worldview of ‘I will continue to sin’] In
essence Paul seems to be saying ‘if you continue to sin, and think that the Cross is like the old system, then you are fooling yourselves. The fact that the Cross happened only once means that it
is sufficient to truly cleanse you once and for all from your sin’ to those who wanted to keep sinning, because it was fun, Paul says ‘watch out, judgment awaits’. So in keeping with what I
showed you in chapter 6, I see this chapter continuing to appeal to Jews, some who have even made an initial profession, but he still had to warn them about going back to their old way of
continuing to sin. Remember, there were many who were preaching that the law was still necessary for salvation, Paul is telling them it isn’t.
‘For
if we sin willfully [something that was expected under the law, that’s why they had all the sacrifices!] after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy under 2 or 3 witnesses: of how much
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?’ Once again Paul contrasts the severity of the law to the New Covenant. Remember how earlier Paul showed that those who ‘neglect so great a salvation’
have more to worry about than those who rejected ‘the word of angels’ [law] Here Paul again says ‘Those who disrespected the old system died without mercy, how much worse shall it be for those
who disrespect the blood of the everlasting covenant’ I see this being directed at those who never fully convert to Christ.
While
Gods discipline is also harsh on believers who continue to live in rebellion [Corinthians] this language is never used of believers. So Paul is saying ‘beware, if you decide to walk away from all
that has been presented to you, you will bear a much harsher punishment than those who sinned under the law’. What was the punishment of those who sinned under law? They died. What is the
punishment of those who reject so great salvation? Eternal judgment. Let me add a note about ‘not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together’. It is common to use this verse to defend ‘Sunday
church’ a lot of times it is used in this way to fight against the house church movement. What is the context here? The Jews already met together regularly before they believed in Christ. They
had both temple and synagogue. Paul is simply saying ‘after you convert, keep getting together’ this is not a verse for defending Sunday church! [It is OK to go to church on Sunday]. ‘For
we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me…the Lord shall judge his people’ In context, remember how I already showed you that ‘his people’ and ‘holy brethren’ and other terms like
this in Hebrews can be speaking of 1st century Israel in transition? They were still considered ‘his people’ at the time the gospel was presented to them. Ultimately when they rejected
Christ they would lose that designation, but many of the terms in this letter speak to Israel this way. So ‘his people’ can most definitely describe believers. But in context in this letter it
more than likely is saying ‘don’t forget Israel, God does judge his people. So don’t think that your natural heritage of ‘being his people’ will get you out of the crunch this
time!’
The
Jews were always appealing to their privileged position with God ‘we have Abraham as our father’ they would always appeal to their ‘pure’ orthodox heritage, here Paul says ‘God will judge all of
us based on what we do with his Son, even ‘his people’! ‘For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods’ many of the Jews who were embracing Paul’s message
did suffer persecution. Historically we know many of them were plundered. They lost their goods! It’s funny, Paul doesn’t say ‘get back what the enemy stole from you’ [though you can!] but he
says ‘don’t worry about the loss of your wealth and stuff, you have a better inheritance of eternal things in heaven’. Most modern preaching doesn’t even think about this. We are so consumed with
preaching a gospel that says ‘come to Jesus and you will be rich’ that we never even give a second thought to these verses. We will read in the next chapter how Moses ‘forsook the pleasures of
Egypt so he could bear reproach with Gods people’. Now I know that when they fled God gave ‘the treasures back’ but the point was Moses went thru a period of leaving all of it behind for a higher
calling. Don’t always tell people [to you preachers!] that the wealth of the world is waiting at your doorstep if you receive Christ. They might be on the verge of ‘getting their goods spoiled’
for a season knowing that in heaven they have a better and enduring substance.
‘NOW
THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him’. In the original bible you didn’t have chapter divisions. Sometimes the divisions interfere with the
meaning of the text. It is important to see that right before Hebrews 11, Paul makes this famous statement on justification by faith! He will go into chapter 11 with this theme in mind. We often
read chapter 11 as believers and see the great stories in it of the heroes of the faith, but this is not the primary reason for the chapter. The main reason is for Paul to make the case of law
versus grace. He has just spent 10 chapters explaining the superiority of grace over law. Now he will show Israel that all of the great heroes of the faith PLEASED GOD BY FAITH! He will be laying
out a grand overview of the great Old Testament figures and be saying THEY ALL RECEIVED A GOOD REPORT [JUSTIFIED] BY FAITH.
It
is real important for you to see this as we head into the chapter. When you read it with this in mind, then you begin to focus in on the statements of faith in a different way. While chapter 11
will give all believers a great boost in faith, the primary reason behind it is to say to Israel ‘look, all of our great forefathers [and fore mothers!] pleased God by faith, not the works of the
law. Some of them were even law breakers! [Rahab, Samson] yet they were JUSTIFED [pleased God] by faith!’ Well, lets get into the chapter before I preach the whole thing right
here.
END
NOTES-
IS
THERE MEANING TO THE ACTUAL ORDER OF BIBLE VERSES?
HOW
DID THE SPIRIT ‘TESTIFY’ TO THE FINAL SACRIFICE?
WHY
DOES THE WRITER CONTINUE TO SAY THE NEW COVENANT IS HARSHER?
If
the sacrifices under the law were sufficient- then why did the priests keep offering them?
The
writer says that’s proof they ‘didn’t really work’.
But
Jesus offered himself once- for all- and that shows us that his death was the final one.
He
quotes Psalms 40- and once again- like we saw earlier- he sees the actual order of the verses in this Psalm as having meaning.
‘Sacrifice
and offering you do not want’ first
‘But
a body you have prepared for me’ second.
He
then says ‘see- God took away the first’ [meaning the Old Law covenant is ending]
‘Then-
he established the 2nd’ [meaning the Body of Christ being offered].
He
then says ‘the Holy Spirit also testifies to this”
How?
He
quotes Jeremiah 31-
‘I
will make a new deal with the people- not like the old one- in this deal [covenant] I will not REMEMBER their sins any more’-
See?
If
God had some new covenant- in which HE would not remember the sins of the people- that shows that in the new deal- there would be no more sacrifices.
Now-
he exhorts the reader ‘let us have faith- draw near to God with a clear conscience- having our bodies WASHED WITH PURE WATER’.
Huh?
See-
this is an exhortation to COME INTO this covenant- he’s saying ‘believe- and be baptized’.
This
letter is not speaking to ALREADY BAPTIZED PERSONS.
We
also see- once again- the writer saying that this New Covenant is MUCH HARSHER than the Old.
‘If
those under the law disobeyed- and died under 2 or 3 witnesses- how much worse will it be for those who have the light [thru their Old Law- Christ was indeed in there- thru types and images] and
reject it.’
‘for
if we/you continue to sin- after having these truths revealed- there is no more sacrifice left- but a fearful waiting for judgment’.
In
time I’ll develop this more- but in the New Testament letters- written to the Gentile churches- you don’t read stuff like this.
You
do see God judging his people [in those letters- meaning Christians].
But
you don’t see the New Covenant compared to the Old Covenant in this way- saying ‘it’s much harsher than the old’.
But-
to those outside of the covenant- to the ‘unbaptized- unbeliever’ then yes- this warning holds true.
The
theme thru out Hebrews is ‘if the first century Jew does not BELIEVE in Christ as the Messiah- then he in effect does disgrace to the Blood of Jesus’-
He
will not find repentance any more [under the old system]-
And
he will face a stricter punishment then those who rebelled under the law-
[They
died physically- but in this new covenant- if you reject Christ- you suffer spiritual death- and the ultimate judgment of God].
One
last note- as we study the letters of the New Testament down the road- we see a theme- yes- about how we should view earthly riches/wealth.
Here
we read ‘you suffered the loss of your earthly goods- knowing that in heaven you have a more enduring substance’.
The
theme is never ‘claim your covenant rights to wealth’.
But
‘the things in this life- material wealth- are nothing to be compared to the spiritual riches we have in Christ’.
And
yes- this is true.
Psalm
40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psalm
40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psalm
40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Jeremiah
31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jeremiah
31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an
husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jeremiah
31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah
31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith
the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
CHAPTER
11: [see commentary on Acts 21]
END
NOTES-
JUSTIFIED
BY FAITH.
TORTURED-
BY FAITH?
REJECTED
MONEY- BY FAITH?
THEY
ALL WAITED FOR THE CITY- THE CHURCH.
[Below
are simply some of my past teachings where the name Justin Martyr popped up- whenever I mention a subject or person on the teaching video- I try and add any of my past teachings where I mentioned
him]
The
Greek philosophers understanding of the Logos was not the same as the Christian view- mainly expressed thru the writings of John [The gospel- the 3 epistles- and Revelation].
But-
some see the Greek view as a precursor to Christ.
In the work of one of the early church fathers- Hippolytus ‘The Refutation of all Heresies’ he attacks Heraclitus view of the Logos as an early form of heresy.
The apologist Justin Martyr is more gracious- he [Like Ulrich Zwingli- the great Swiss reformer of the 16th century] viewed the early Geek thinkers as ‘pre- Christian’ or ‘Christians before Christ’.
Though many reject this view- yet there is some scripture to back it up.
The
apostle Paul said in his letter to the Romans that if the Gentiles [non-Jews] do by nature the things contained in the law- then they are justified in God’s sight.
Of course these things are debatable- but I add this to show you that some great Christian thinkers did indeed view the early Greek thinkers- who did live by a moral code- as being right in God’s eyes.
And the bible does teach a theme that we will be judged according to the amount of light [understanding] that we had at the time.
I should note that Plato [one of the 3 titans that arose after Heraclitus- from the city/state of Athens] disagreed with Heraclitus on all things being in a state of constant change.
When [if?] we get to Socrates- Plato and Aristotle- I’ll try and cover the ways they advanced- built upon- the thought of the pre Socratic thinkers.
As a side note- the most famous student of Aristotle- who was the most famous student of Plato- who was the most famous student of Socrates- was Alexander the Great.
This goes to show you how great an influence Greek philosophy had on the ancient world.
A few nuggets from Heraclitus- ‘all things come to pass in accordance with this Logos’ ‘follow the common’ ‘not having their own judgment’.
Recently I covered Acts chapter 2- and we see some of these ideas in the early Christian movement.
The
first Christians did ‘follow the common’ they sold their goods- and had ‘all things common’ [communal lifestyle].
The apostle Paul teaches the early church to all ‘speak the same thing- that there be no divisions among you’.
And
the New Testament also says the scripture should not be given to Private Interpretation- meaning- ‘not having your own personal judgment’.
All in all- we do indeed see a sort of pre Christian thought in the pre Socratic thinkers- they did indeed speak of the Divine- God- though there understanding of him was not the same as the Christian church.
In a sense- Heraclitus idea that in life- the only ‘constant’ is the fact that there is no constant- that life itself is made up of an ongoing journey- we live day by day- not ever knowing what ‘the next day will bring forth’- Jesus.
Yeah- the man had some good points- the later Stoics would consider Heraclitus as the father of their movement.
And
in the study of Philosophy- the Stoics- who had a good run from a few years before the Common Era- were overtaken in the 4th century [as the main influential philosophy of the time] by some new
and lasting philosophy- started by a man named Jesus Christ- who his followers claimed rose from the dead.
Yeah-
this New Way was called Christianity- and this philosophy has endured now for over 2 thousand years.
Both of the documentaries I saw [it seems like there is one person- producer- behind the 2 I saw] did give an actual quote from a 2nd century Christian leader- Justin Martyr.
The quote is indeed real- Justin is known as one of the first Apologists of the church.
He defended the faith during a time when many enemies of the faith slandered the religion.
In one defense [out of many] he said that those who reject Christianity because we believe that a Divine son rose from the dead- that others also held the same type of belief in the pagan world.
He was referring to the god Jupiter and the stories that surround those who believed in him.
You also do find this same type of thing in the myth of Hercules.
Okay- so the skeptic was right then?
No.
In the documentary- the skeptic actually gives the quote from Justin- and Justin says that just because these similarities did exist in other religions- before Christ- that this in no way means the Christian faith is false.
How so?
Justin said it was possible for satan to have ‘imitated’ what was really going to happen.
The skeptic mocked this argument from Justin- and went on to challenge the faith.
A few things.
First- it is possible that Justin was right.
2nd.
This whole line of attack is not new [unless you never heard of it before- which is why I’m kinda surprised that Netflix has them in their lineup].
It goes all the way back to the writings of Gilgamesh.
These are writings that also have similarities to the things we find in the bible- yet they are not coming from the Christian perspective.
They contain a story about a flood [like the one in Genesis].
So- over time- skeptics have said ‘see- the bible must have copied these flood stories- because we find them in other cultures’.
I actually covered this before.
Let me give you the short version.
We- as Christians- do indeed believe the story of Noah [the flood].
Some debate whether it was a global event or local- I don’t want to get into that now.
But- if there was a huge event- say like a 911 plane attack on the world trade center.
Would you not expect to find that event- recorded in more than one culture?
Of course you would.
So the fact that other cultures have a flood event recorded too- this does not mean the Christians plagiarized the flood- no- it would be evidence that the flood really did happen.
See?
Now- the similarities between a divine son who rose from the dead.
First- there ARE NOT 25 or so stories like this- with 12 disciples- raised on the 3rd day- and so on.
The producer of the doc was simply mislead- or outright lying.
2nd.
We must remember that anything we find in Greek culture- which predated Christian ‘culture’ was also predated by Jewish culture.
That is to say that the story of Judaism comes before the Greek philosophers.
Are there any themes in the Jewish religion that speak about a Messiah who would come- die- and be the Messiah of all mankind?
Yes!
So- you could argue that any similarities between Greek myth- and Christianity- are actually ‘copies’ taken from the Old Testament story.
That is- God himself gave us clues about the story of redemption- and these clues might have very well ‘seeped’ into the Greek culture- before Christ- and that’s why you might find similarities between the 2.
See?
Okay- I could go on- but I think I made the point.
I was not mad that these documentaries were on net flix.
But I saw the danger in presenting one side like this- without giving the other view [which I just gave].
All in all- the Christian faith has more historical backing [like the many thousands of bible manuscripts that survived the early days] than any other religion or writings of any kind.
The documentaries made a couple of good points- things that were indeed true- but they had way too much mis information in them to be playing on such a huge venue.
Buyer [or watcher] beware!
JOHN
LOCKE-
Locke
taught that each man has individual rights- and he empowers government- an elected designated body- to have rule-
Yet-
that government exists solely for the benefit of the people- and when/if that government ‘forgets’ this- the people have a right/duty to revolt.
Locke’s
ideas were formed at a time when his own government experienced a sort of revolution [1600’s- England].
The
people revolted against monarchy- and replaced it with a sort of Democratic Parliament-
Referred
to as the bloodless revolution or the glorious revolution.
The
king [or today- queen] would still play a role- like a figurehead- but the power was in the people- willingly given over to a Parliament.
The
political ideas of Locke influenced our founding fathers- and our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are in parts almost word for word taken from the writings of
Locke.
Locke
believed in natural law- that morality was indeed a universal reality [some scholars/thinkers will say that Locke does not fully embrace the Christian concept of natural/moral
law].
He
taught that knowledge comes from man’s experience- the things he interacts with thru the 5 senses.
That
man is not born with innate ideas [like the early Greek thinkers said] but his mind is a Tabula Rasa- or blank slate at birth.
This
is an Empirical understanding of knowledge.
Locke
also believed in the concept of the separation of church and state- this idea was not unique to our founding fathers- no- they got it right out of the writings of Locke [his parents were
Puritans- and they obviously influenced their son].
Locke’s
political views were-
Individualistic-
Egalitarian-
Contractual
[social compact]-
These
ideas differed from the early Greek thinkers [especially Aristotle] who held to a naturalistic view- meaning that nature itself ‘intended’ for certain individuals to have rule over others [the
smarter should have rule over the ‘less smart’- and of course Aristotle saw himself in the more nobler crowd!]
Locke
also believed in religious toleration- a view held by most in the Western world today.
He
saw the Right to private property- as a natural right.
He
believed that denial of the existence of God would lead to anarchy in the long run.
He
believed that the cosmological argument for the existence of God was valid [called teleology].
DIOGENES-
I
think I mentioned him on today’s video [I am writing this before I review the video and add the bullet points].
In
the study of philosophy- he is not known for deep thought- or new ideas.
He
lived in the 5th century B.C. – died in the 4th in the biblical city of Corinth.
Diogenes
believed in ‘living with less’- he was known to have slept in a ceramic pot- he lived and ate on the streets- and was basically like many of my homeless friends.
Yet-
he felt in doing this he was a sort of ‘prophetic’ sign to the world around him.
He
is believed to be the first to refer to himself as a ‘cosmopolitan’- meaning a man of the world- and not identifying with any one city.
He
was born at Sinope- [Modern day Turkey] traveled to Athens- the main center of wisdom/philosophy.
Attended
the lectures of Plato- and interrupted them
He
disputed Plato’s interpretation of his teacher- Socrates.
And
had a memorable encounter with Alexander the Great.
The
story goes [there are a few versions of it- maybe more along the line of myth] that Alexander wanted to meet with Diogenes- and he heard he was in town [Corinth] so Alexander went to meet
him.
Upon
arriving at the spot- he greeted Alexander and told him he would fulfill any request that the Cynic asked.
Diogenes
replied ‘Move over- you’re standing in my sun light’.
It
is said that as Alexander left- and made the statement ‘If I were not Alexander- I would be Diogenes’.
How
true- well we will never know for sure.
He
did live at a time- and in a place- where the famous philosophers would come from.
He
believed rejecting wealth- and the comforts of life- were a statement against the society of his day.
He
purposefully challenged the ‘normal’ way of life- by being different- and at times- vulgar.
It
is said that he carried a cup- for drinking.
And
he saw a young boy one day- drinking from the brook with his hands.
He
then threw away the cup- realizing that ‘the god’s’ had given to men the basic things to survive- and he really did not need all the material things of life.
Like
I said at the top – he is not known for his great thinking ability- but he was respected by the stoics-
VERSES [These are the verses I either quoted or taught from on today’s post-
Other videos below]
The
Ascension of the Lord
Lectionary:
58
Reading
1ACTS 1:1-11
In
the first book, Theophilus,
I
dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until
the day he was taken up,
after
giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to
the apostles whom he had chosen.
He
presented himself alive to them
by
many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing
to them during forty days
and
speaking about the kingdom of God.
While
meeting with them,
he
enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but
to wait for “the promise of the Father
about
which you have heard me speak;
for
John baptized with water,
but
in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord,
are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He
answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that
the Father has established by his own authority.
But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout
Judea and Samaria,
and
to the ends of the earth.”
When
he had said this, as they were looking on,
he
was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While
they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly
two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They
said, “Men of Galilee,
why
are you standing there looking at the sky?
This
Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will
return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Responsorial
Psalm PS 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
R.(6) God
mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All
you peoples, clap your hands,
shout
to God with cries of gladness,
For
the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is
the great king over all the earth.
R. God
mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God
mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the
LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing
praise to God, sing praise;
sing
praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God
mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For
king of all the earth is God;
sing
hymns of praise.
God
reigns over the nations,
God
sits upon his holy throne.
R. God
mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading
2EPH 1:17-23
Brothers
and sisters:
May
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give
you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting
in knowledge of him.
May
the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that
you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what
are the riches of glory
in
his inheritance among the holy ones,
and
what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for
us who believe,
in
accord with the exercise of his great might:
which
he worked in Christ,
raising
him from the dead
and
seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far
above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and
every name that is named
not
only in this age but also in the one to come.
And
he put all things beneath his feet
and
gave him as head over all things to the church,
which
is his body,
the
fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
OrHEB
9:24-28; 10:19-23
Christ
did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a
copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that
he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not
that he might offer himself repeatedly,
as
the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary
with
blood that is not his own;
if
that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly
from
the foundation of the world.
But
now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages
to
take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just
as it is appointed that men and women die once,
and
after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered
once to take away the sins of many,
will
appear a second time, not to take away sin
but
to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since through the blood of Jesus
we
have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary
by
the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,
that
is, his flesh,
and
since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let
us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,
with
our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and
our bodies washed in pure water.
Let
us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,
for
he who made the promise is trustworthy.
AlleluiaMT
28:19A, 20B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Go
and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I
am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
GospelLK
24:46-53
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“Thus
it is written that the Christ would suffer
and
rise from the dead on the third day
and
that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would
be preached in his name
to
all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You
are witnesses of these things.
And
behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
but
stay in the city
until
you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
raised
his hands, and blessed them.
As
he blessed them he parted from them
and
was taken up to heaven.
They
did him homage
and
then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and
they were continually in the temple praising God.
Romans
4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Romans
4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans
5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
1
Corinthians 5:7
Purge
out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Hebrews 13:15
By
him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
1 Corinthians 15:44
It
is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For
we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb.
4
OTHER VIDEOS [These are the videos
post
nightly to my various sites-
Links to all my sites below]
Fatima https://youtu.be/M24ZIioBtW8
4-15-18
Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgg6OxgnO7mfO4KZ7
Twilight
of the idols https://www.dropbox.com/s/38imxmnv5j6nlm7/10-18-15%20Nietzsche%27s%20%27Twilight%20of%20the%20Idols%27.mp4?dl=0
The
flood https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/r855jser
Don’t
bother me https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhU-0YvdrZeSiWr1S
Central
Park https://www.bitchute.com/video/7jmznPLF9TVe/
6-6-19
Reddit Hacker caught- news update https://youtu.be/ZbgR0KKbNfY
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205730847908653/
2nd
Samuel 3 https://youtu.be/SUdkwD2Tx-A
Friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiQ7pZ1Z4zAcHJtHW
Friends
n teaching https://www.dropbox.com/s/8pyx1qow0o67uic/10-17-18%20Friends%20n%20Teaching-%20Crow%20n%20Furman.mp4?dl=0
Real
time teaching https://dai.ly/x71k2wo
Friends
n Fire https://flic.kr/p/2g3vdZj
4-7-19
Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiwyzkliIosHtfHws
Friends
n teaching https://youtu.be/Yo2pBtk3bNU
6-17-18
Sunday sermon https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/6ufv51so
Baby
goats https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiQqvSMytLeZPTnsU
GW
bridge- NYC https://youtu.be/70CVdZxFIMg
Acts
9 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMggy_7kgfAhfJNo3Q
Samuel
22 https://www.dropbox.com/s/r1s4vudsa35clhf/10-17-16%20Samuel%2022%20%5BAllen%20n%20Crow%5D.mp4?dl=0
Off
the cuff teaching https://dai.ly/x71t9zf
Hebrews
1-3 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhUn1c3rDrTYhqJS8
11-4-18
Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/1fesn8zmu3nly9k/11-4-18%20sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0
The
door of heaven https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhUzeQUxAw7Y3mwVu
Kings
20 https://www.bitchute.com/video/HI8N546IzI76/
12-2-18
Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x71k2wq
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205722178011911/
12-24-17
Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/L0nDDREYzJk
Christmas
morning https://youtu.be/5EaQPvs1D1U
Easter https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMggEC8RjgZsM_Q0FK
1st
John https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftpsf0x1efya2s9/10-16-16%20cccf-%201st%20Jn..mp4?dl=0
Talking
church https://flic.kr/p/2g2jA4g
Central
Park- NYC https://www.instagram.com/tv/BwHYirlF3Qy/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Story
of scripture https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgXDzn9vfJKeRkMxM
Colossians
4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/u3urlhqn0uohehn/4-26-18%20Colossians%204.mp4?dl=0
Mark
7 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMggqhnxRBbBBHO8Om
10-15-17
Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/waqoz1i3z5octsw/10-15-%2017%20Sunday%20Sermon.mp4?dl=0
Alone
with God https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/00u6yzde
Friends
n song https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiQlfo0o4HsVeuybg
Colossians
3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5uniom6iw4j1tm/4-12-18%20Colossians%203.mp4?dl=0
Mary’s
prayer https://www.bitchute.com/video/MFzv5KUkXRYD/
2nd
Samuel 1-2 https://youtu.be/rODWjOdfrRc
The
morning star https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhUduFwiigMPb8cwD
10-14-18
Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/zielzlbhk92e7pt/10-14-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0
Outer
court https://dai.ly/x75zie2
9-3-17
Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2g1TsW7
Friends-
Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilUUYoJceY6Yjz-7
Colossians
2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pd5q1g903rsdtw/3-29-18%20Colossians%202.mp4?dl=0
Apologetics https://youtu.be/tMCfKC1Pe9A
11-24-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjFRR9F1ncTZrDe7-
4-8-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2kdj48W
Acts 1 https://dai.ly/x6chcuo
Acts 8 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xy9494l994yhdiu/4-6-17%20Acts%208.mp4?dl=0
Homeless friends https://youtu.be/i4fyvjvI1y4
Recovery https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiDnVmd4NMXozhxyx
Prayer https://youtu.be/Ygw8S1ndLYE
Easter https://www.dropbox.com/s/23jmppnibwfyozt/4-1-18%20Easter.mp4?dl=0
Pops https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFjehqwFIX0/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Homeless friends https://ok.ru/video/1682607770167
The mother of us all https://www.dropbox.com/s/fz0ba08o0monv0v/4-6-16%20The%20Mother%20of%20us%20all.mp4?dl=0
New Jersey friends https://youtu.be/VfYEQj4Gibc
Grace https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhEc-ZZGhyOdePecT
Carpe Diem https://youtu.be/F6G6FnoF0UA
11-17-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjFOer4IMdGhn-zxc
Homeless friends https://flic.kr/p/27jbRKr
Homeless friends https://youtu.be/-NmAm67q4BU
Ephesians 1 https://dai.ly/x7qhlli
Kings 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/57mr64k2d77ug0r/4-4-17%20Kings%203%20%5BWisdom%5D.mp4?dl=0
Dallas https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg1ZOTaQug8m3KSTA
Potters house https://youtu.be/gjGLHBZNtoc
1-15-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/kejm8vhbd92vx74/1-15-17%20Christian-%20Muslim%20dialogue.mp4?dl=0
Teaching https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFeVNzzl7jy/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Nightingale https://ok.ru/video/1694104422967
The scepter of the kingdom https://www.dropbox.com/s/1yrmjm2xan72yvh/4-3-16%20The%20sceptre%20of%20the%20kingdom.mp4?dl=0
Homeless friends https://youtu.be/00VtI2rPO44
On whom the tower fell https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhEHkW3guD2U74BTe
Unicorn Horns https://youtu.be/Ow4walfSLlY
11-3-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjE2X0-DUqPwM4brX
Teaching https://flic.kr/p/JYHokK
Lexington https://dai.ly/x7qhllj
Message from God https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7te9sz35355b6x/4-29-16%20I%20have%20a%20message%20from%20God%20unto%20thee.mp4?dl=0
Apologetics https://youtu.be/u4Q3SWZpm1o
Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiEKzySTLDa6QY1pR
Teaching https://youtu.be/BKrobv8pVTg
12-30-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMikDBK_ojwYY4GOqs
City of Refuge https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiDMQyMkjosIhHd2g
Pops https://youtu.be/c9cnx2CBZnw
https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-links-12-2020
12-10-17 Sunday sermon https://ok.ru/video/1698923678263
1 day at a time https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7ca577v77cl2g2/4-28-16%201%20day%20at%20a%20time.mp4?dl=0
Amos https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFZNRQuFlGv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
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https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan]
Plurk update- I will remove this link [Below] after they restore my site [Link removed]
https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/
https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe]
http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/
https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello
https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach
https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87
https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87
https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87
https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea]
https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87
https://wt.social/u/john-chiarello
https://sharfly.com/Ccoutreach87
https://ccoutreach87.skyrock.com/
https://www.wattpad.com/user/JohnChiarello/conversations
https://www.thinkspot.com/discourse/2008/forum/ccoutreach87/a-href-https-ccoutreach87/101953
Link sharing sites-
https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/
https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com
https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach
https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts
https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy
https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching]
Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge]
Streaming sites-
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber
Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/
Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed]
https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India]
https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed]
https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia]
[My Facebook videos]
https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/?view_public_for=288613861341347
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912
https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV]
[Ukraine-Most viewed]
https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album
https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87
https://vimeo.com/user85764413
https://bittube.video/accounts/ccoutreach87
https://open.tube/video-channels/corpus_outreach/videos
Note- https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/bit-open-tube-review-8-2020
https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020]
Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems
Cloud sites-
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C
https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy
https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0
https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui
https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud
Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/
Inactive- work in progress-
http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/
http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/
https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber
Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems
Beta
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free-
Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot.
I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John
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