04.08.09
Posted in Meditation at 3:31 pm by Meditation
“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in your hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6).
How Can Christ Know You?
There is the symbolism of the Old Testament of the sacrifice of Christ to take place in the New Testament. The most significant is the symbolism of Christ being the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). In the Hebrew month of Nisan, on the 14th day, the Passover lamb would be killed at about 3 PM. That night (Nisan 15 because a Hebrew day starts at sundown, not midnight), the children of Israel would eat the Passover Lamb, symbolic of eating the future Messiah. It would be cooked whole with no bones broken. The blood smeared on the tops of the doors would cause the first born in that house not to be killed during the first Passover in Egypt.
Christ was killed at the ninth hour (3 PM) (Matthew 27:45-50) at the same time the Passover Lambs were being killed. Christ became the ultimate Passover Lamb. The veil of the temple was cut in half (verse 51), symbolic of God becoming permanently absent from the physical temple, never to return. The priests of the temple had become corrupt. They had caused people to stumble at the law (Malachi 2:8). Religious leaders do the same today, telling their congregations that the law of God (the Ten Commandments) has been abolished or they yield to the opposite extreme and tell people they must earn their salvation, trying to keep the law through their own effort. Just as the Passover Lamb had no bones broken (Numbers 9:12), Christ also had none of his bones broken. Instead, a soldier plunged a spear into his side (John 19:32-34). The Last Supper was a rehearsal for the Christian Passover in which the symbolism of the lamb was replaced by the symbolism of the unleavened bread. People of God would eat unleavened bread to symbolize eating Christ (1 Corinthians 11:24). The bread took the place of the lamb. The Messiah was to be cut off in the middle of his week (Daniel 9:26-27), causing the sacrifice to cease. The sacrifice did cease. With Christ as our ultimate High Priest (Hebrews 9:11) now, there is no need for animal sacrifices.
“…Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered…” (Zechariah 13:7).
So, was the shepherd hit and did the sheep scatter?
Yes.
“Then said Jesus to them, all of you shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31).
When Christ was arrested, the disciples did scatter.
“…all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples abandoned him, and fled” (Matthew 26:56).
Christ was cut off in the midst of his week (Daniel 9:26-27) in two ways. He died at 3 PM on a Wednesday, Nisan 14, (April 5th, Roman time), he was half way into the week. Also he was half-way into a week of years. His ministry had a duration of three and a half years. Before he returns to this planet he will finish up the week of years (seven years) by showing people they cannot make rebellion against his Father work. This will be done during the final three and a half years through the 2 witnesses (Revelation 11:3) who will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Just as the blood of the lamb prevented the first born from dying, the blood of Christ will prevent us from receiving the death we deserve as a result of sin since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4).
“…leave none of it unto the morning…” (Numbers 9:12). The Passover lamb was finished in one night. There would be no left overs. By the same token when Christ died he was resurrected into a non-physical body that does not die. His physical body that he had ceased to exist. There are two reasons for this. Certain religions tend to turn bones into holy relics and the holy relics become objects of worship leading into idolatry. The other reason is: Christ’s resurrection is a pre-cursor to what our resurrection will be like, if we remain faithful. We will be resurrected into bodies that do not die (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
In Old Testament times, the children of Israel would obtain the lamb on the 10th of Nisan and then keep it alive for the next 4 days. During that time, the young lamb would be like a friend. The slaughter of the lamb would be a slight trauma to the family (even the adults). By the same token, if we are loyal to the Father and obedient to Christ, then Christ calls us friends: not servants, but friends (John 15:15).
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
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04.05.09
Posted in Meditation at 11:45 pm by Meditation
Toward the end of World War II the Japanese military leaders surrendered in a ceremony on board the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. In a speech afterwards, General Douglas MacArthur spoke of the utter destructiveness of war. “We have had our last chance”, he said, “If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at the door.” At that time the atom bomb had just been invented. It was dropped twice on the Japanese citizens, effectively ending World War II.
There are enough nuclear weapons to destroy human life from the face of this planet many times over. Christ spoke of this time in which we live, a time in which no flesh would be saved unless the days were shortened (Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20).
How To Understand the End of the World
The gospel of the kingdom, the message Christ brought (Matthew 4:23) has even more urgency today than ever. The same Christ who was murdered for saying he was the Son of God is returning in power and will rule this planet as the Son of God. Philosophies, politics, and corruption will come to an abrupt end. There will be only one type of government – a kingdom. And the kingdom will be set up by God. All other kingdoms will be broke into pieces (Daniel 2:44).
A part of the plan of God is to show how man’s governments cannot bring peace to this planet. The ultimate blood bath is summed up in Revelation in the final battle in which the blood will be up to the horse bridles for a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Revelation 14:20).
Why does the end have to be so violent? It’s because otherwise there would be many who might say: “If only we had a special type of government then we humans could create a good society.” By that time human history will demonstrate how it is impossible for us to have peace until peace is brought to this planet by Christ.
Christ will take back this planet by force and become the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11-16). Only then will there be peace. Thanks to Christ, there will be a thousand years of peace (Revelation 20:2-6). And after the battle of Gog and Magog there will be an eternity of peace (Revelation 20:7-9, Revelation 21:1-4).
“…unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Almighty of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
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Posted in Meditation at 2:15 am by Meditation
In a society of corruption, it is important to know that there is such a thing as truth and that there are efficient methods of getting to that truth. For most of us, there are individuals who are links in a chain of trust. This would include trustworthy people who are known to us. This could also include people who are recommended by people we trust. For example, a mechanic or computer technician who is trustworthy will usually be recommended by people who have recognized that he has been honest and does not over-charge for services and does his best to get the job done. In fact, if we hire someone, honesty is more important than the technical abilities of the individual. After all, a dishonest worker could claim to have done work when he, in fact, didn’t. He could charge twice as much as what is fair.
And the chain of trust in regard to spiritual knowledge is of utmost importance. Truths of all types are interconnected with each other and harmonize with each other. When falsehood of any kind is put into the mind there is a lack of peace because there is cognitive dissonance as to what to believe.
When Pilate asked Christ, “What is truth?”, he didn’t wait for an answer (John 18:38). Like so many today who have been taught in the modern school systems of this world, he likely did not believe there was such a thing as truth.
The word of God is truth (John 17:17). And only through his Son, Jesus Christ, is salvation available (Acts 4:10-12). Pilate was unaware of that. His wife, who should have been a vital part of his chain of trust, warned him to have nothing to do with Christ (Matthew 27:19). However, the crowd was being manipulated by the religious leaders in that day (the chief priests and elders) (verse 20). When the crowd demanded that Christ be crucified Pilate performed his famous hand washing ceremony, trying to symbolically distance himself from the responsibility that he knew was at least partially his. The crowd was so extreme they said, “…His blood be on us and our children” (verse 25).
Of course, in a global sense, the blood of Christ is on all of us because within every injustice there exists the seed of homicide. Only through the shedding of blood is there remission (Hebrews 9:22).
As individuals, we must eventually have a reliable chain of trust. We must trust the Father to draw us to the Son (John 6:44). We are friends with the Son if we do what he commands (John 15:14). The chief priests opposed Christ because he was their ultimate competition. Real religion is the ultimate competition to the religions of this world and especially the leaders of those religions. Inside the religion of Christianity there are armies of leaders who would love to install themselves as middlemen between you and the Father. However, there is only one qualified leader who can be a good middleman, Christ Jesus, our High Priest (Hebrews 3:1).
“…Christ, Our Passover, is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
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04.04.09
Posted in Meditation at 1:01 pm by Meditation
Balance is something that has to be learned with experience. A child may think that riding a bike is an impossible task. But once the technique (controlling the wobble) is mastered, the talent of maintaining balance on a bicycle in motion becomes a learned behavior.
Most are aware of the eco system we have in which animals on this planet are constantly making a meal out of each other and the available plant life. There is a built-in balance to all living things as they interact with each other.
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There exists also a spiritual balance between good and evil. From the time of the second rebellion against God (Adam and Eve eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) until the end of man’s rule on this planet may be roughly six thousand years. The last millennium (the 7th) could become the 1000 years in which the planet receives rest from man’s evil rule. During the time of man’s rule on this planet God has allowed a balance to exist between good and evil. This evil, headed by Satan and his demons, provides the temptation, which, in the long run, will cause a person to either become more evil or will cause him to transcend the evil and accept Christ, initiating the journey to holy righteous character. The reason God allows this to happen is: He wants loving obedient children, not robots. It was known that Christ, the Lamb of God, would be slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) to provide us with the chance of salvation (Revelation 12:10, Hebrews 9:28). Those who are involved in the process of salvation are establishing righteous character, which is enhanced by the Father through Christ. On the other hand, evil people are becoming more evil.
This is one of the messages of Psalms 18:26.
The Psalmist, speaking to Almighty, says: “With the pure you will show yourself pure; and with the froward, you will show yourself froward.”
Will God show himself to be pure and to be froward? The King James kept the poetic rhythm in this verse but lost some of the nuances of meaning.
The King James word “pure” (first word) is the Hebrew adjective “tahowr”, which is a word meaning pure and clean. However the King James “will show yourself pure” is from the Hebrew word “barar”, which is a verb meaning: will purify, will cleanse, will test, will cause to shine. In other words, God will take a person who is clean and make the person cleaner. Some may argue, “But I’m clean to start with.” This is false. All of our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) compared to the righteousness that can come from God.
“…with the froward, you will show yourself froward.” The King James “froward” (first word) is from the Hebrew adjective “iqqesh”, meaning: twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse. The King James “will show yourself froward” is from the Hebrew “pathal”, which means “will twist”.
The twisted will be twisted furtherand the pure will be purified further. How can the pure be made more pure? It seems like a contradiction but it isn’t.
When an unclean spirit is cast out of a person, he will be relatively pure. However he runs the risk of having 7 other evil spirits invading his relatively neutral consciousness (Matthew 12:43-45). However, the Spirit from God occupying that space, that human operating system, causes an improved purification. We are washed during the regeneration (transformation), during and after conversion, having a renewing of the Holy Spirit. This is, of course, presuming we have received the Holy Spirit.
God will take individuals who are twisted (crooked) and twist them further, allowing for the continued twisting. By the same token he will take people who are relatively clean and clean them further, allowing for continued cleansing. This process continues right up to the end.
“Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall become worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:12-13). Taking the negative path also causes deficits in understanding.
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10).
(Special thanks goes to Art Morgado for the core idea for this article.)
wily@wilyelder.com
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Posted in Meditation at 1:00 am by Meditation
“For I expect that the sufferings in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
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In the 1500’s there had been the struggle in England of the standard religion of Rome imposing itself upon the population. It was a monopoly. That monopoly evaporated with the Reformation. And people being burned at the stake, for the most part, came to an abrupt end. However, in the early and middle 1600’s and on some occasions later there would be persecution of a different sort from the church that now had the power, the Church of England. Unlike the New World (the emerging American colonies), England did not promote a generic freedom of religion. Ministers who did not conform to the religion approved by parliament, would, in many cases, find themselves in prison. These ministers were called non-conformists. William Rogers was one such minister.
“And be not conformed to the world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).
A little girl, Hattie, lived next door to William Rogers. She was a spoiled brad, raised by servants in her grandfather’s mansion. She noticed William Rogers, her neighbor, pulling weeds in his yard. She said, “pulling weeds is for servants.”
“Servants cost money,” was Rogers’ reply. Ironically, it was Hattie’s grandfather, Sir Richard Craddock, the magistrate, who was the reason he had no money. Mr. Craddock had outlawed Roger’s preaching at the local church house. This reduced Rogers to the point of having to preach in a living room church. People would attend services at his home since preaching in public had been outlawed by Craddock.
Little Hattie had been spoiled at an early age. She had sliced herself with a knife when she was having a temper fit. After that, her grandfather, Craddock, ordered that she could have her way in most cases. Thanks to this imperative, she was able to get away often in order to go see her next door neighbor, William Rogers. He would tell her stories from the Bible, especially stories about people of strong faith.
One day when he was having a church service in his home there was a knock at the door. When he opened the door, angry people grabbed him, pulled him out of the house, and threw him on the ground. They tied his wrists. He noticed 3 of his friends had already been taken into captivity. The four of them were taken to the home of the magistrate, Sir Richard Craddock. Reportedly, Craddock came in and gloated over the capture of the non-conformists.
Craddock addressed the prisoners as wolves who were leading the sheep astray. He accused William Rogers of preaching without a license. Getting a license would have meant that the state had the right to turn religion into a privilege granted only to the individuals who conform to the approved doctrine. He informed the prisoners he was going to fill out the papers for their imprisonment. When he left to go down the hall, Sarah, one of the four prisoners began to cry.
Suddenly, little Hattie burst through the door. She recognized her neighbor. “You’ve come to visit at last!” she said, walking up to him. Rogers smiled but said nothing. Then she noticed his hands were tied.
Hattie walked up to the deputy and asked him, “What are you doing to my good old gentleman?” The deputy told her, “He’s a wicked man, but he’ll pay now.” The little girl became angry. “What are they going to do with you?” she asked Mr. Rogers.
“Your grandfather says that I and my friends must go to prison,” replied Rogers.
Hattie began to have a temper fit. She stomped her feet and began to be out of control emotionally. Her voice grew to a shout, “You will not go to prison. Grandpapa can’t do that to you.”
The girl raced down the hall to the room where her grandfather had gone to fill out the papers. Finding the door locked, she banged her head against it, demanding to get inside. Someone opened the door. She raced in and asked, “What are you going to do with my good old gentleman out there?”
“None of your business. Go on out and play,” her grandfather replied.
“But I will not,” she responded, “He says you are going to send him and his friends to jail. If you send them to jail, I will drown myself in the pond as soon as they are gone! I really will!”
Craddock was stunned for a while. His astonishment was profound due to the fact he realized she was willing to carry out what she had threatened to do. He picked up the papers he had been filling out, and walked down the hall to the prisoners.
He addressed the prisoners: “I had intended to send you all to jail, but my granddaughter has requested that I show you mercy. You are released. See that you do not repeat the offence.” The deputies released the prisoners. Rogers turned to little Hattie and put his hand on her head, and prayed, “God bless you, my dear child. May the blessing of that God whose cause you now plead, that as yet you know Him not, be upon you in life, at death, and throughout eternity.”
What Ever Happened to Hattie?
Sources:
Calamy, Edmund, The Non-Conformist’s Memorial, 1802 Button and Son and T Hurst, London, England, United Kingdom
Dugger, Andrew, A History of the True Religion, © 1972 Andrew Dugger and C O Dodd, Jerusalem, Israel
Editors, The Persecution of William Rogers, Eschatology Journal, Volume 7, Number 1, © 2005 AFSS Corporation, Ocala, FL, United States
Phillips, Wilson, Footprints, 2004 Abundant Life, Springfield, MO, United States
Wily Elder
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04.03.09
Posted in Meditation at 12:18 am by Meditation
As humans on planet earth, we usually think of war as being the most oppressive thing we may have to endure. However, at the time of the end, just ahead of us, there will be a leader come to power who does not, for the most part, gain his power through war. In fact, many will be hoping for war in order to try to get rid of this leader.
Taxation in the United States is fairly oppressive. The average person labors from January to May in order to pay all the taxes that will be coming their way that year (income tax, sales tax, property tax, excise tax, telephone tax, car tax, insurance tax, gas tax, corporate tax, etc.). Thanks to the three bailouts, the indentured servitude will now be from January to July. However, much of the taxation will be the silent taxation, inflation caused through cranking up the money machine (printing more Yankee dollars).
Money from God’s Perspective
Europe is even worse. Their taxation is so high it borders on genuine slavery. Each member state in the European Union is being taxed with the tax money going into a central fund, which will be used for the benefit of the European Union. Tax money coming out of Ireland, for example, will not necessarily be returned to Ireland. It will be used as the Eurocrats (European Bureaucrats) see fit. The European Union is becoming noted today as being one of the most oppressive taxing entities on the face of the planet. This will continue. In fact, there will soon be a leader who will be famous as a raiser of taxes. When he is destroyed it will not be in battle (Daniel 11:20). And he will be replaced by a vile person who will gain his power by flatteries (Daniel 11:21), not by war. The King James “vile” is from the Hebrew “‘aph”, meaning angry, forbearing, and wrathful. The word also refers to the nostril, nose, and forehead because those parts of the face start to change as a person becomes angry. The facial expression and body language of this person, the willful king, will be one extra identification of the man who will play such a big role in the end time. His calling card will be flatteries, from the Hebrew “chalaqlaqqah”, (which rolls right off the tongue) meaning flatteries, slipperiness, smoothness, and fine promises.
This beast person who is destined to be the leader of the beast power will have as his power base ten nations (or groups of nations) in Europe, symbolized by the ten toes of clay and iron of the image described in Daniel 2:41-43. This will be, in essence, the Holy Roman Empire, though certainly not holy in the eyes of the Eternal. The clay and iron means the ten nations will be partly strong and partly broken (verse 42). However, there is another significance of the clay and iron; these nations have mingled themselves with the seed of man (verse 43). What does that mean?
The iron is symbolic of the strength of Gentile nations (Italy, Germany, Austria, etc.) when they are in power. The clay is a totally different set of bloodlines that have mingled themselves in Europe with Gentile families. Who are they? Who is it that represents the clay?
“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in mine hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). Isaiah acknowledged this same principle (Isaiah 64:8).
The country calling itself Israel today, does, in fact, only consist of, for the most part, two tribes of Israel – Judah and Levi (plus a small portion of Benjamin). Most of the other tribes of Israel relocated long ago. A large portion of the other tribes are living in Europe now. There are people of the tribe of Reuben who live in northern France. The tribe of Dan is scattered, with many of its people settled in Ireland and Denmark. Much of the tribe of Zebulun is in Holland. A large portion of the tribe of Gad is located inside Switzerland. These tribes of Israel (the clay) have mingled with the seed of man, the Gentile nations (the iron) (Daniel 2:43). They have basically lost their identity. This will be part of the lesson of the end time. Just as Israel tribes do not mix very well with the Gentile nations so also true Christians do not mix well with non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:14). The mistakes made by the children of Israel are for our example upon whom the ends of the earth are come (1 Corinthians 10:7-12). The point to all this is not to emphasize blood lines, which are of relative insignificance, but to realize that Christ’s headquarters will be run by people who are either physically or spiritually Israel. Who are the individuals who would be spiritually Israel? Christians, of course.
If you are Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).
The vile leader is also referred to as the willful king because of what Daniel wrote about him:
“…the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak extraordinary things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished for that that is determined shall be done” (Daniel 11:36).
His trademark is blasphemy. He will be speaking great marvelous things and blasphemy against God, His tabernacle and the host of heaven for a duration of 42 months (Revelation 13:5-6). That is three and a half years. He will have a huge appeal to many of the youth, particularly the foul-mouth singers who will find blasphemy to be something attractive to their mind set. In cycles, there exists a generation that curses their parents and are pure in their own eyes, having lofty eyes with eyelids lifted up (Proverbs 30:11-13).
But even though he will exalt himself above all gods, in secret he will be steeped in idolatry and in the worship of his own false god.
“Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for reward” (Daniel 11:39). He will likely be similar to the historical Antiochus Epiphanes who set up a statue of Zeus in the temple of God. However, he had the face sanded down and replaced with his own face so that he, in essence, was the one being worshipped.
The King James “holds” is from the Hebrew “mibstar”, meaning fortress. The King James “most strong” is from the Hebrew “maowz”, meaning place of safety. This world class dictator will occupy a place of safety as his headquarters because eventually the population will begin to be aware that he is the beast and he will see the need for special protection because of how hated he will be. To indicate this will be a time of “big brother” society is an understatement of huge proportions.
The ultimate in human misery will occur at the end, just ahead of us. It will be a time of trouble unparalleled in human history.
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1-2).
Jerusalem today is a corrupt and violent city. There is coming a time when Jerusalem will no longer be like Sodom and Egypt (Revelation 11:8). It will become the headquarters for the government of God, teaching us how to live without oppression and evil (Isaiah 2:2-4).
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04.02.09
Posted in Meditation at 6:46 pm by Meditation
“Jesus answered and said unto her, Anyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again: However, whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
When trying to be healthy, people sometimes give up salt. Much of this is a failure to focus upon the real problem – an imbalance between salt and potassium and the failure to take in a regular dose of water. Sometimes, switching from a land salt to a sea salt is a healthy alternative.
“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6). This is a part of walking in wisdom (verse 5).
How can our speech be seasoned with salt? What does that mean? Christ said his disciples should be the salt of the earth:
“You are the salt of the earth: But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).
What did Christ mean by salt?
Salt is a preservative and anyone who is a disciple of Christ will be careful to preserve the truth of God and share it with all who are able to receive it.
Sadly, most people are not salty.
“…strait [is] the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Webster’s describes the “salt of the earth” as “the scattered elite”.
“…every sacrifice shall be salted with salt” (Mark 9:49). We shall present our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). Our bodies should have salt.
What exactly does the attribute of saltiness consist of?
Salt has a healthy function in a healthy body. It causes the body to desire water. Water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). Salt causes a desire for water.
So being salty consists of sparking an enthusiastic interest in others resulting in causing a person to desire the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In other words, thanks to the salt, new Christians will be thirsty for the living water, the Holy Spirit.
“He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…)” (John 7:38-39).
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If we are disciples of Christ, then we need to become conduits of the Holy Spirit. And the presence of salt will cause a more abundant distribution of the living water, the Spirit of God.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
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Posted in Meditation at 12:17 pm by Meditation
Sometimes, it is necessary to distinguish the true God from the false gods. One distinguishing feature of the true God is the fact that He is the Creator. All other gods have had to be created by the mind of man. The other distinguishing feature of the real God is his association with three people: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 4:5). Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob.
“He is the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of accuracy and without iniquity, just and right [is] he” (Deuteronomy 32:4).
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“For the Eternal’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:9-10).
The King James “apple” is the Hebrew “iyshown”, which is the pupil of the eye. It is, in other words, the focus of his attention. The focus of God’s attention was Jacob. There had to be a tribe of people on this planet that was an example of contact with God. Jacob’s children were destined to become that tribe. And by becoming the example tribe, they experienced the most wonderful blessings when they were obedient to God. They became the collective example to be a guide for those generations later who would become Christians.
“And if you [be] Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
“Keep my commandments, and live, and my law as the apple of your eye” (Proverbs 7:2). A son should keep the commandments of his father as the apple of his eye, the focus of his attention, the pupil of his eye. We should honor our parents. We should give special honor to the ultimate Parent, our Creator. If we focus our attention on His law then He will focus his attention on us. If we refuse to hear His law, even our prayer becomes an abomination (Proverbs 28:9).
The fact that we, as humans, are unable to keep the commandments of God perfectly by our own effort is the reason salvation had to be provided as a gift (Ephesians 2:8). Through the grace of God, the sacrifice of Christ, the death of the Messiah, we may transcend the human condition of sin. Salvation is a gift. We can throw the gift away or we can keep it. This is the important question for all of us. Christ will not accept anyone into his kingdom that he does not know. The heart (or center) of the mind is the controller for the decision-making and the judgment. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). We must change our focus in order to transform our evil heart. This process of salvation involves being drawn to Christ by the Father (John 6:44), acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ (Ephesians 5:2), and trusting the Father to direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Christians who overcome will be granted power over the nations (Revelation 2:26). They will be inhabitants in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12) that will come to this planet. Addressing the future inhabitants of Jerusalem, it has been written: “For thus says the Lord of hosts; After the glory has he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8). The King James “apple” is from the Hebrew “babah”, which also means pupil of the eye. The King James “his” is one of the emendations of the sopherim. The sopherim were copyists who thought it was sacrilegious to assign anthropomorphic designations to the Lord of hosts. They did not want to admit God had body parts. They wanted to think of God as being a blob. The text without the emendation should read: “…he that touches you touches the apple of My eye.”
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Wily Elder
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Posted in Meditation at 6:16 am by Meditation
“But now, after you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?” (Galatians 4:9).
This portion of Galatians revolves around the theme of profound adoption or son-ship to the Father (verse 6). We know that, if we are obedient, we are a friend to Christ (John 15:14-15) and Christ indicated that if we have seen him (Christ), then we have, in essence, seen the Father (John 14:9). Therefore it is logical that our son-ship or daughter-ship to the Father should be so good we can call him “Abba” (Daddy) or address him by His Hebrew name. This is parallel gesture of both familiarity and respect, something that is not an easy human custom. However, the extreme tragedy, as outlined in verse 9 is the fact that some had come to that exuberant point of spiritual growth and then allowed themselves to slide back to the weak and beggarly elements. The King James “weak” is from the Greek word “asthenes”, meaning: weak, infirm, feeble, sick, impotent, having no strength. The King James “beggarly” is from the Greek “Ptochos”, meaning: destitute, helpless, poor with a secondary meaning of lacking in understanding drawing a parallel between a wealth of riches and a wealth of knowledge. The bondage (from the Greek “douleuo”) is real bondage, real slavery and also a metaphoric slavery, in this case, giving service to demons, those who are not gods (verse 8). At the base of idolatry is the worship of demons. We know pure angels will always refuse to be worshipped (Revelation 22:8-9).
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“You observe days, and months, and times, and years” (verse 10). Here Paul is pointing out another element in their ritualistic behavior. Their observance of days, months, times (seasons) and years, was a key element of falling away. Worshippers of Dagon would be sure to eat sea creatures on sixth day of the week and their leaders would wear giant fish head hats, pointing to the sky, in defiance of God. Certain Pagans would fast on specific days of the week. The people addressed here by Paul were turning again to what they originally did, returning to their vomit (Proverbs 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22). Religious sects in and around the Roman empire had a “god” for every day of the year. The admonition Paul gave is a little different than the message Isaiah delivered. “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates…” (Isaiah 1:14). Isaiah emphasizes “…your…feasts…” as opposed to His feasts. Paul cites no differentiation between man’s days and God’s days. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it would seem that one could even observe God’s days and do so from a strictly ritualistic approach, without appreciation that God’s days reveal the plan of God and the hope encapsulated within salvation. Within the context, however, Paul is likely addressing the very same ritualism and the same idolatry that we see in the standard religion today. And it remains just as controversial now as it was then. There is no easy way to eject a person from man’s tradition. Usually a man, convinced against his will, holds the same opinion still.
“But, in vain they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).
Wily Elder
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Posted in Meditation at 2:01 am by Meditation
In the Apocalypse , Christ revealed that he would return quickly. This is stated in the second to the last verse in the Bible (Revelation 22:20). There are many who might complain that his return has not been quick at all. However the Lord is able to expand time from one day to a thousand years and buffer time from a thousand years to one day (2 Peter 3:8). So, from Christ’s perspective, Revelation was written day before yesterday.
Being a Christian is, at times, a trial. We should never be ashamed of being a Christian.
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes into the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
In the last three and a half years before the end there will be a world dictator who will think to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). For many this will be a non-issue. Many will just say, “So what?”
Beast Mark
Even though Romans are pagans we generally make use of the Roman calendar to make appointments because the Roman calendar is universally used over the entire world. Early Roman calendars had 304 days made up of 10 months. They ignored the 60 days that fell in the dead of winter. Those days occurred, just like they do now, but they were not on the Roman calendar. The Romans just considered them as the passing of time. The first two months were Maritus and Aprilis, equivalent to March and April.
Romulus, in the late 690’s BC added January and February to the end of the calendar. January was named after the pagan god, Janus, the two-faced god. Janus was supposed to be the god that opens doors. The worship of this god was in direct opposition to the true Messiah, Christ, who is the one who really opens doors that no one can shut (Revelation 3:7). When the twelve-month Roman calendar went into effect, the month of February was manipulated to try to adjust to the solar year. Between 22 and 23 days would be added to February every other year in order to make the adjustment. In 46 BC the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar moved the new year from March first to January first. A few Romans still kept March first as the new year. Of course, the people of God kept God’s new year (Exodus 12:1-2) on God’s calendar, which would begin in the Spring, much of the time in April on the Roman calendar. The majority of Romans in the world of that day referred to them as the April fools.
“…God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Eventually, the Roman calendar floated the months out of season. So Julius Caesar decreed that the year we now know as 46 BC would be 445 days long to make up the difference. Then to insure that difference would not creep back in, Julius Caesar added one day to February every 4 years, inventing the simple leap year. This became the Julian calendar.
Eventually the Julian fix also proved not to be enough. It was based on the premise that the solar year was 365 and one-quarter days long. They were off the mark. The Julian calendar compared to the solar year is a difference of 11 minutes and 14 seconds. This short time interval each year caused a gradual shifting of the Roman calendar months. In 1580 AD, the Roman calendar showed the Spring equinox as falling on March 11 instead of March 21. Once again a fix was needed. So Pope Gregory XIII ordered that 10 days be dropped from the calendar. Thursday October 4 was followed by Friday October 15 (The Weekly Cycle, Page 10, Bible Advocate Press). Notice days of the month were dropped but there was no interruption of the weekly cycle. Pope Gregory also added an extra day to February in century years that could be divided by 400. Year 2000 is an example. This is the Gregorian calendar which most people use for conducting their civil (non-religious) activities. Now, using the Gregorian calendar, the difference between the Roman calendar and the length of a solar year is 26 seconds. The willful King at the end of time may use the 26-second difference as an excuse to invent a new calendar. But it will still be a Roman calendar.
We all have a chemical existence. If we are to transcend the chemical existence (be resurrected from the dead some time in the future), it will be only through one individual, Jesus (Yoshua) Christ of Nazareth (Acts 4:10-12). Buddha can’t do it. Mohammed can’t do it. Krishna can’t do it. Satan can’t do it. Ram can’t do it. Mary can’t do it. The saints can’t do it. Only Christ can do it. And only the Father can draw you to Christ.
“No man can come unto me except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). At the time Christ was lifted up to be crucified, he became the only individual through whom eternal life would be possible. There is no other avenue.
Someone may ask you, “You’re not one of those Christians, are you?”
Correct answer is, “yes.”, presuming, of course, that you are indeed, a Christian.
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