My many thanks to both the author and Signs magazine, for this work. (John B)
Note(JB): Sorry to all who have been deceived by men, but Jesus was NOT born on December 25th, That's the Pagan Winter Solstice you are celebrating! Read carefully Luke chapter one, and knowing that the Course of Abia, a Jewish festival week, falls on our June 13-19th, then use the information found in Luke chapter one, and come to see that Christ was born around August 25th, John the Baptist was was conceived 6 months previous, Vs.24, 26, 36, 41, 44.67-68, 80.
December 25 th being the birthday of Jesus, is but a Pagan myth, a holdover from Babylon, perpetuated by Rome, as one of their many "Traditions.," of men! Sunday worship, infant baptism, eternal soul, at death go up or down, priestly forgiveness, { JB, If this is total forgiveness, then why do they have purgatory? One is forgiven or not?}indulgences { prepaid sins??}, plus 100's of their laws, not found in scripture?+
Matthew 23:9 " And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."
Mark 7:9 " And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
John 14:15 " If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Exodus 20:1 " And God spake all these words, saying, Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. "
What day is this?
Genesis 2:1-3 "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."
Note(JB) Please do not tell me, that nobody in the Catholic Church, not ever read these verses? Instead they reject the Words of the Bible for their own "Traditions", and call the Sabbath a Jewish law from the Old Testament! All the4 while there's not even a hint, in any verse of Scripture that authorises the change from Sabbath ,meaning REST. [ He had rested from all His work, which God created and made] Do Y O U really need to be hit over the head, with a hammer, before these facts sink in?
NOTE(JB): CChristianity, with Seventh-day worship is the true faith that Jesus gave all, ALL the others are but man-made, period! Question: "Can man save man, or self?"
NO!
Glen Robinson's reflections of Christ's decisions:
A mountaineer got lost while climbing the Alps, or so the story goes...... After days of stumbling around in a blizzard, he found a mountain pass that led into a valley that no one from the outside world had visited for centuries. In this valley he found a community of people who had survived for generations with no eyesight.
When he tried to describe to these people the beauty of the night sky, the color of a sunset, the joy of seeing an other's smile, the valley people were at first confused, then convinced that he was insane. Because no one they knew, could see, thus this experience was far beyond their understanding. In fact, they had no words in their vocabulary to understand what he was describing.
Over time, the mountaineer met a young woman of the valley and they fell in love. When they told the villagers, that they wanted to get married, and knowing the joys of that young man's sight, and of the outside world, would over time corrupt their community. They told him that he could stay, and get married only if he agreed to have his eyes blinded, so that he would be as everyone else. Torn between his appreciation of his eyesight and his love for the young woman, the mountaineer, finally agreed to meet their condition. The night before the wedding ceremony and the ceremony that would blind him, he took a walk to enjoy the night sky one last time. He climbed ever higher and higher on th4e mountain that he rose far above the village, That's when he spotted that he had come to the very pass through which he entered the valley. Keeping his sight would be but a simple matter, of walking through the pass, and keeping his sight,j and return to the outer world.
The conflict between his love for his fiance` and his love for his sight raged within him, but finally his love for the lady, was the greater, and love of the heart won out. He returned to the valley and have his sight removed, for ever, and become a married man.
What a conflict! What a decision! What a great love he had!
Yes, this is only a story and a fictional one at that, but the Bible tells a story, in which the Hero, of it, accepts a handicap that will restrict Him for eternity--- all because of love!
NOW LET'S SUPPOSE...... THAT ABOUT 2,000 years ago God the Son had looked at the sacrifice He would have to make. To be born of a woman,as a helpless babe, born in a manger, and then to die on a Cross, after being wiped so badly that His ribs were exposed, and decided that the price was far to high? Can Y O U just imagine, what life would be like for humanity, if this was His decision?
(Note(JB): Then He'd go back to heaven with which He was so familiar with! How long would it have taken Satan the devil, to have convinced one-half of the people to murder the other half? Surely by then, Satan would have seen the last man living to be killed!
NOTE(JB):
FORTUNATELY, THAT did not happen, as Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be treated as e was, and the human part of Him died on the Cross that Friday, before the Sabbath, at 3 PM. Thus He observed the Holy Sabbath resting in the tomb! As He was both 100% God and 100% flesh Man, We will not be able to fully grasp this idea, but Jesus jis still now and evermore a flesh man, nor longer able to become in a Spirit form, as can The Father and the Holy Spirit. Yet do we humans in these flesh/clay vessels, fully understand what Jesus allowed to be done to Him? Plus the WHY?
Look at what Jesus needed to do: (1) He could have taken the place of an Angel, but did not.
(2) He took instead the place of flesh-man, as a born of woman child. Thus He made TWO STEPS DOWN!
IF you or I, take two steps down, step one equals the animals, step two equals the insects.... WHO in order to save another, would volunteer to become an insect, for the eternity? Christ took two steps down, did He not? WHY Jesus?
Genesis 2:7 " And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
John 1:1-3 " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
NOTE(JB): All can now see, that it was Jesus Christ whom was the Creative Agent, The Father used, to created all the Cosmos out of nothing! And until we allow self to be nothing, {die to self] He can't use us fully! Thus only HE was able to pay the price if sin for us all.
THE SIN PROBLEM:
Consider God's problem. During the 4,000 years from Adam to Christ, the people had been fully exposed to sins, and their views of The Father, had become increasingly distorted. Every deviate interpretation of His character had been made an object of worship. Some believed Him to be an overbearing tyrant and had come to believe that they needed to give as a sacrifice of their own children, min order to appease Him! While others viewed Him as a weak, permissive being interested only in a good time, worshiped Him with acts of prostitution, bestiality or gluttony. in drunken food and sex orgies.
In the name of their gods, the strong overwhelmed the weak, and the rich dominated the poor. Apathy and greed flourished, and love and charity withered away!
NOTE(JB) In Genesis 6-11 find the account of what God did the last time He took action against sin, in the world-wide flood!
God knew that to salvage the situation, He couldn't simply speak to the people, in over-powering tones, as He did from Mt. Sinai. NO, to teach humanity what He was really like, in such a way they'd not forget, He would provide them with a living example of His character in the terms all would understand. In a world where God was an unfocused reflection of humanity's own selfish desires, He would have to be focused into a Being who was the essence of both Divinity and Humanity.
Now, imagine that Y O U are unencumbered by time and space, able to be everywhere at once, with limitless power available to you at any time. Then Y O U can understand how being born in Bethlehem as Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, changed God the Son forever. At His birth Jesus Christ, took on also the human nature, upon Himself,permanently, including being in one place at a time.
NOTE(JB): This is how HE, Jesus became the Son of God, by being born of woman as a human yet God child! The how we can't yet know, if ever!
Before Jesus became both God and man,, we could only hear about God in the Old Testament, what He was like and what kind of character He is. When Christ became a man, humans being could, for the first time actually SEE GOD IN THE FLESH, AND WHAT HE WAS LIKE....
John 14:9 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"
DO WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE JESUS MAKES?
We recognize that Jesus' death on the Cross made heaven possible for us. But what of His life? What difference did it make?
FIRST:
By living on earth as a human being, Jesus challenged the conventional judgment and even the moral values of the time. Greed, selfishness, and the lust for power influence our judgments more than we realize. The concern for others that Jesus' life fully reflected was just as disturbing to the statues quo at His time as it is for you and me to reveal to the community of blind people what's it like to see. Jesus' example turned conventional wisdom, about love and morality,... on its ear.
SECOND.
Jesus taught us that motive rather than performance is what counts. Remember the story about the Emperor's new clothes? They were invisible, "Sewn" by a clever tailor who, aware of the king's vanity, claimed that fools would not be able to see them. Afraid of being recognized for the fools they were, everyone, including the king, went along with the charade. It tool a young boy's stare, to state the obvious and draw attention to the king's lack of both britches and good sense.
Living in sin is much like that. We're all inadequate: we all have selfish motives. Yet we go through our lives desperately seeking to ignore the obvious. Let a little honesty creep in, and we're suddenly presented to the rest of the world as the emperor without his clothes....no longer regal, in a desperate need of something to cover us up. Jesus exposes our dishonesty, our spiritual nakedness. Yet He tears us down, to build us back up.
THIRD.
Jesus showed us that a positive approach is most effective at bringing out the best in people. Jesus didn't need to condemn men and woman as miserable sinners. His mere presence revealed to them their moral shortcomings. Then He called them to look at the world from a different perspective, to center their lives on God, instead of things, or on themselves. This message led some people to seek spiritual wholeness. Others, in turning from it, headed down the path of anger and resentment that eventually led them out of His presence and even into conspiring to get rid of Him.
IMAGINE, if you will, a cluster of flowers struggling to grow in a deep ravine, covered in junk and surrounded by tall trees, which hides the sun. Then a landscaping crew comes by, removes all the junk, thins the trees, allowing brilliant sunshine to pour down on the plants.
Overwhelmed by the full sunshine some plants wither and die-- {Perhaps wishing, if possible, that things return as they were] Others, still shaded, continue as before, but a few of the plants withstand the initial shock of their exposure to the full light of the sun {or full light of god's truth]. They soon are basking in its light... and flourishing and multiplying beyond all previous idea, as to what their potential was.
Such is our relationship with Him, we realize that His power is overwhelming. But if we welcome it and allow Him to change our characters, we'll flourish to a degree we had never before realized we could!
THE POWER OF LOVE:
NOTE(jb): God uses only truth and love, something Satan never will, but he uses all other weapons, to deceive, to separate mankind, from God! Never take the words of men for the Word of God, learn that from the Holy Bible!
Finally, Jesus' life teaches us a proper appreciation of the power of love, Jesus revealed to us that most of us love selfishly and limit our love to a chosen few. He showed us that the most important thing any of us can do in life is to reflect the love God has shown us, to reflect it by loving our fellow humans.
Modern society talks a great deal about love, and how it can change the world-- and one's personal life. But society's attempts as loving merely results in the increased rates of divorce, child pornography, incest and terrorism, making it obvious that most people have no clue or idea,what real love is! Chances are very great, they'll never understand this kind of love until they learn where it all comes from... God. Not that He created it: He is LOVE....
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 " Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
NOTE(JB) Love and charity, are the two sides of the same coin.
When we ask for the Holy Spirit to reside within our hearts/minds, He'll teach us God's truths, and re-build our characters, to eventually reflect the character of God.
Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he [ the Holy Spirit] which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
NOTE(JB) All of God's promises are conditional, upon one's acceptance of Jesus Christ's gift of salvation for sins.His Love for us all is unconditional, there's nothing we can do to remove this!
Our harried lifestyles the word awe, has lost its impact, when the Bible speaks to fear God, it meas to be in awe of, to revere Him, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins, how much more can He do to show His love for Y O U?
The community of the Blind people in the story, they could not ever understand what the loss of sight meant, to one who has it. Yet with his agreement to be blinded, MUST have showed to all the depth of His love for that woman!
Matthew 1:23-25 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
Suppose He had decided that the Cross was just too high a price to pay, what would have been the result?
Fortunately, Jesus made the decision to pay the price, for all, for all time, that's why YOU and I can celebrate His birth.
Thanking Y O U for for your time. Questions? Comments? John at www.servant@frontier.com
Want more? Visit your Seventh-day Adventist Church, any Saturday/Sabbath at 9-10 AM. Knowing that Jesus died for your passage to eternal live, if you so desire it, you'll surrender your will to Him.
Other sites: AFTV.org BLBN.org redeem.international amazingdiscoveries.org itiswrittem.com
servantsite@wordpress.com
cc/jb
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
"The Rich Man and Lazarus" Marvin Moore, Signs of the Times Nov. 2017 Issue.
My many thanks to a great teacher,.M. Moore and This magazine. (John B)
Note(JB): Many teach, and many more accept this PARABLE, as a factual telling by Jesus, instead of what He used as a easy to understand, pictorial rendition of a actual fact. There's not now a burning hell, this is CONTRARY to the Bible's teachings, and that God does not punish anyone before his or her trial , the Judgment. Nor does He give eternal life to sinners in order to continually punish and torture sinners. That would make mankind more Merciful and Just than God Himself! That just can not be so!
Marvin explains the why Jesus told this story.
Luke 16:19-31 " There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Jesus told this strange parable, about a rich man, and a beggar named Lazarus, the rich man was not named. While he lived in the lap of luxury while Lazarus, a beggar who lay at the rich man's gate, was covered with sores, and had very little to eat. In due time, both men died, and Angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom, but the rich man ended up in torment in the hell's fires. The rich man looked up and Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called out to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip if his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire".
"But Abraham replied, "son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he's comforted her43e and you are in agony. Besides all this, between us and
you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you, can not, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."
The rich man begged Abraham so send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them about the dangers of hell, but Abraham said, "They have Moses and the Prophets: let them listen to them."
No. Father Abraham, said the protesting rich man, "If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." To this Abraham replied:...LUKE 16:23-31, as you've already read, above!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ALL DIE?
As far as I know, ALL Christians believe that there is life, after death. That after all in one of the central teachings of the New Testament. Jesus died for us, so that :Whosoever, believeth on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.[John 3:16] Plus Jesus own words in...
John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
Sadly, however, there are two divergent vies about what happens when we each die. Some believe the human teachings, that at death our bodies go to grave, but our soul/spirit goes to his or her reward, heaven or Hell, or its "Half-Way House"- Purgatory, or even into limbo, the unknown. Now at first glance, this story seems to support the teachings of humans, after all Jesus said that Lazarus went to
Abraham's bosom-- a Jewish Idiom that meant paradise-- and the rich man went to hell. However there are good reasons to question that understanding of Jesus' story.
1. They know not the Bible.......
Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Note(JB): man became what???" A Living Soul" Therefore a soul is NOT any ADD-ON" it is what we become at conception, a living human being. SOUL/SPIRIT/BREATH OF LIFE , are used almost in all cases as interchangeable, one for the other! So how did men, get to this point? Look-------
Genesis 2:17 " But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
God's words still echoed in the Garden, when Satan told Eve this....
...Genesis 3:4 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
That's Satan's first recorded lie, in the Word of God, as he, Satan, used a serpent to be his ventriloquist "Dummy".
2. Can anyone imagine that The Father- God, who gave His Son to be sin for us, to die for our sins, a Father who loves us that much, would in fact put Heaven and hell so close together that each can see the other, and that the saints can see and hear their "Uncle Charlie" screaming in agony, while being turned very. very slowly over the ages, in a piece of crispy bacon? Is YOUR God, this cruel, more so than any despot of human history? THINK!
3. Furthermore, those who teach and believe that hell is ongoing right now also teach that body stays on earth in the grave, but that the soul, or spirit goes on to heaven or hell, as a disembodied something. Yet in Jesus' parable both Lazarus and the rich man had physical bodies, as Lazarus was asked to put his physical finger in water, and let it drip on the rich man's tongue, right? Why not beg Lazarus, to throw a bucket of water, on himself? After all, burns to any one's flesh, creates intense pains, so why or how, did the rich man have the wherewithal in this pain to discuss anything with Abraham?
SO WHY DID JESUS TELL THIS STORY?
1. Please note the reversal of fortunes in the 'after-life'. The rich man lived very sumptuous in his earthly existence, very opposite of of Lazarus, yet both saw a 108 degree of fortune in heaven, agree? As Mr. Moore goes on the explain, this story has roots, Greek Jewish and Egyptian cultures, about the reversal of fortunes, if you will, in heaven's after-life. Yet the basic question remains why did Jesus tell this parable?
To answer this we need to look closer, at the application He made of it. When Abraham refused to cool the rich man's tongue with a drop of water, the rich man asked that someone from the dead, to go and warn his five brothers, about their ultimate destiny, they each would face, if they mended not their ways.
To which Abraham replied that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets to instruct them about how to prepare for the next life.
"No, Father Abraham, if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." To which Abraham replied, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even fi someone rises from the dead"
THE SETTING OF THIS PARABLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
Now let's look at the setting in which Jesus told this parable, [ {note JB) a parable is a story using words as pictures, to symbolize a truth] this story. He'd spent at least three years teaching the people and healing their diseases. During this time He's done His best to win the minds and hearts of the Jewish leaders, but they'd resisted, { not6e they rather cling to the ways they were taught by other men, rather than Jesus Himself! Sound familiar today?] On the contrary, they did their best to get of Him, even to the point of plotting His death!......
Matthew 12:14-15 "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;"
So, Jesus gave them a warning, in the verbal form of this parable. Now if Y O U think the name is a co-incident, please consider His resurrection of Lazarus, a full four days after his death, at which his sister Martha, pleaded with Jesus not to open his tomb, for he "Stinketh" [John 11:39] As it was but a few months Latter that the real Lazarus was brought back form the dead. The Priests tried to kill him also tried to kill Lazarus!
Ecclesiastes 1:9 " The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
When the world's governments declare that Sunday worship is the law of the land, it shall be the so-called Christians, who blame us for the trials of Revelation and ...
John 16:2 "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.".........; Note (JB) Is this not so today with radical Islam or the Roman church in the Dark ages... believe as we say, or die? Nothing new under the Sun, right?
Note(JB) Why did Jesus wait the four full days, before resurrecting Martha's Brother Lazarus? To counter the common Greek belief, which still was wide spread in these lands, that the soul would leave the body, on the third day.Plus, please take note, Jesus said "Lazarus, come forth.." He did not say, "Come up" nor did He say "Come down", again to counter the false fact that at death the body and soul separate, the body goes into the grave and the soul goes it its reward, up or down!
NOW, IF Lazarus was already in heaven, can you imagine his state of mind, to find himself back on this sin filled world? Still wrapped up in the funeral cloths? Can you see just the words and imaginations of men, just keep painting themselves into the Biblical corners, so to speak?
And following the resurrection of Lazarus, some of the observers of the miracle, ran to report to the Pharisees what had happened. "Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin"
" ' What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "here is this man performing many signs. If we we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and then the Romans will come and take away both our Temple and our Nation.' "Then Caiaphas, who was a high priest, that year, spoke up. 'You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for for you, that one4 man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
John 11:46-50 "But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."
John 11:53-54 "Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples."
Note(JB): These people were a perfect example of the point Jesus made, i n this parable.Simply due to the fact, they believed the words of men over the Word of God! This is still so, even today, when most homes have at least one Bible, that few ever read, and fewer even study! No Wonder..... Satan finds us so easy to deceive,, with his lies, .... right?
THE SETTING OF JESUS' STORY.
Now let's look at the setting in which Jesus told this parable,. A parable with facts, so out of line with the whole Bible, that He knew people would not take the facts seriously, but symbolically! He's spent at least three years teaching, the people, and healing their diseases. During all this tim3e He's done His best to win their minds and hearts, with the only means available to Him. Love and Truth, whereas Satan will never use either, but every thing else including murder. But He never did win over the Jewish leaders, but for a few exceptions. They even plotted His death....
Matthew 12:24 " But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
NOTE(JB) They even accused Him of being on the Devils' side, thus His answer...
Matthew 12:25-28" And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
This is the reason for His parable, as warning to men who think they know better than God!
Proverbs 14:12 " There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Note(JB): No doubt you've heard this before, "Those who drive like hell-- will get there" But here's what I draw from the Word of God.... "All who live like the devil, , without seeking repentance,nor forgiveness, will join him in the Lake of Fire."
But did this parable, achieve His desired results? NO! Remember Heaven uses nothing but pure love and truth, yet this only made harder their hearts, due to the fact that most resist change, and Jesus asked them to accept His ways of thinking, and this they rejected both Him and His message. Just as it still....... today!
As the medium for conveying this lesson, Jesus adapted a story about a reversal of fortunes that was so absurd in some details, that most would not take it literally. Sadly many do then and even now!
The Spiritual lesson He gave then, applies just as much to all of us today! It's as imperative that you and I make the Bible our foundation of our faith, today, as it was in Jesus' day! If you will surrender to the will of Christ, then you'll be able to ask Lazarus, about his experiences, and allow the rich and selfish to swim with Satan in the Lake of Fire, which is Brimstone, or sulfur that burns at 2300 degrees F!
Malachi 4:1 "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Malachi 4:3 " And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."
Note(JB): No such thing in the Holy Bible, about a forever punishments, but the results are forever, as there's no resurrection available for all who have CHOSEN the Second Death!
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." [ Revelation 2:11, 20:14, 21:8]
Thanking Y O U for your time, Questions? Comments? John at servant@frontier.com
Want/Need more? Visit your Seventh-day Adventist Church, any Saturday/Sabbath at 9-10 AM, and learn that all of Heaven loves you so very much, that The Father sent Jesus to die for our sins!
Other sites: aftv.org blbn.org amazingdiscoveries.org redeem.international itiswritten.com
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Note(JB): Many teach, and many more accept this PARABLE, as a factual telling by Jesus, instead of what He used as a easy to understand, pictorial rendition of a actual fact. There's not now a burning hell, this is CONTRARY to the Bible's teachings, and that God does not punish anyone before his or her trial , the Judgment. Nor does He give eternal life to sinners in order to continually punish and torture sinners. That would make mankind more Merciful and Just than God Himself! That just can not be so!
Marvin explains the why Jesus told this story.
Luke 16:19-31 " There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Jesus told this strange parable, about a rich man, and a beggar named Lazarus, the rich man was not named. While he lived in the lap of luxury while Lazarus, a beggar who lay at the rich man's gate, was covered with sores, and had very little to eat. In due time, both men died, and Angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom, but the rich man ended up in torment in the hell's fires. The rich man looked up and Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called out to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip if his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire".
"But Abraham replied, "son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he's comforted her43e and you are in agony. Besides all this, between us and
you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you, can not, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."
The rich man begged Abraham so send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them about the dangers of hell, but Abraham said, "They have Moses and the Prophets: let them listen to them."
No. Father Abraham, said the protesting rich man, "If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." To this Abraham replied:...LUKE 16:23-31, as you've already read, above!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ALL DIE?
As far as I know, ALL Christians believe that there is life, after death. That after all in one of the central teachings of the New Testament. Jesus died for us, so that :Whosoever, believeth on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.[John 3:16] Plus Jesus own words in...
John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
Sadly, however, there are two divergent vies about what happens when we each die. Some believe the human teachings, that at death our bodies go to grave, but our soul/spirit goes to his or her reward, heaven or Hell, or its "Half-Way House"- Purgatory, or even into limbo, the unknown. Now at first glance, this story seems to support the teachings of humans, after all Jesus said that Lazarus went to
Abraham's bosom-- a Jewish Idiom that meant paradise-- and the rich man went to hell. However there are good reasons to question that understanding of Jesus' story.
1. They know not the Bible.......
Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Note(JB): man became what???" A Living Soul" Therefore a soul is NOT any ADD-ON" it is what we become at conception, a living human being. SOUL/SPIRIT/BREATH OF LIFE , are used almost in all cases as interchangeable, one for the other! So how did men, get to this point? Look-------
Genesis 2:17 " But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
God's words still echoed in the Garden, when Satan told Eve this....
...Genesis 3:4 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
That's Satan's first recorded lie, in the Word of God, as he, Satan, used a serpent to be his ventriloquist "Dummy".
2. Can anyone imagine that The Father- God, who gave His Son to be sin for us, to die for our sins, a Father who loves us that much, would in fact put Heaven and hell so close together that each can see the other, and that the saints can see and hear their "Uncle Charlie" screaming in agony, while being turned very. very slowly over the ages, in a piece of crispy bacon? Is YOUR God, this cruel, more so than any despot of human history? THINK!
3. Furthermore, those who teach and believe that hell is ongoing right now also teach that body stays on earth in the grave, but that the soul, or spirit goes on to heaven or hell, as a disembodied something. Yet in Jesus' parable both Lazarus and the rich man had physical bodies, as Lazarus was asked to put his physical finger in water, and let it drip on the rich man's tongue, right? Why not beg Lazarus, to throw a bucket of water, on himself? After all, burns to any one's flesh, creates intense pains, so why or how, did the rich man have the wherewithal in this pain to discuss anything with Abraham?
SO WHY DID JESUS TELL THIS STORY?
1. Please note the reversal of fortunes in the 'after-life'. The rich man lived very sumptuous in his earthly existence, very opposite of of Lazarus, yet both saw a 108 degree of fortune in heaven, agree? As Mr. Moore goes on the explain, this story has roots, Greek Jewish and Egyptian cultures, about the reversal of fortunes, if you will, in heaven's after-life. Yet the basic question remains why did Jesus tell this parable?
To answer this we need to look closer, at the application He made of it. When Abraham refused to cool the rich man's tongue with a drop of water, the rich man asked that someone from the dead, to go and warn his five brothers, about their ultimate destiny, they each would face, if they mended not their ways.
To which Abraham replied that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets to instruct them about how to prepare for the next life.
"No, Father Abraham, if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." To which Abraham replied, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even fi someone rises from the dead"
THE SETTING OF THIS PARABLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
Now let's look at the setting in which Jesus told this parable, [ {note JB) a parable is a story using words as pictures, to symbolize a truth] this story. He'd spent at least three years teaching the people and healing their diseases. During this time He's done His best to win the minds and hearts of the Jewish leaders, but they'd resisted, { not6e they rather cling to the ways they were taught by other men, rather than Jesus Himself! Sound familiar today?] On the contrary, they did their best to get of Him, even to the point of plotting His death!......
Matthew 12:14-15 "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;"
So, Jesus gave them a warning, in the verbal form of this parable. Now if Y O U think the name is a co-incident, please consider His resurrection of Lazarus, a full four days after his death, at which his sister Martha, pleaded with Jesus not to open his tomb, for he "Stinketh" [John 11:39] As it was but a few months Latter that the real Lazarus was brought back form the dead. The Priests tried to kill him also tried to kill Lazarus!
Ecclesiastes 1:9 " The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
When the world's governments declare that Sunday worship is the law of the land, it shall be the so-called Christians, who blame us for the trials of Revelation and ...
John 16:2 "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.".........; Note (JB) Is this not so today with radical Islam or the Roman church in the Dark ages... believe as we say, or die? Nothing new under the Sun, right?
Note(JB) Why did Jesus wait the four full days, before resurrecting Martha's Brother Lazarus? To counter the common Greek belief, which still was wide spread in these lands, that the soul would leave the body, on the third day.Plus, please take note, Jesus said "Lazarus, come forth.." He did not say, "Come up" nor did He say "Come down", again to counter the false fact that at death the body and soul separate, the body goes into the grave and the soul goes it its reward, up or down!
NOW, IF Lazarus was already in heaven, can you imagine his state of mind, to find himself back on this sin filled world? Still wrapped up in the funeral cloths? Can you see just the words and imaginations of men, just keep painting themselves into the Biblical corners, so to speak?
And following the resurrection of Lazarus, some of the observers of the miracle, ran to report to the Pharisees what had happened. "Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin"
" ' What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "here is this man performing many signs. If we we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and then the Romans will come and take away both our Temple and our Nation.' "Then Caiaphas, who was a high priest, that year, spoke up. 'You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for for you, that one4 man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
John 11:46-50 "But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."
John 11:53-54 "Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples."
Note(JB): These people were a perfect example of the point Jesus made, i n this parable.Simply due to the fact, they believed the words of men over the Word of God! This is still so, even today, when most homes have at least one Bible, that few ever read, and fewer even study! No Wonder..... Satan finds us so easy to deceive,, with his lies, .... right?
THE SETTING OF JESUS' STORY.
Now let's look at the setting in which Jesus told this parable,. A parable with facts, so out of line with the whole Bible, that He knew people would not take the facts seriously, but symbolically! He's spent at least three years teaching, the people, and healing their diseases. During all this tim3e He's done His best to win their minds and hearts, with the only means available to Him. Love and Truth, whereas Satan will never use either, but every thing else including murder. But He never did win over the Jewish leaders, but for a few exceptions. They even plotted His death....
Matthew 12:24 " But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
NOTE(JB) They even accused Him of being on the Devils' side, thus His answer...
Matthew 12:25-28" And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
This is the reason for His parable, as warning to men who think they know better than God!
Proverbs 14:12 " There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Note(JB): No doubt you've heard this before, "Those who drive like hell-- will get there" But here's what I draw from the Word of God.... "All who live like the devil, , without seeking repentance,nor forgiveness, will join him in the Lake of Fire."
But did this parable, achieve His desired results? NO! Remember Heaven uses nothing but pure love and truth, yet this only made harder their hearts, due to the fact that most resist change, and Jesus asked them to accept His ways of thinking, and this they rejected both Him and His message. Just as it still....... today!
As the medium for conveying this lesson, Jesus adapted a story about a reversal of fortunes that was so absurd in some details, that most would not take it literally. Sadly many do then and even now!
The Spiritual lesson He gave then, applies just as much to all of us today! It's as imperative that you and I make the Bible our foundation of our faith, today, as it was in Jesus' day! If you will surrender to the will of Christ, then you'll be able to ask Lazarus, about his experiences, and allow the rich and selfish to swim with Satan in the Lake of Fire, which is Brimstone, or sulfur that burns at 2300 degrees F!
Malachi 4:1 "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Malachi 4:3 " And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."
Note(JB): No such thing in the Holy Bible, about a forever punishments, but the results are forever, as there's no resurrection available for all who have CHOSEN the Second Death!
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." [ Revelation 2:11, 20:14, 21:8]
Thanking Y O U for your time, Questions? Comments? John at servant@frontier.com
Want/Need more? Visit your Seventh-day Adventist Church, any Saturday/Sabbath at 9-10 AM, and learn that all of Heaven loves you so very much, that The Father sent Jesus to die for our sins!
Other sites: aftv.org blbn.org amazingdiscoveries.org redeem.international itiswritten.com
serventsite@wordpress.com
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