PHOTOGRAPHED IN DIVINE LIGHT

 The word, “photograph,” was coined in 1839 when the photographic process was developed. It literally means “photo- graph,” or “light’ and “something written” (Online Etymology Dictionary). Light reveals a hidden object and photography records a momentous event, and essentially writes down that moment for posterity.

  Objects are unseen. When anyone looks at objects, they do not see the actual object, but the light reflected from that object. For instance, you have never seen the actual moon; what you see is the light of the sun reflected from the surface of the moon. That light objectifies the moon. Without the sun the moon would have never been objectified. Likewise, you have never seen your spouse or children, but only the light reflected from their flesh. In other words, you see the sun or artificial light reflected from them, and hence the light reveals your loved ones to your eyes.

  Light, if seen orthogonally (at a right angle), cannot be seen. What is seen is reflection of the sun’s rays off objects in space. The beautiful sky, for instance, is nothing more than light rays reflected off gases and particles in the heavens. The Greek word, “photo” means “light” and that is origin of the word “photo.”

  The Hebrew Christians were told to, “Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions” (Heb 10:32). Focus on “illuminated” in that passage… to what does it refer? Perhaps you have never been “illuminated.” The Greek for “illuminated” is “photizo,” meaning “enlightened” or “brought into the light.” You see things that you have never seen before — things that the world obscures!

  If anyone looks directly at the sun, they see unobscured light. Any particle in the sky is obliterated by the intensity of the light. The moon may obscure part of the sun, but never all of it. When there is an eclipse, the rays of the sun remain so intense that if someone looked thereon, they would be blinded.

  When people are illuminated, they see the light. “Light” in Holy Scripture is revealing the truth (Psalm 43:3). The Hebrews who had once known the truth were illuminated. At some time before, the Light had revealed the truth to them. “Illumination” is understanding the truth; to wit: “Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’”. (John 8:12).

  Jesus also said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7) and revealed how that new person would be reborn. “Birth” is exposure to the light. When someone is born naturally, the moment of birth is when they leave the darkness of the womb and are exposed to the light in the world.

  Birth is the moment that light is reflected off the flesh of the newborn creature and he or she is revealed to the world. “Born again” is when the human soul is manifested from darkness and is exposed to the Light and truth of God.

  Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Pilate seemed to have been enlightened, “I find in Him no fault at all” (John 18:38). To what claim was Pilate enlightened? Jesus had just said, “I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37). Truth is hearing the Word of God. Everyone hears, but only a few are “enlightened.” Pilate heard Jesus, beleived the truth, but was he illuminated? No one knows, but that day, Herod and Pilate became friends. Why? Because they had a common enemy — those who were called “Christians.”

  “The Word” would be the recording process in photography. The mind of people is the medium for the recording. God flashes His light on everyone, “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house” (Ezek 12:2).

  Pilate heard the Voice of God and truth was revealed. He knew t he truth but did nothing with it. Truth was fleeting for him; the “Light flashed” but his mind was not captured. The mind is the storage device for the truth exposed by light. It is much like the film in a camera.

  What is enough exposure of the truth? During the exodus, most Hebrews knew the truth — that poisonous vipers would make them die. That was merely half the truth. Moses held up his old-fashioned projector. He captured the moment. His “projector” did not display the obvious thing — that the Serpent still kills, but that Jesus killed the Serpent!

  The brass serpent appeared blood red in the light of day. It was lifeless. The Hebrews who were enlightened focused on the dead serpent. Rather than seeing a dead viper, they saw that as trust in Jesus would overcome the Serpent of old! The very purpose, although, they would not see Jesus, was illuminated to their eyes. Our own illumination is when we see the light that the crucifixion of Jesus would diminish the serpent as much as Kryptonite would weaken Superman.

  Pilate recorded ultimate truth — that an innocent man would die. Unknown to him were two things: (1) That Jesus was even dying for Pilate’s own failure to record the event as truth, and (2) that the brazen Serpent, Judas with Satan in him, was dying nearby.

  He saw the actual crucifixion but did not see the negative image of the Antichrist also dying in his tree nearby in an anti-calvary — in the valley where Gehenna was. He failed to see that Satan was sent where he would never be seen again until the end of time when he would be destroyed forever.

  Many “Christians” to this day have been exposed to the light, but the “picture” never developed. They fail to see that Jesus did not die, but his crucifixion was the demise of Satan. Rebirth is seeing that picture and keeping it faithfully for Divine Preservation. Those who value that picture are preserved until it is fully developed.

  In photography, light exposes the existence of objects. It manifests objects to the eyes of people. When Christians understand that Satan is as dead, and that Jesus remains alive, their illuminated mind retains that picture because it has great value. For some, the negative was never processed, and they fail to ever see that picture. They should examine the Word more openly to see that Jesus is the very “picture” of God in that Jesus is God manifested. That is the Light revealed to mankind to make God believable and trustworthy. The Hebrew people needed objects (signs) for objectivity (1 Cor 1:22).

  The “picture” for the righteous Hebrews was the negative “photograph” of Jesus. The writer of Hebrews endeavored to process and develop that negative image of Jesus into a positive, or objective, evidence that Jesus is the image that they had seen in the negative all those centuries. Those who believed in Jesus saw that their God with a negative image when “developed” was the positive image of God, or Jesus.

  Jesus, when he was baptized by John, something changed, to wit: “The Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a Voice came from heaven, which said, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22). (There we know of the three Images of God in One). God did not change, and Jesus did not change. The picture was developed and the “film” processed in a “solution.” When Jesus came out of the water, the plainly seen picture of a mere carpenter was developed into the image of God. Jews had seen the “negative” image of Jesus, but when it was processed, many Jews saw the photographic process in action.

  “Like a dove” was the process but what developed was the invisible image of Jesus was seen by many of them, and that negative image was revealed as the very visible image of God Himself. To many of the Hebrews, finally, the image of their Personal God was no longer seen as a cloud or a fire, but as a Person.

  The Ghost of Jesus was exposed to them in the body shape of Christ. His “Ghost” even looked like Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar had seen that light centuries before in the fiery furnace. God had revealed the Light (Truth) to him, and he went from exalted to humbled! When Christians see the Light and are persuaded, they too are humbled when they see the Holy Ghost as the concealed Ghost of Jesus whose very image is the bodily shape of the Messiah. Can you not see that picture?

  The Holy Ghost as a “negative image” has two meanings. Of course, it has much ado with light. Whenever a negative is held up to the light the darkness is obscured, and the object is objectified. The Light reveals the truth. On the other hand, most of the Hebrews, excepting the patriarchs and prophets, when they saw the image of God, saw Jesus. God illuminated the negative image and they saw the positive image of the Savior.  

  Christians are to do the same. When we see the image of the Holy Ghost, we understand that the invisible image we see in our mind’s “eye” represents the real objective Jesus. Rather than seeing the Holy Ghost as a dove descending on the Person of Jesus, we see the Holy Ghost moving as a dove as the objective image of God. When the Holy Ghost is manifested through the Word, true Christians see that as much as Jesus as Adam did with the Voice of God in the Garden! Do you see Jesus now when the Holy Ghost presents Himself to you? Do you have eyes to see but are you blind to Jesus?

  The Law was a picture (shadow) of Jesus. It was the negative “photo” that only those with strong Light could see. For a while, the people saw the fully developed photo. Now that photo has been put in God’s picture album, but we still have the negative imaged Holy Ghost to remind us each day.

  The photographic process is after the film has been exposed to light. First, a protective gelatin is removed, then the film is converted with a developer. After that, the film is thoroughly washed. Compare that to Jesus.

  His photizo was much the same. He is the Image of His Father on whom light shined. The birth process was His protective barrier removed (the uterus), and at his birth, he was exposed to the harsh elements of the Earth. After that, Jesus was washed clean at His baptism. On that occasion, something unique happened to Him alone — after his Image was “fixed” with water from the Jordan, “Living Water” cleansed Him when the Holy Ghost came down as a dove would in flight. His fixing Agent was not a dove, but His Holy Ghost in bodily shape (i.e., His Ghost looked like Jesus).

  Like the Father at the transfiguration, that transformation was not for Jesus, but so that people could see and understand that the Holy Spirit and Jesus is one, much like the transfiguration that the Father and Jesus are One!

  Photizo must have three conditions: (1) a purpose for the “picture,” (2) the picture itself, and (3) the negative image to begin the process. “Negative” in this context is not negativity, but the undeveloped Image of God. The Image that only those can see who behold it through Light. God is the source of that Light, and His purpose for shining it is to reveal His images: first the Holy Spirit, then the angels, then mankind, and finally Jesus and the Holy Ghost of Jesus. Not that His photizo was not focused, but that the Image was so bright that His Ghost appeared.

  Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and King David saw the invisible image of God by the Light of God. There was a special “filter” that only the righteous could see beyond. John called that “filter” the “Sea of Glass” (Rev 15:2) which was crystalline with particles within that appeared as fire. Those were akin to the “chromogenic” material used to provide God in living color to their eyes.

  Unlike photographic processes, there was no need for reversal of the image. Angels and humans had reversed images with sin that required reversal, but Jesus was born without sin with no reversal process required. Jesus was never “born again” as he was not born in the first place. His Holy Spirit always existed even without the image made of flesh.

  For us humans, who were exposed to sin early on, there is an extra step in our process: We must be illuminated with special Light so that we know that we have been overexposed to the world and require correction; hence, photizo in scripture.

  That process allows us to see the unfiltered Light of God through the fog and contamination of the world. It is called “conviction.” Them, the photizo can either come to completion in the process or the film can be ruined for good. Some languish in the developing waters too long and remain there until the image is gone. They shall never be in the image of God and will perish with further exposure to the world.

  Those who are illuminated are changed. They become in the image of God just as Adam was created. That image does not develop immediately. It must remain in the protective bath of Living Waters until its image is clear, focused, and toned; the latter which is covered with a protective layer for permanence. Scripture calls that last process “sealed” with the Holy Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor 1:22).

No one can break the seal, but overexposure to the world can gradually erode it until the image begins to fade. Only by neglect of the new image can it be like the old again. The raw materials for the old image are there, just converted to a new image. Care must be taken to not revert photizo and return to the “dark room” of the Earth.

  How long for a photo to develop? Perhaps minutes. How long for our image to fully develop? Paul said it well, “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Remaining in Christ with the protection of the Living Waters of the Holy Spirit fully develops the negative image. When the body perishes, the image remains unscathed in Heaven awaiting regeneration in the image of the Second Adam. Full development is at the rapture when the negative image of the “ghost” enters in bodily shape to the new bodily image, and the faithful Christian is in Paradise where Adam and Jesus will rejoice with our entirely good image (Gen 1:31).

  Photography is slow and great care must be taken, not only in creating the environment for a great picture (a picture made as if in Paradise), but to position the image for the best shot, and finally for photizo. The set must be illuminated so well that the image is bright, sharp, and clear. Sacred literature refers to those so illuminated as having “bright natures” and “bright eyes” (1 Adam and Eve). Satan’s role is to expose the developing images to his own destructive rays (darts; Ephes 6:16) to destroy the image before it is fully developed, and the earlier the better for him!

  Photizo reveals the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The sinner is exposed to the Light of truth. Theologians say that the Holy Trinity, the entire image of God, is three Persons in one Image. Better said is that God is three Images in different modes to illuminate different peoples in different times. For instance, the Holy Spirit of the Old Testament is the Person Jesus, and the Person Jesus is the image of the Holy Ghost that protects Christians from gradually perishing during their exposure in this dark world wherein contaminating light shines through the clouds.

  The writer of Hebrews was concerned that the Jewish images of Christ would revert to the image of their previous father, the Devil. He gave fair warning to not overexpose themselves to the world and that their new image could indeed perish. 

(picture credit: 123rf.com)

 

ILLUSION OF SALVATION

 

  Most people believe as they have been taught. “The faith of our fathers” is a common expression. That is admirable because we are to honor our fathers, but more fitting is the faith of our Father. Not to disrespect my father, but there is no need to pray in the King James era English. Like my father, however, I have explored many denominations with differing doctrines. Dad was seeking the truth, and like Dad, I too have sought the truth. What did I find? That the truth cannot be found in churches, but only in the Word.

  Denominations all believe they have found the truth, even non-denominational ones, but their “truth” is always biased. Even “non-denominational” churches are “denominational,” and to believe otherwise is folly! Why is that? We all misunderstand the Doctrine of God. We tend to accept it as our forbears did. People invent doctrine, and to be truthful, everyone does that. Doctrine to be truth must offend sinners.

  People are citizens of the world; what is called “cosmopolitan.” We cannot let go of the doctrine of the world. That is the Doctrine of sin. Sin is easy. Righteousness comes with great tribulation.

  Satan’s motive is to make Christianity seem so difficult that it cannot be achieved. He does that by confusion. Many Christians are confused, but we are to know in whom we believe. We must not believe as our fathers, as the preacher or the priest, as the church, or as theologians; we must believe the ultimate truth.  Jesus is the Word (John 1) and He uttered the truth. He likewise inspired those He knew personally to utter the truth. The inspired Word of Jesus is the truth, and hence, only truth is “canon” and all else is doctrine. What anyone else writes is not truth, but their version (perversion) of the truth. Doctrines of churches are their perversions of the truth, coupled with truth.

  I attend a General Baptist. Although I am a member of that denomination, they too are wrong on many points. They are wrong on the qualifications for bishop and deacons, and they are wrong on salvation. Their doctrine is conditional security, yet they say that they are “saved.”

  I cringe when I hear them claim to be “saved.” That is from Calvinism and comes from mainly Calvinistic interpretation from the Greek to the English. I wish “eternal security” was truth because then I would need not worry so much about pleasing God. To be honest, since I still sin, as all others do, I do not deserve eternal security.

  The doctrine of “eternal security” comes from “preservation of the saints” as scripture implies in Jude, “to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). That is preservation is half of the doctrine, but who are saints?

  They must be “them that are sanctified by God the Father.” The word “saint” appears one place in the New Testament (hagios; Phil 4:21). In the Old Testament are two occurrences. (qadowsh; Psalm 106:16, Dan 8)). The Hebrew qadowsh means “holy” and the Greek hagios means “most holy thing.” (Strong’s Dictionary). Therefore, to be a “saint” requires “holiness.” That is the doctrine of “sanctification” Written in both Testaments is, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet 1:16). Therefore, to be “holy” is to be in the image of Jesus, and thusly, a “saint” is someone who walks the Way of Jesus, in His image. Scripture refers to that “Way” as righteousness.

  Indeed, God preserves the righteous, but he does not the unrighteous. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9) but some know the truth yet walk in unrighteousness; “hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). Therefore, unrighteous living Christians are not preserved.

  God is patient with them, but they are vulnerable to the wiles of Satan. “Preservation of the saints” is biblical doctrine, but many doctrines of men (i.e., Calvin) make it eternal security whether living a sanctified life or not.

  “Sanctification” is set apart from the world, for what reason? For preservation! Walking with the world in sin is walking in temptation. It exposes the believer to temptation which leads to sin and unrighteousness. The doctrine of eternal security leads to serving two masters. Again, since I still sin, my wish is for eternal security, but scripture tells me otherwise.

  Those who are certain in their faith have the “assurance of salvation.” That is admirable because they live as if they are preserved. Hence, those in the reformed doctrine may indeed be preserved because they know by their allegiance who is their God, to wit: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb 10:22). Then the assurance of salvation is based on faith… and that is, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).

  What is your hope? That there is an unseen Paradise, and that you will abide there for eternity. Strong “hope” is believing the evidence that there is such a place. Those with little faith have little hope and those with little hope have little faith. Faith is demonstrated with works — walking the Way of Jesus without the Law to curse. Saints obey, not because they must, but because they trust! (John 3:14).

  Do Christians who live in sin truly trust God, or do they have their doubts. Face it, the more one sins the more doubt they have because they understand that sin disappoints God.

  Now back to the original claim. Are you “saved?” Saved is with no chance of damnation. The Devil and death is of no concern because the Devil can no longer deceive you nor is their any chance for condemnation in Hell.

  Do you really know that you know that you know? I submit that since you are not God, you must believe and trust God on those points. You hope your faith is that strong, but you do not have the faith of God,  Who knows that He knows that He knows!

  Abraham had “great faith” which was accounted to him as righteousness (Rom 4:5). Is your faith that great? Would you willingly sacrifice your only remaining son to please God? Only Abraham and God did that. God had perfect faith and Abraham only great faith, yet you claim to have the perfect faith of God! I submit that doubt lingers hidden away in your heart and Satan knows that.

  That addresses the “assurance of salvation” and that makes living easier, but it is NOT “salvation!”

KEY VERSES: ²⁷ And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ²⁸ So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Heb 9:27-28)

  You may have just read the key verses as I hoped you would. When is “salvation?” Reread those passages. Paul first spoke of death in his letter. That is physical death. You can only die one time with few exceptions: Lazarus and Jairus’s daughter among two of those. Paul also wrote, “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Living is being in Christ, walking the Way that He walked. If that is the case, then “to die is gain.” What is to be gained by death? The salvation of the soul! It is preserved in life by living in the image of Christ, not in the image of Satan!

  After death comes judgment. There are two judgments. At death, God winnows out who shall go where. Christians — the true saints — will have their souls taken to a heavenly Paradise, and the unrighteous taken prisoner for the second Great White Throne Judgment where they will see why they are prisoners before they are punished. Death is judgment, and those who have truly lived as Christ lived will move from a state of preservation to a condition of salvation.

  The first appearance of Christ was when he redeemed the damned. He offered reprieve but those destined to Hell must want the pardon, accept it, and believe it will occur. If those conditions are met, then they are preserved until they die unless Satan tampers with the “jar” of preserves.

  That was when Christ appeared the first time, and Christians are redeemed in remembrance of Him. Every time someone sins, they are to remember that Jesus died to save them. Those who say so, but do not, “take His Name of vain” (The Third Saying of the Word). That is blasphemy of the Holy Ghost and if the Ghost of Jesus is not saved, neither will yours!

  “Salvation” comes with death. Before that, a Christians soul is preserved unless contamination enters into the “cup” (soul). Jesus seals it well, and is the only person can loosen the seal. Solomon said, “Or ever the silver cord be loose,” which silver cord is likely the seal between God and man. It can be loosened for sin to corrupt.

  Now consider an analogy: A sealed jar preserves the fruit inside. It stays preserved unless some unsuspecting culprit comes into the storage house and loosens the lid and contamination enters in. Before it is saved for the thanksgiving dinner, it becomes spoiled and is thrown into the garbage. The person who sealed the jar made a good seal, but somehow the seal was loosened. Apparently, Solomon used a silver cord to preserve His “jar” for the final day, but his seal was loosened, and likely Solomon, who knew that all along perished!

  In conclusion, the one “must be” in the New Testament is, “Marvel not; ye must be born again” (John 3:7). It does not say, “Marvel not; ye must be saved.” Salvation is the outcome of rebirth. It is the culmination of a new genesis. At death, the soul is saved and at the resurrection, the body is finally saved. “Regeneration” is at rebirth in theology (the philosophy of men) but in scripture, it is when the mind, body, and soul are in perfect harmony with God, just as Adam was in the genesis of man. Regeneration is the return to Genesis, not a return to infancy.

  David said that he was “shapen in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5). At birth, he was a sinner. Rebirth is not of the flesh, a return to sin, but a beginning of being recreated in the image of God, ala Adam (Gen 1:27).

  I have a simple question: If you are “saved” are you living in the image of God? I think not, because if you are, you hide it well! Adam was in the image of God, and that was not “very good” but entirely good like God. “Very good” is not enough. You can be very good here, but only entirely good in Paradise.

  According to Strong’s, the rendering in Genesis 1:31 is also “entirely good.” That is not reformed thought, so apparently translators rendered it to fit their doctrine, as they did sozo and soteria.

  If you are a Christian, then you are “safe” (sozo) and when you die that is your “salvation” (soteria). Rather than “saved,” say you are “reborn” a new person. Personally, I shall be saved, because that is my hope based on the evidence of Jesus, and with that faith, I am assured of my salvation.

We all are biased based on what we first believed. Subsequent to that, we must test what we believe to scripture. It is hard to let go of what we have been taught, but at least consider your doctrine if it meets the test.

(picture credit: Food Network)

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 hope based on the evidence of Jesus, and with that faith, I am assured of my salvation.

TESTAMENT

 

² Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering… ⁸ Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them… ²¹ thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee…  ⁴⁰ And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exod 25:2,8,21, 40)

² And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat… ¹⁵  “sprinkle it (the blood of the kid) upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 16  And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel… (Lev 16:2, 15-16) 

  Moses was given a pattern for temple worship when He was with God on the mountain. The “pattern” was for the tabernacle, but more importantly it was for two things which would happen inside: (1) The Presence of God in a cloud on the Mercy Seat, and (2) for the sacrifice of His “kid” inside the curtain onto the Mercy Seat. Note that the “Testament” was inside the box and beneath the Mercy Seat. Sacrificial blood would never touch the Testament.

  Just what is the Testament? It was God’s “Will;” what He willed be done for His “estate.” That Testament was the “two tablets of stone” written with the finger of God (Deut 9:10). Why written on stone? For perpetuity; it would be God’s Will forever. As such, the “Ten Words” (of Jesus) are terms of God’s Will. They are God’s “Will to be done in earth” (Mat 6:10) and Jesus is the Executor of God’s Will.

  Let us touch on a modern estate will now: The Father has an estate to provide to his heirs. The estate is for those who revere their Father. They are not only biological children but others who have pleased Him during all those many years. Often wills are written long before the grantor dies, and there are provisions to inherit the estate. The heirs, even adopted ones, must meet certain criteria to get their reward of home, property, security, and the like. Usually, all that is required is that all the heirs love the grantor to the end. The issue is how the heirs can demonstrate their fidelity. Hence, there are terms of the will, written as items, to wit: “so long as…”

  In the case of “The Ten Words,” they are Ten Ways to demonstrate love to the Father and the other heirs, both present and future. His hope is that His good children will multiply His heirs because he loves even the prodigal sons so well; so well that neither should they not share in the estate. Just what is God’s estate? “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).

  Of course, the Good Son will be there, but therein is room for many more! The estate of His adopted and faithful children is a mansion in the Father’s House, free of charge and forever… and with eternal health care and nourishment provided. That “Estate” is the one that Utopian-seekers should seek rather than a chattel in a commune!

  What’s wrong with the first Testament; it seems quite adequate? Well, it is a pattern, not for a practical Will but a more perfect Will. The original Testament required that an Aaronic Priest make the sacrifices daily for the sins of the people. In the final Testament, God cut out the middlemen. He would be the Priest, not like Levitical Priests appointed by God, but God Himself. The Priest on the order of Melchizedek would provide the sacrifice and make it much like Abraham was willing to do on the mountain. Melchizedek blessed Abraham by sacrificing as He would. Jesus was that Priest, Melchizedek, and He knew that Abraham was willing to do it right.

  The Old Testament is not really the “Ten Commandments” but the Abrahamic Covenant. That Covenant was written in the hearts of the faithful by the Finger of God (Jesus), and Abraham signed on as heir with blood from his heart.

  As for Moses, he would sprinkle the blood on the Mercy Seat himself, but he would not sign the “deed” himself. Zipporah would do what Moses would not, “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision” (Exod 4:25-26).

  Zipporah was not authorized to sign the “deed” to gain the true Promise Land. Only the blood of their son would do, but Moses would not even do a minimum of what Abraham was willing to do. Moses had faith but not the faith of Abraham. Abraham covenanted with God, but Moses did not. It was the Mosaic Covenant that was fraudulent, but the Abrahamic Covenant remains in effect to this day.

  Remember, Moses provided the blood of a “kid” — a captured goat. God provided a ram for the sacrifice for Abraham. A ram is a male sheep. It is likely that God provided a male lamb as the sacrifice, not a goat that would escape if not held, just as he would provide the Lamb of God for the final sacrifice; once and for all, on the Holy Cross.

  The Old Testament is Mosaic Law. The New Testament is finalization of the Abrahamic Covenant. (Jesus said, “It is finished.”) Just what then was the Mosaic Covenant? “Who (the Levitical priests) serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount: (Heb 8:5) The tabernacle and sacrifices therein where a pattern for better worship. What the priests would do was an example of what Jesus would do. Worship was but a shadow of things to come.

  In engineering, we would call the tabernacle and tabernacle worship a “protype” of things to come. Indeed, Mosaic Law was prototypical of Christian freedom. The difference? They were not commandments at all; they were the Ten Wills of God that He prescribed for eternal “health.”

  The New Covenant has the same Testament as the Old Covenant. The Old Testament tablets remain out there somewhere preserved until the Antichrist comes. (The archeologist, Rom Wyatt, claimed that they were discovered in Jeremiah’s Grotto that he said was beneath the true Golgotha). Now, since the crucifixion, the Mercy Seat has the blood of the Lamb of God on what was its clean side. If that is the case, the blood of Jesus finally bled onto the Testament, and the Will of God has been exercised years after it was probated with Moses as a witness.

  What was the “fault” with the first Covenant (Heb 6:7). It was sealed with the wrong blood and the wrong priest sealed it. It took the Priest on the Order of Melchizedek to bleed for mankind. He was to sprinkle His own blood on the Mercy Seat, and that He has done! (According to Wyatt, the Messiah’s blood was found and verified as supernatural blood that he obtained from the Mercy Seat in the Grotto.)

  The first Covenant is the second Covenant administered correctly and with a perfect sacrifice. How about the first Testament — The Ten Commandments — as Christians call them. They are not commandments at all, but the Ten Terms of God’s Will that are to be done in earth as in heaven.

  What about the Greatest Commandment? The Ways to love are enumerated on the tablets of the only Testament that ever existed.

  Perhaps now you understand the way to be born again. The Hebrews were saved from Pharaoh but their hearts remained in Egypt. Moses led them toward the Promise Land but they never got there. Their hearts were not in it. Sheep follow the Good Shepherd without prodding. The Testament is all about how we follow Jesus. Is it because of the Law? ? Is it just a Way to get to the Promise Land? Or is it to please God? Only the latter satisfies God’s Will for you!

(picture credit: amazingfacts.org)

tplease God? Only the latter satisfies God’s Will for you!

GOD'S PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE

 https://www.facebook.com/1281115832/videos/10224231265990935/

Please watch and share (about 20 some minutes)

(picture credit; dreamstime.com)

WORTHINESS TO CARRY THE SANDALS OF JESUS

 

KEY VERSES: ¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost (KJV) and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Mat 3:11-12; NKJV)

  Those are the same key verses as yesterday whereon I commented about baptism; that there are only the Baptism of John with water, and the Baptism of Jesus with His own Holy Ghost. There is not a third mode of baptism. The imperative baptism is with the generous Living Waters of the Holy Ghost, not the plentiful waters of a moving stream!

  Today, I write about power and authority. In the key verses, John diminished himself and exalted Jesus as he should: “O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all” (1 Chron 29:11). Jesus was head of John and Matthew and John clarified who had the authority and power to baptize unto redemption and who did not. Those who administer water baptism do not have the power and authority to wash away sins, but only to express repentance!

  John said, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I.” Note that John did not finish that sentence entirely; he did not say, “mightier than I am.” Why not? In the Greek, that would be Ego Eimi. That is God’s identity — The Great “I AM.” Rather, he said, “mou,”meaning “I” or more humbly, “of me.” That contrasts to ego, which is mankind’s problem. John diminished himself as he exalted Jesus.

  John then continued, “Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.” Note that “I” (ego) is not in the Greek manuscripts. That was added by the translators to complete the sentence. John endeavored not to be identified with Jesus, nor His Baptism. John said, only “eimi” which is “to be” in English (Strong’s Dictionary).

  I have written many times, that the noun “sin” did not exist in the English until the 1600s, and it was from the Danish language. “Sin,” in English, is quite simple — “to be.” Since the original sin of Adam, mankind has wanted to be gods and even God. Adam exalted himself beyond the authority of God and the Serpent called him out on it: “Ye shall be as Elohiym (God)” (Gen 3:5). “Ye shall be as” is not even in the Hebrew. That “to be” was understood by the Serpent but Adam did not understand sin at all. He just then came to realize what sin was — TO BE “I AM.”

  Those ministers who believe that water baptism is efficacious exalt themselves. It is by their own hands that, “ye must be born again.” Whose hands is it truly? John 3:14 clearly identifies rebirth as the by the Hand of Jesus. The chief priest neither carried the pole the brazen serpent was on, nor was it he who would someday kill the Serpent in His Tree. Jesus did all that, and the priests were nowhere to be found.

  Moses, when he held the pole, exalted God, and diminished himself. He was merely the pole-bearer (sarcasm intended).  John diminished himself and exalted Jesus in the same manner. “I” was not important to him, “I AM” was so important that he would not even say that sacred Name.

  My guess is those words have went unnoticed many times, as I have done, and we just took it for the obvious - that John wanted to point out, not only that he was not Elias, but neither was he the Messiah!

  In context, it should be obvious that he was diminishing both himself and his baptism with water in comparison to the Jesus and baptism with the Holy Ghost. That running and plentiful water was not enough, but baptism must be by Living Water. Yesterday, I tried to demonstrate that Living Water flowed from God to Adam and from the belly of Adam to Eve. It would be the blood and water from Jesus’s belly on the Holy Cross that was redemptive.

  As a side note, refer to this YouTube link: Jesus’ Blood Found on the Ark of the Covenant - YouTube. It was the blood of Jesus flowing on the Mercy Seat that would be the true Baptism. The blood and water flowed through the crevice onto the Mercy Seat below for blood to be the propitiation for sin. In my book, The Skull of Adam, I present the case for Adam’s burial beneath Golgotha, and that Jesus literally made a direct propitiation for Adam’s original sin (Gen 3:15).

  John continued: “Whose (Jesus’s) sandals I am not worthy to carry.” Of course, that indicated his humility, but the thought runs deeper! Examine the Edenic (Adamic) Covenant: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Now examine the Hebrew for that verse: “And I will put” is shiyth,“ is “lay hand upon” (ibid). God’s manifestation is Jesus. God’s “Hand” is the Christ!

  God was promising Adam that Jesus will heal the rift between him and God and between mankind and God. The heel of Jesus would be bruised by the head of the “Serpent,” or the skull of Adam, hence the name of my book.

  What do sandals do? They protect the feet from bruising. Jesus would have His heel bruised by the Serpent. That was His death, and the footrest on the Cross, after several hours, would do just that. Nearby, was Satan in the “Serpent” Judas who hung himself. His heel was not bruised, and his death was not efficacious. To be Savior, the heel must be bruised. Some Muslims accept Judas as Isa (their “Jesus.). He is not and neither was John. John went to great care to acknowledge that because of people’s tendency to believe untruths.

  John died before Jesus did. Someone else carried Jesus’s sandals, but it was not him. Jesus was nailed to the Cross without His sandals for the Purpose of giving up His Ghost. John did not give up the Ghost of Jesus, Jesus did that. John gave up his own “ghost” as many spiritual men before him. In other words, John had no impact on giving up the Ghost and the Baptism of John would not suffice as the Baptism of Jesus whose sandals John could not carry.

  In the Testament of Zebulon is written:

Simeon and Gad and six other of our brethren took the price of Joseph, and bought sandals for themselves, and their wives, and their children, saying: We will not eat of it, for it is the price of our brother's blood, but we will assuredly tread it under foot, because he said that he would be king over us, and so let us see what will become of  his dreams. Therefore, it is written in the writing of the law of Moses, that whosoever will not raise up seed to his brother, his sandal should be unloosed, and they should spit in his face. And the brethren of Joseph wished not that their brother should live, and the Lord loosed from them the sandal which they wore against Joseph their brother. For when they came into Egypt they were unloosed by the servants of Joseph outside the gate, and so they made obeisance to Joseph after the fashion of King Pharaoh. (3:2-7)

  Of course, this sacred literature is not canon in the West, but the apostles referenced it often as it was written long before John came to baptize. John was likely an Essene. Remnants of Zebulon’s Testament were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls where the Essenes resided. John had certainly read and surely used the passage above to make his point.

  Simeon and Gad were the two most adamant of the twelve children of Israel to kill Joseph. The others had mercy on him and rather than die, Joseph was kept safe in a dry pit until he was sold to the Ishmaelites into slavery. There was no water in that pit. Joseph was not saved by water but by the grace of God who touched the hearts of his brothers. God saved him by His Holy Spirit, not by water. I believe John was making that point.

  Simeon and Gad sold out Joseph for the price of sandals just as Judas sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Those shoes were Joseph’s sandals. Because he was sold for the brothers’ sakes, those sandals should have been his. They were wrong because Joseph was sold because “he would be king over us.” Their desire was to diminish Joseph, and Simeon and Gad would do that by killing him, but they were restrained. Like the thirty pieces of silver, the sandals they bought was “blood money.”

  The brothers “lorded” it over Joseph, and they had the audacity to improve their lives by sandals. No longer would their heels be bruised for Jacob nor his God. Then, “The Lord loosed from them the sandal which they wore against Joseph their brother.” They were unworthy to carry their brother’s sandals because they had endeavored to kill the man who would be king.

  John surely thought of that. He was not worthy of doing what Jesus would do! Like Simeon and Gad whose sandals God had loosened, John was wise enough to neither loosen the sandals belonging to Jesus nor even carry them!

  Finally, with a little irony, it was a man named Simon who would carry Jesus’s “sandals” so to speak, when he carried the Cross whose footrest would bruise the heels of Jesus. John was certainly not worthy of baptizing as the Ghost of Jesus would do, but he would not even protect the heels of Jesus from the serpents out to kill Him.

  The twelve sons of Israel would all be kings of tribes of Israel. They exalted themselves TO BE future kings. Rather, “they (finally) made obeisance to Joseph after the fashion of King Pharaoh.” It was Joseph who would be “king,” but not king of Israel, but “king” of Egypt. Finally, when they all humbled themselves and admitted that Joseph was king of kings, they were blessed. God showed them that they were not worthy to be kings but were not even worthy of  carrying the sandals bought by the blood of Joseph.

  As such, Christians are to be servants of Jesus, because He served us by dying on the Cross. It was not John who died for us. He died for Jesus, yet he recognized whose death had a greater value.

  Hopefully, the “take” on this story is that water baptism is secondary to Baptism of the Holy Ghost. It is Jesus whose work saved, not ours and not John’s.

  My bet is that when John baptized that those who repented kept their sandals on. John would not be worthy of carrying their sandals either! When Jesus baptizes, he does not look at the feet nor the flesh, but the heart. Are we willing to carry Jesus’s sandals? If not, then, “His winnowing fan is in His hand and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor.”

  It is not the plentiful moving water that will winnow out the sinners from the Church, but the Holy Ghost of Jesus whose Living Water certainly will! That Living Water? That is the Breath of God whose Holy Spirit breathes life unto otherwise lifeless people.

(picture credit: British Museum; "Winnowing Fan.")

 and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor.”

BAPTISM WITH FIRE

 

KEY VERSES: ¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost (KJV) and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Mat 3:11-12; NKJV) 

  I used the New King James Version for clarity, but retained the original King James Version, “Holy Ghost” because the death of Jesus was the baptism of Living Water (John 7:38) that reads, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” I revert to the King James Version there. Is the proper word “belly” or “heart” as is written in the NKJV? I believe “belly” is correct because most often koilia is translated “belly” or “womb” and they are the same thing. We think of the womb as the uterus, but it is the entire abdominal cavity.

  Why is the translation of koilia so important? “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34) and “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6). Examine one more passage:

⁷ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:7-8)

  Now take a deep breath. The Holy Ghost of Jesus has bodily shape (Luke 3:22). The Holy Spirit of Jesus had bodily shape as Nebuchadnezzar saw him in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25). The specific Holy Spirit that resided in Jesus and experienced death on the Cross was recognized as the Ghost of Jesus. A “Ghost” because after Jesus died, His Ghost was the Spirit of a dead man.

  At the creation, “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of waters” Where “face” is translated, another appropriate translation is the “person of waters” (Gen 1:2). The point there is that the “Person” of God is Jesus, and the “Spirit of God” that moved on the waters is Jesus Christ. It is He who is the “Water of Life” or “Living Water.”

  Who bears witness in heaven? The Father, the Word (of Jesus), and the Holy Ghost of Jesus. John identified the Holy Trinity as three in one, and described them as water, blood, and Spirit.

  Water alone will not do for preservation; it must be by the water and the blood. The water represents the Holy Ghost, and the Blood represents the Person of Jesus. Both experienced death on the Cross; however, the body of Jesus died but the Spirit of Jesus lived on in His Holy Ghost. Water baptism is not what the Baptism of Jesus means. Jesus never baptized with water; only John, John’s followers, and the followers of Jesus. Jesus baptized with the Holy Ghost — His very own “Living Water” that would flow from Him to the sinner to redeem.

  “Belly” or “womb” is important because when mankind was created, God breathed life unto Adam, and out of His belly (not rib), flowed Living Water into Eve and gave her life. It can be assumed that Adam supplied the blood and water to give life unto Eve, and we know that God’s breath, His Holy Spirit, was the Spirit of Jesus giving life from the “Belly” of God.

  The Baptism of John was with water, but the baptism of Jesus was baptism of the Holy Ghost. There are two baptisms and two alone. The Baptism of John was for repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4) but the Baptism of Jesus was for the remission of sins. They are remitted by washing with Living Water (the Holy Ghost of Jesus) just as at the generation; so it also applies to regeneration. Hence, “born again” is a the beginning of re-genesis. 

  No water was used for generating Adam, only the Breath of God into the person Adam. Therefore, out of Adam’s belly flowed God’s Spirit, water, and blood into Eve just as Jesus said to the “Eve” at the well. It would not be her “Adam” (husband) from whose belly she received living waters, but by the Blood and Living Water of Jesus!

  Baptism is a representation of the old, used Adam’s transformation back into the brand-new Adam. That act is not what changes the person, but the cleansing of the Holy Ghost of Jesus, just as Matthew wrote in the key verses. What does fire have to do with baptism? “There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:3-4). The appearance of the Ghost of Jesus was no longer manifested in bodily shape, but as fire. The Holy Ghost of Jesus had the appearance of fire. In other words, the Holy Ghost of Jesus looked like God the Father. God did not appear as flesh or as water, but a cleansing fire.

  We learned from the deluge of Noah’s time that water was not efficacious for perfect salvation because Noah and his sons still sinned afterward, as did all mankind. Only fire has that total cleansing effect: “I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast” (Rev 15:2) and “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Rev 20:14). 

  It is not water which cleanses from all sins, but a “sea” mingled with fire, not only with water. Why is death gain as Paul wrote? The second death is when death and hell is destroyed by fire; not by water as in the first death in Noah’s time. 

  Tomorrow I will write about the significance of “sandals” in the key verses.

(picture credit: Shutterstock)

 

Tomorrow I will write about the significance of “sandals” in the key verses.

DAY OF REST – Part 2 of 2

 People tell me that understanding everything in the Bible is not a great goal. For me, it is an unobtainable goal because all Holy Scripture is the Word (Jesus) of God. If He had not wanted us to consider it, He would not have inspired it to be written.

  Why would it matter to those who believe to understand creation and time? Because only God can create, and only God can re-create. There must be a Creator to save us in the end! Then when shall we be saved? At the end of time in this world. Is it not rational, therefore, to consider when time ends? Is it no interesting to know when Christians can “rest” from this world?

  When I was a child, I believed that the world would end. No thing is forever! That is from the Second Law of Thermodynamics and is called, “entropy.” I was a budding scientist even as a child because I understood that someday the sun would burn out.

  But long before that, I too would “burn out.” The decay of our bodies is a non-isentropic process that is irreversible by the laws of the world. Only the Law of God can regenerate my flesh and bones to what they were in the beginning; not my beginning, but the quality in which God created Adam — with incorruptible isentropic flesh and bones! Man was created immortal, and their bodies were as durable as their immortal souls.

  Death commenced when Adam was cast out of the perfect environment of Paradise in the Garden. Let us examine whether the “world clock” started then or earlier. Won’t that be fun… or at least interesting? Now, go explore time… all eight days of it! 

KEY VERSES: ¹ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest,’

”although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”…  ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. (Heb 4:1-4.8-9) 

  “Rest” is asleep. Death is  likened to sleep: “The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection” (Mat 27:51-52). Seventh Day Adventists believe in “soul sleep;” that the soul rests until the resurrection. When the daughter of Jairus died, her soul left when she died but returned to her when her body was “awakened.” (Mark 5; Luke 8). Her soul was active in “heaven” while her flesh and bones “slept.”  That agrees with Jublilees 23:31 — “their bones will rest in the Earth, and their spirits will have much joy.”

  “Joy” is “chara” in the Greek, meaning “cheerful,” or “calm delight” (Strong’s Dict.).  Rebirth is that calm delight that is called “hope,” but that state is not reached until the soul is in heaven. Jairus’s daughter, like Lazarus, was safe in “Abraham’s Bosom,” because they both had the faith of Abraham, and Abraham’s great faith comforted them. Their hope had become reality, and Abraham comforted their living souls. That was temporary until Jesus was resurrected, then all the patriarchs were then comforted in Jesus’s Bosom until Jesus returned for their flesh and bones at the rapture. In a way, they slept with Abraham in his bosom just as sacred literature credits Jacob (Israel) with doing.

  Right now, the Hebrew patriarchs sleep in the bosom of “Joshua” (Jesus) because that was what was inferred to the Hebrews. The writer even mentioned that in verse 8 of the key verses. “The people of God” — the chosen and peculiar Hebrews (Deut 14:2) and the chosen and peculiar Gentiles (1 Pet 2:9) — look for a day of rest. Hence, as is written, “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21) because death is rest (sleep) from the tribulation of the world. The Christians who have died with steadfast faith have endured tribulations of the world to the end (Mat 10:22-23). Then, “rest” is from the tribulations of the world.

  Now back to the subject of time to conclude part 1: Life is tribulation. Death is rest from tribulation. Just as God rested on the seventh “day” in the genesis of the earth, God will rest on the seventh “day” of its “re-genesis.” Perhaps the “days” in Genesis chapter one are 1000 year-days just as the life in this world is seven-thousand years — six-thousand years of God working to regenerate His creatures, and one-thousand year “day” of “rest” when he comes back to rule the world; what is called the “second coming of Christ.” For pre-millennialists, before that thousand-year day of rest, their sleeping bones will be taken-up (raptured) and reunited with their joyous souls.

  If God (Jesus) rests on the seventh day again, then that “day” will be the thousand-year reign. Then the existence of the world before it is destroyed and regenerated is seven-thousand years. Jews believe Anno Mundi commenced with the Genesis 1:1. Perhaps it truly started when Adam was cast out of the Garden where life was immortal, into mortality, where God had to continue His work again for six more “days” before He rests again for another “day” of one-thousand years.

  My implication is that perhaps creation was not seven “days” but seven-thousand years. The “clock” (sun) would have been superfluous since Adam and Eve would not have been “clock-watchers” since until they sinned, they were immortal.

  If that is true, then Adam’s ticking “clock” would not have started until he was cast out into the world. Remember that isolation from God is “death” and both Adam and Eve missed that point when they ate forbidden food. If that is the case, Adam died on the first “world day” at 930 years of age (AM 930). No man, even Methuselah, would break the one “day” mark. Indeed, Adam did the first millennial day. Only Melchizedek (pre-incarnate Jesus) would live beyond that limit.

  Adam never aged in the Garden. His time would not commence until he was out of the Garden into the world. Some write that Adam sinned on the fifth “day” in the Garden. If “day” was meaningless, that “day” could have been any period within eternity.

  Jesus, a priest on the order of Melchizedek, would be Priest for six-thousand years and Priest and King for another thousand. The Edenic Covenant from Genesis 3:15 is that Adam would be redeemed. The Book of Adam and Eve assigns that as five-and-one-half “days” and referred to that as 5500 years. Adam would be redeemed during the sixth “day” or AM 5500, if time started with sin.

  If Jesus comes to reign at the beginning of the seventh “day” then Adam would be redeemed 500 years previous. Perhaps the redemption is when Christ comes to rapture those who are dead in Christ, or perhaps, as I write in my book, The Skull of Adam, that Adam was one of those resurrected when Jesus was; when the curtain was torn asunder.

  That is not known, so it makes sense that nobody knows the day nor the hour (Mat 25:13), not even the year, that Jesus will come for those in Christ. However, we do know the times. It is in the sixth day. What year is it, according to the Jewish calendar? AM 5781. We may be in the sixth “day” if they are correct. Although Jewish writers call that 5781 from the beginning of time, what if it is from the beginning of “death,” or life in the world? “Now is the time of salvation” as is written, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom 13:11).

  Anno Mundi is the "year of the world," not the "year of the beginning." The clock began ticking for Adam, not in the protective atmosphere of the Garden, but in the world. For Anno Mundi to be accurate, the focus would be in the world where time is of paramount, not in the Garden where it is not!

  Existence in the world is true “sleep” because the soul is empty of those not in Christ. They are dead to Jesus. “Rest” will come after they awakened from that sleep. “Rest” is not when one first believes, but when they have obtained the prize (1 Cor 9:24). The “prize” is salvation when the bones leave their place of rest and become joyous with their soul. That is the General Resurrection, or the rapture of the pillars of the Church. That “day” is regeneration to Paradise lost. Then there will be no more “time” for the dead as they enter the eighth eternal “day.”

  You see here that for God, one day is as a thousand years, but conversely one-thousand years is as one day. With that, creation was perhaps seven-thousand years, and the world is as if seven days. If eternity is the eighth day, according to Jewish writers, then a “day” in scripture can be any period between 24 hours and infinity. It is whatever God defines to suit His Purposes. Whatever the time,  now we are nearer to that day than when we first believed, and now is the time to live like it! 

(picture credit: Wired Uk; "Doomsday Clock")

nearer to that day than when we first believed, and now is the time to live like it!

SOZO AND SOTERIA

  “Soteria” is a Greek word most often translated to the English as “salvation.” That word has split the Church into two. Its “sister” word in the Greek is “sozo” which is most often translated as “saved.”  Languages do not perfectly represent each other in intent, tense, person, or even gender. Remember God confused people with different languages at Babel. The original language is believed by the Hebrews to be an ancient form of Hebrew. And to that claim add, Why would it not be?

  Some claim that there are two Bibles, the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible. That is not the case; they are one and the same Bible, at least for the Roman Catholics and the Protestants (The Orthodox Church does have some differences in canon). There are seven books in the Roman Catholic Bible: Baruch, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Tobit and Wisdom that are not included in the Protestant version of the Old Testament. However, neither does the Catholic Church consider those books as canon. But “deuterocanon” — “belonging to the second canon.”

  “Canon” are those books that are accepted as Holy Scripture. Deuterocanonical would indicate that those books support canon. Indeed, to understand the expectation of Jesus as warrior King, one would need to understand the civil situation prior to Christ under the Hasmonean and Herodian Kingdoms. The expectation was not for a King on the order of Melchizedek, but a King/General”Priest on the order of Judah Aristobulus of the Hasmonean Dynasty. Aristobulus claimed both the priesthood and kingship but he was not from the House of David and was more of a “president” than “king” because he was not a legitimate heir to the throne of David.  

  The “Apocrypha” means “hidden,” and yes, they were exposed as part of the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. But were removed from that version much later. They were part of the Geneva Bible, preceding the King James Version, for this reason, from its preface: “They were received to be read for the advancement and furtherance of the knowledge of history and for the instruction of godly manners.” Much like the Book of Esther, the Apocryphal books do not contain much about holiness, but they are part of the Septuagint translated from the Hebrew to the Greek.

  The early universal (catholic) Church decided canon (not what today is the Roman Catholic denomination.) Some Protestants excluded the Apocrypha for their own reasons, and most of the King James’s known translators were “reformed protestants” and are those called “Calvinists” in modern times. Reformers, including Martin Luther, endeavored to revise canon because canon did not support their doctrine, to wit: “Luther made an attempt to remove the books of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation from the canon (notably, he perceived them to go against certain Protestant doctrines such as sola gratia and sola fide) but his followers did not generally accept Luther's personal judgment in this matter” (findanyanswer.com).

  However, Luther’s Calvinistic successors who translated from the Septuagint biased the King James Version to be more Calvinistic (Daniels, David W.; Chick Publications; “WHO WERE THE TRANSLATORS OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE?”; 2001).

  That history is important because the reformed Church both tried to change canon, and when that failed, to change the context of the Bible when it was translated despite the decree of canon:

¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19). 

  What book? Revelation? The Septuagint? The entirety of the Bible? It is logical that the reference is to the entire Bible. Deuterocanon should have remained in the Bible but it was segregated by John Wycliffe and removed entirely from the King James Version in 1885. After all those years some Protestants changed canon by removing deuterocanonical books.

  That history was reviewed to make a point: The Bible never changes but the different versions do. The King James Version is authorized? Authorized by whom? King James and reformed translators. It remains a reliable translation if and only of people understand that the translators were not inspired by God but inspired by King James and John Calvin!

  “Sozo”(Greek where translated “saved) has different meanings. For instance, “shall be saved,” used many places is from the Greek, “sozo;” meaning “to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.” Is the proper context “save” or “safe?” Calvinists did not translate “safe” but “shall be saved.”

  Language even hemmed them in. “Shall be” was added but it is future tense! An Arminian translation, if there was one, would translate “sozo” as “safety.” Throughout the Bible, even the Hebrews of the Exodus traveled in the “safety” of God but eventually they perished and never entered “Paradise”… neither the Promised Land nor the Promised Heaven. Now consider the key verse:

KEY VERSE: But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation… (Heb 6:9)

  “Salvation” in the Greek is “soteria.” It has various meanings, to wit (Strong’s Dictionary): 

1)      Safety, salvation, preservation

2)      Salvation as a present possession

3)      Future salvation 

  Is “salvation” safe, saved, preserved? Is it present or future? That depends on which meaning the translators preferred. Perhaps salvation as a present possession would be the choice of Calvinists and future salvation of Armenians! The translation from one language to another causes discord among people. Is that not why the pure Hebrew language was confounded in the beginning? The people of Babel were in discord with God and surely with each other, so God separated them. Language remains a source of discord to this day.

  Those in Babel had the Hebrew language encrypted with numerous encryptions. The Holy Spirit had left them to their own devices. They could go forth and build as many towers to themselves as they pleased. They did just that with numerous ziggurats and pyramids all over the earth!

  But when God built the Church, His Holy Spirit came when they were of one accord (Acts 2:1). They built towers to themselves at Babel, but God built “pillars” from Christians in Jerusalem (Rev 3:12) from those who overcome the world by not building towers to themselves. Since they were finally in accord, God decrypted what he had encrypted at Babel and they all understood each other!

  Calvinism reformed Catholicism who had built towers to themselves in Rome with Saint Peter’s Basilca and such. Calvinism built a hidden “tower.” It divided the people, and the Church is in discord since Calvin wrote his five theses with the acronym “TULIP.” It is not a “house” of safety but one as if already saved. In that “house” is the liberty to sin with impunity. In that “tower” people are free to sin as if the Devil is already dead!

  Of course, there are many sincere and pious Calvinists, but that is because of God’s grace. The writer of Hebrews knew that they would have “the elementary principles” but not “perfection.” Perfection, according to that letter, includes the knowledge of “eternal judgment” (Heb 6:1-3). Judgment is not now but at the Great White Throne in Heaven after the end of the world. Those who have endured the world to the end will be judged righteous and “shall be saved” in a true sense. Those who have been judged unrighteous “shall perish” forever.

  Do not gamble on Calvinism as the “elementary principles” but the textus receptus itself. Always examine the original text and have the assurance of salvation — as if already saved perfecting in accordance to the Doctrine of Christ.

(picture credit: Perfect Circle)

to the Doctrine of Christ.

THE DAY OF REST – Part 1 of 2

 The “date” is zero Anno Mundi (AM). It is the beginning of Creation. Is it the “beginning” of existence from Genesis 1:1 or is it the beginning of the generation of mankind? The end of time may be as the writer of Jubilees says, “when the heavens and the earth shall be renewed” (Jub 1:8-9).[1]

  Just as I surmised, angels were created on the first “day” (Jub 2:2). Then the sun was created on the fourth “day” “to be a great sign on the earth for days and for sabbaths of years” (Jub 1:9).

  As we all should know, God created mankind on the “evening” of the sixth “day.” Evening is my hypothesis in that the beasts were created first on that “day.” All God’s “work” was completed at the end of the sixth day, and then He rested on the Sabbath (Gen 1). The seventh “day” was made holy, and mankind were to keep it holy. Adam, according to Jublilees, was created in the first “week” and Eve in the second (Jub 2:8).

  Now for my own commentary based on Holy Scripture. The only period that the angels could have been created was on the first “day.” During that “day” something huge happened:

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:7-9)

  The creation and the war could not have occurred in one calendar “day.” Herein, I put day in quotes because that is how it is written, but Peter wrote about time as well, “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet 3:8). Then the first “day” may have been one-thousand years, or Peter could have been rhetorical; that time is defined by God. I accept the latter. However, one-thousand years as a “day” is commonplace in ancient literature, and existence on Earth (the planet) will be seven “days” (or 7000 years.)

  In my book, On the Origin of Man and the Universe, I propose that day and night literally mean, “warming” (day) and “twisting from the warming” (to night) (Strong’s Dictionary). With that understanding, translators wrote “day” and “night” because day is warm and night is a turning from that warmth, even literally. A day is one “process” but there are many more. In fact, the first process was creating the heaven and the earth — heaven being the warm and earth the cool, and the interim the time for the process to stabilize, or cool.

  Because creation of the angels and the war in the heaven had duration, the “morning” of the first day would have been their creation and rebellion. Once they rebelled, there was no place in which to cast them out. Thus, perhaps in the evening of the first “day” God created the earth.

  Translators do not capitalize “heaven” and “earth” in Genesis 1 for a reason. That was not the place “Heaven” nor the place “Earth.” It was two different realms — one the unseen and the other the seen. Throughout the Bible, although angels remain unseen, they can appear in earth. Demon angels roam within particle matter, both planet earth and are real beings in the heavens.

  For Holy Scripture to coincide with reality and to have continuity in scripture, Peter must be correct in his words. He is because what he wrote was divinely inspired. In my book, I concluded that “days” should rightly be rendered “processes.” The first “process” was the creation of the invisible and the visible things — the unseen and the seen. Paul wrote about that: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Rom 1:20). “Power” is required for a process. God was the Power that created something from nothing — the material from the immaterial. Paul knew that because Jesus gave him that knowledge. Paul described a process!

  Because “process” was not part of the body of knowledge until the late 19^th Century, translators of the Septuagint would not have used “process” where “day” appears, and not even Wycliffe himself in the 16^th Century! Rest assured, I support the “six-day creation,” according to scripture but must consider the time interval for there to be a creation and war in heaven. I support the “warming” and the “twisting from the warming,” according to the Hebrew received text.

  Perhaps “days” apply after the sun was created, or perhaps “days” apply when mankind was created since the sun was created for our purposes. With that supposition, perhaps Anno Mundi (AD) 0 was with the beginning of Adam since time was created for Adam, or perhaps the world “clock” started after God rested on the seventh “day.” We do know that the clock stops after our own “day of rest” on the seventh “day,“ to wit: 

And their bones will rest in the Earth,

And their spirits will have much joy. (Jub 23:31) 

  That “day” is before the resurrection because the bones are in one realm and the soul in another. That may point, if that is true, then the “rapture” is after the Millennial Reign of Jesus, rather than before. The “rapture” is the general resurrection when the dead in Christ shall rise from the grave.

  So far, this commentary is background for the “day of rest” in Hebrews chapter 4. Tomorrow, I will continue with that.

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[1] The author recognizes that the Book of Jubilees is not canon but is comprehensive commentary about the time interval between the generation and the regeneration, or between Genesis and Re-genesis in John’s Revelation of the end of time. Time is important in Holy Scripture and it is imperative to know the seasons although the day and the hour shall remain unknown. The writer of Jubilees has a great handle on the concept of time from the creation of time with the creation of the sun until the world’s “lamp” is darkened — when mankind shall rest without time!

(picture credit: Pinterest; "Syroco Sunburst Clock")

 world’s “lamp” is darkened — when mankind shall rest without time!