Tuesday, December 17, 2024

SHALL BE; WILL BE; ARE

 Early church historians credited Luke with the writing of the Book of Acts. There is an argument about whether Acts was written in the first or second century. 

Since Luke credibly wrote the book, he would have written it before he died. Luke is believed to have died between 84 and 100 A.D. with the earlier date most accepted. 

Some of the apostles had died before 84 A.D. 

Paul-66, Peter-between 64 & 68, Andrew-69 or 70, James who died first after Judas-44, and so on. 

What has this got to do with anything? First off, The Book of Acts was written by a contemporary of Jesus — Luke — which means that the Acts of the Apostles were not legend but an historical account.

 

Luke was a credible witness of Jesus. He was the one writer who saw the Holy Ghost go into Jesus in bodily shape (Luke 2:33) and among those who saw the Ghost leave Him in the same manner (Luke 23:46).  Luke saw Yahweh, Father God, in Jesus. 

Luke new Jesus well and knew all the apostles well. He could write of The Acts of the Apostles better than the apostles themselves. 

Luke, and evangelist, was not an apostle, so he would not have written with biasness. As an evangelist, his job was to chronical the life and times of Jesus and the apostles as an historian. Think of Luke as the historian in the manner of Josephus whose history is the most credible of all historians. 

With that said, consider what Luke wrote about the salvation of those who had already died by the time of his writing: 

Now therefore why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. (Acts 15:10-11)

 The key phrase therein is “shall be saved.” Paul and the other apostles had met and considered the matter of salvation as they dismissed circumcision. 

Paul was saying that they too like any of the disciples shall be saved. 

The criteria was one: “God, which knows the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us” (Acts 15:8). 

Hence, any who had the Holy Ghost could be saved.   

How about the Holy Ghost? It was Christ in them.  Any of those were opportune for salvation; the question was when? 

Looking at the different translations, “shall be saved” could be also: 

·        We believe that we are saved through the grace

·        We believe that we and they are saved in the same way, by the grace

·        We trust and are delivered

·        We believe that we will be saved

·        We believe that we are saved

·        We believe to be saved

·        Will be saved the same way

·        God saves us who are Jews when we believe in Jesus

·        We believe that we are saved in the same way

·        We believe that we will be saved

·        Believe that the Lord Jesus saves us the same way that he saves them—through his kindness.” 

·        Believe and are saved by the grace

·        Believe that we and they too will be saved

·        We certainly believe … that we are saved, just as they are.

·        Believe that the Lord Yeshua saves us the same way that he saves them

·        Believe that we will be liberated 

They all believe in the process of salvation by the grace of God.

The “grace of God” is therefore those who have received the Holy Ghost.

They all believe that salvation of Christians is inevitable.

Shall be, will be, are in that manner, and such.

Belief indicates that there is no proof, but the evidence was that Jesus said the repentant thief would be with Him in Paradise “that day” — the day that he died.

Salvation is belief in a future event.

That you already are saved is a belief. The event occurs when? 

Paul, writing about Jesus, said to Peter, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls (1 Pet 1:9). 

John’s purpose was for him to “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins.  (Luke 1:76-77) 

When did the thief receive the Holy Ghost. When he died and when the Holy Ghost left Jesus to take his soul to Paradise where he was saved to another realm away from Satan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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