08 January 2015

The Term: Spiritual Resurrection

Note on the topic/issue/term "spiritual resurrection":

A1 Definitions:

B1 Spiritual

C1 Not physical

C2 Physical would point to the flesh, the body

C3 Spiritual would be speaking of the nonmaterial of a being

B2 Resurrection

C1 Becoming alive again

C2 Implies

D1 Something that is living

D2 Then dies

D3 Then comes alive again

B3 Spiritual Resurrection then would refer to something that is alive, then dies, then is made alive again.

A2 Bible

B1 Not taught

C1 Bible teaches that we are dead because of sin. This would be the sin nature that we are born with (original sin).

C2 Bible teaches that God initiates the salvific process, not any person.

B2 The most common Bible reference (verses) used for this is Ephesians 2:1-6

C1 Verse 1 in many translations has the words "has quickened". These words are not in the Greek.

C2 Literally translated the verse reads "and you being dead in trespasses and sins"

D1 Trespass is going or doing what we must not do

D2 Sin is to violate or break a law

C3 Verse 5: "...even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:5, EMTV)

D1 Parallel passages

E1 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (Colossians 2:13, EMTV)

E2 For as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, thus also the Son gives life to whom He wills. (John 5:21, EMTV)

D2 The word for resurrection and used in the sense of raising something (sleep, sitting, disease, or death, etc.) is egeiro.

D3 The word for made alive is zoopoieo.

D4 The word used in verse 5 is suzoopoieo, that is make alive together.

D5 Resurrection and made alive are two different concepts.

E1 Resurrection (as mentioned above) is something alive that dies, and then is raised from death.

F1 The Lord Jesus as man was alive, died, and raised to life, that is, made alive again. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

F2 Those who are trusting in God for salvation will be resurrected in the future, that is, were alive, died (physically), then raised again to life. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

E2 Make alive is something dead that is, well, made alive.

F1 The saints, God's people, are made alive, that is, existing as dead then made alive. (Colossians 2:13)

F2 Jesus was made alive in the sense that in the grave He was dead and when raised from death is alive again.

E3 They are similar in that

F1 in resurrection and make alive both have dead to being alive again.

F2 in make alive only being dead to being alive.

B3 So while not in error to use the term, it would be better to avoid especially as Gnostics and others use the term to indicate things as Jesus did not raise physically only spiritually or some other sense.

07 January 2015

A Changed Life

This is a brief about a man named Louis Zamperini. He was full of bitterness and rage. He was torn up with addictions to alcohol. He rage had affected his marriage. All this came about in part because of the severe abuse he suffered as a Japanese prisoner of war. Here is part of his story. Read the full article here: Louis Zamperini's Story of Survival and Redemption.

When 94-year-old Louis Zamperini opened his mailbox a few months ago, he found a letter he will always treasure.

"Dear Louis," wrote Billy Graham, "My associate read me parts of the new book about you yesterday. What a life you have lived. What a description you have in the book of your conversion to Christ in 1949, and the great part that [your wife] Cynthia played in it, which I was aware of, but not in such detail. I had tears in my eyes and praise in my heart for what God has done through you."

Mr. Graham's letter is one of thousands that have poured into Zamperini's mailbox since the release of the New York Times No. 1 bestseller "Unbroken." The story about Zamperini's remarkable journey from Olympic runner to World War II hero has been hailed by TIME magazine as the best nonfiction book of the year.

And Billy Graham isn't just a consumer of "Unbroken," he plays a pivotal role in the book.

As his letter said, the year was 1949. The city: Los Angeles. Louis Zamperini was adrift and struggling with alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following savage abuse as a prisoner of war in Japan. Cynthia was ready to saddle him with divorce papers.

It was around…

Some say there cannot be a change as this but there is such a change as mentioned in the article. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17, EMTV).

Changing the political scene does very little if anything, but when God changes the person into a new creation, then society changes.


 

Prophet

Today there are millions of prophets. Are they really a prophet?










































Qualifications of a prophet
Typical TodayA little tougherBible's list
Attend a prophet school

(Search engine search for "prophet school")
Have God's HeartTrue Call

(Joel 1:1, Deuteronomy 18:18)
Have an experienceThe Power to Create True UnityTrue Message

(Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
Prophetic Sacrifice (God first)True Prediction

(Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
Willing to die for the brethrenTrue God (Deuteronomy 13:5-6)
True Doctrine

(Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
True Life See

(Jeremiah 6:13, Matthew 7:15)


 

A prophet is one who speaks for God. It is usually a message of imploring people to repent to avoid God's judgment. It rarely indicates telling the future.

Are there prophets today?

There are no official spokesmen/women for God today. Everyone who calls themselves such is either deceived or a liar.

More later…

05 January 2015

Christian Rules and Laws

Many people believe that the only law that a Christian has is "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40, EMTV).

They believe that God looks at the heart and that their heart is certainly good because of their trust into Jesus.

They belong to a church that has various laws and regulations. Nothing really wrong with those as long as people don't keep them thinking that in obeying these rules they are automatically right with God.

But God does have laws and rules for Christians. The Lord Jesus and also His 12 Apostles gave over 1,000 rules for Christians. We don't obey this to get to heave; we obey these because we are Christians and are submitted to God.

Every kingdom/nation has laws. The Kingdom of God is no different. We might as well start obeying here. God's laws are an easy yoke (Matthew 11:30) and are meant for our safety and the peaceful life among all people. To obey with the right attitude shows our submission to God as our King.

I have posted a pdf file of New Testament Laws, so read and tell me what you think.

Cheers

Sunday School Notes Updated

I have updated the Sunday School Notes. The link is here.

01 January 2015

Success or How to be Successful this Year

Many articles and seminars are created every year. They all promise steps to success. Does the Bible have anything to say about being successful?

BLESSED is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalms 1:1-6, NKJV)

What is success? The main meaning has to do with reaching a goal.

Success can be for good things as health or lose weight. It can also be used for evil things as theft or manipulation (Psalm 37:7).

Being successful in light of eternity and in God's eyes depends on our goals. For the Christian the goals should be to glorify God and bear good fruit for Him. Some of this fruit is mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23).

Some steps for reaching these goals are:

  1. Have as your friends and the people you hang around with are not ungodly, scornful sinners (Psalm 1:1). In 1 Kings 12:10 King Rehoboam sought advice how and what to answer the question from the people about taxes. The older men gave advice to lower the burden they must carry (lower their taxes) while the young men replied that they should increase them. There was a civil war resulting in the division of Israel into Israel and Judah. One can only know who is an ungodly sinner by knowing the rules that the Lord Jesus gave. Scornful people are those who mock God and His ways of living.

  2. Bible study. This is not just reading the Bible every day but thinking about what each word means and how it applies. Read the Bible, look up words through their Strong's number, think about each word in its context emphasizing it as you think about it, and then apply it to your life. The Blue Letter Bible cite can help you in your study.

  3. Prayer. Every day take 5 minutes to pray thanking God for the good things He has done, asking for the needs of others, and asking for wisdom for whatever decisions you need to make that day.

  4. Forgive. We must forgive others the wrongs they have done. Forgiving someone does not mean that they will never be punished but is placing that person in God's hands to hopefully repent or else punish, and His punishment is always just right. The Lord Jesus was praying that His Father would forgive Jesus's enemies while Jesus was suffering on the cross (Luke 23:34).

  5. Show, live, talk, think the ways of God. Our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds to all should be of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Sacrifices in the Millennium

A question was asked of Dr. Tony Garland regarding the need for sacrifices in the Millennium. Below is a chart of the differences between the Sacrifices that Moses was told to do and the sacrifices in the Millennium. The main thrust of the question if Jesus was the "accepted sacrifice", why is there a need for sacrifices in the Millennium? See Ezekiel 43 and 45.



















First Temple (Solomon)Second Temple (Ezra/Nehemiah)Third Temple (Restoration)
No GentilesNo Shekinah GloryGentiles and Shekinah Glory
Distinctive ShapeDistinctive ShapeNew Shape and Dimensions


 








































































































Mosaic Sacrifice (Exodus 29:1-37)Millennial Sacrifice (Ezekiel 43:18-27)
Altar anointedNo anointed
Bullock sin offering for 7 daysOnly on the first day
No goat offeringGoat offerings the last six days
Blood applied to horns of altar onlyApplied on horns, corners, and lower molding
Burnt Offering: Ram offering every dayBullock and Ram every day
Ram offered for priest's consecrationNone
Ark of the CovenantNone (Jeremiah 3:16)
Only High Priest enters Holy of HoliesAll priests may enter (Ezekiel 44:15-16)
Specific marriage rules for the High Priest onlyThe rules apply to all the priests (Ezekiel 44:22)
The first of Nisan was not a special dayIs a special day (Ezekiel 45:18)
In the Ezekiel 45:19 a male goat & outside campA bullock & inside camp
Passover with head of family doing ritualPrince performs ritual (Ezekiel 45:21-24)
Passover lasted one daySeven days
Passover animal is unblemished lambBullock
Number of sacrifices differentSee Numbers 28:16-24
Amount of meal offering is different
Number of offerings in the Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:12-34)See Ezekiel 45:25)
Feast of Tabernacles lasted 8 days(Numbers 29:35-38)7 days
Sabbath Offerings: 2 lambs and 1 ram(Numbers 28:9) The meal offering is different, too.6 lambs and 1 ram (Ezekiel 46:4-5)
New Moon Offering: 2 bulls, 1 rams, 7 lambs1 bull, 1 ram, 6 lambs (Ezekiel 46:6-7)
Daily Offering: 2 lambs twice a day(Numbers 28:3-4)1 lamb each morning and none in the evening(Ezekiel 46:13-15)
Daily Meal Offering 1/10th ephah flour, 1/4th oil(Exodus 29:40 & Numbers 28:5)1/6th ephah fine flour and 1/3rd hin of oil(Ezekiel 46:13-15)
Feast of Tabernacles required only for JewsRequired for Jew and Gentile(Zechariah 14:16-21)
Only those of Levi could be priestsBoth Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 66:18-21)


 

Again the full link is Sacrifices in the Millennial Kingdom.