Gary Sullivan
Member
Continued
Before dealing with the issue of the Law of Moses I just want to deal with one of the of the acts of apostasy between the inter-testamental period when biblical Judaism was changed to Pharisaic Judaism. In that time the Jewish religious leaders degenerated to prayer books which were vain repetitions.
The Bible in no way desires prescribed prayers, which require no faith or relationship but to pray extemporaneously. In the period from Malachi to the First Coming, the Jewish religious leaders degenerated into prescribed prayers imitating the Gentiles who worshipped no gods/idols. Jesus exposes this evil in Matthew 6:5-15. He tells HIS Jewish audience not to pray in vain repetitions and then tells them their prayers were also not to be haphazard either.
He lays out a 6 stage format for prayer a) All prayers are addressed to GOD the FATHER. Prayers are not to be directed to either the SON or the HOLY by this divine authority. Just before the cross, Jesus adds one more command because HE is about to return to the third Heaven to the right hand of HIS FATHER. In John 14 HE tells the men to be apostles from Acts 2 onwards to pray in HIS NAME. I will deal with this in more detail, maybe in the next email. b) we are then to sanctify GOD- ie set HIM apart as the deliberate act of our heart. c) Next is the necessity to pray in the Kingdom programme of GOD. d) the fourth part of the pray is to pray for our personal needs. e) Fifthly we ask for forgiveness of daily sins as brought out in 1John 1:9. This is true of all saints in. All ages as seen in Proverbs 28:13. It needs to be understood this is the manner believers are to pray. This deals with family relationships, not salvation forgiveness. If we are unforgiving to others we separate ourselves from having intimate fellowship but the relationship is eternally secure because we born into the family of GOD. f) Finally, we need to pray in. The area of spiritual warfare.
Amazingly many people, even believers, vainly repeat the words Jesus uses ignoring the fact that HE had just condemned prayer repetition.His command is to pray " After this manner". If we study the commandments given to the church for this age in the epistles we will know all the detail to pray about within all these 6 areas.
Another point that needs to be addressed is this.No one can add to the WORD of GOD completed in Revelation. In the revelation of Jesus to John in Revelation 22:18-19 we are told that to add or take away from the words of GOD to man contained within the Bible is a guarantee that one is an unbeliever and destined for the Lake of Fire. The warning not to add or take away ifs found elsewhere in the Bible. However, at this time one can go to God and ask HIS forgiveness receiving Jesus as his SAVIOUR and LORD.
Please go to Matthew 7:21-23. In these awesome verses, Jesus states that only those who do the will of the FATHER belong to the LORD.3 specific acts of rebellion are mentioned. The first confession of these unbelievers is that they prophesied in HIS NAME. Whether some of the things prophesied came to pass is irrelevant. They acted exclusively of the LORD as unbelievers.
Secondly, they say they cast out demons. When any believer has cast out a demon that fallen Angel is cast into the abyss where he will remain until the fifth trumpet judgment of Revelation 9. Jesus makes it quite clear in Matthew 12:27 that the followers of the unbelieving Pharisees cast out demons. As they had no divine authority why would the demons leave? The reason is that by doing so they encouraged these religious unbelievers into thinking they were doing the LORD's work and would encourage other gullible people to follow the Pharisees. In these instances, the demons would merely leave and find other quarters.
Thirdly Jesus states something that covers a multitude of sins. The third confession is they did mighty works in HIS NAME. These will include error and deception in word and deed. They, in their unbelief, were counterfeits ie part of the tares in Matthew 13:24-29 where we see the source of their counterfeit enablement is the demonic realm they thought they were exercising power over! I have no faith in myself. Like everyone in myself, I am totally depraved and only the imputed righteousness of Jesus to each believer has cleansed us from all sins. Anyone who thinks they are good in and of themselves has no knowledge of themselves, and this is the problem for those in these verses.
If you go beyond the revealed WORD of GOD you are lost and without hope.
In John 6 Jesus reveals the will of the FATHER and it is very easy to understand. In John 6: 40 a statement is made that a child can understand The will of the FATHER is that each and everyone who beholds and believes in the SON has eternal life. This is not rocket science. Nevertheless billions embrace false religion for their own glory. Yet the LORD will still forgive them if they repent( literally change their minds) and instead of trusting in themselves and put their faith in Jesus and HIS words to us in the epistles.
One of the great errors, even with believing preachers, is to take a word out of context so that it becomes a pretext for what they want it to mean. When we look at John 14 we will see how easily this is done and how infinitely destructive it can be.
It is strange how easy it for any of us to deceive ourselves. I have just read that Paul's word recorded in Scripture and revealed and inspired by the LIVING GOD are in some way subordinate to the words of Elijah. Paul and Elijah are both sinners saved by the blood of the LAMB. Both received divine revelation yet only Paul was inspired to record GOD's WORD. To in any way devalue the words recorded is to deny the divine person and words.
Let us look at what the Bible says about Elijah. He was a prophet to the evil northern kingdom of Israel; he feared the LORD and through GOD'S great power and totally submitted in faith, he was empowered to perform 7 miracles. He was a non-writing prophet and those things the LORD wants us to know about him are found mainly in 1 Kings 17- 2 Kings 10. He, together with Moses, appears with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration recorded in the first 3 gospels. This fulfilled the promise that Jesus made to Peter, James, and John that some of HIS disciples would see HIS glory prior to the Cross. Remember Elijah was one of 2 men raptured in the Old Testament. One of the purposes of this revelation was to authenticate to all of us that there is eternal life after the grave. Elijah never died and Moses did.
Up until just before the Great Tribulation, Elijah will have no more dealings with the affairs of man. However, we are told in Malachi of 2 forerunners to announce the coming of the LORD. In Malachi 3:1 an unnamed prophet will proclaim the LORD at HIS FIRST COMING, and that is seen to have been fulfilled by John the Baptist.
However, Malachi went on to prophesy, by divine inspiration in Malachi 4:5- 6 that Elijah would return before the DAY OF YHWH.
The Day of the LORD is the most common phrase in Scripture for what theologians now call the Great Tribulation. Indeed Paul refers to this in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3. The purpose of the return of Elijah is the same as he had previously and that is to get Israel to believe in their MESSIAH. He will come for the remnant of Israel. In other words, sometime prior to the Great Tribulation Elijah will begin preaching again. continued in next post.
Before dealing with the issue of the Law of Moses I just want to deal with one of the of the acts of apostasy between the inter-testamental period when biblical Judaism was changed to Pharisaic Judaism. In that time the Jewish religious leaders degenerated to prayer books which were vain repetitions.
The Bible in no way desires prescribed prayers, which require no faith or relationship but to pray extemporaneously. In the period from Malachi to the First Coming, the Jewish religious leaders degenerated into prescribed prayers imitating the Gentiles who worshipped no gods/idols. Jesus exposes this evil in Matthew 6:5-15. He tells HIS Jewish audience not to pray in vain repetitions and then tells them their prayers were also not to be haphazard either.
He lays out a 6 stage format for prayer a) All prayers are addressed to GOD the FATHER. Prayers are not to be directed to either the SON or the HOLY by this divine authority. Just before the cross, Jesus adds one more command because HE is about to return to the third Heaven to the right hand of HIS FATHER. In John 14 HE tells the men to be apostles from Acts 2 onwards to pray in HIS NAME. I will deal with this in more detail, maybe in the next email. b) we are then to sanctify GOD- ie set HIM apart as the deliberate act of our heart. c) Next is the necessity to pray in the Kingdom programme of GOD. d) the fourth part of the pray is to pray for our personal needs. e) Fifthly we ask for forgiveness of daily sins as brought out in 1John 1:9. This is true of all saints in. All ages as seen in Proverbs 28:13. It needs to be understood this is the manner believers are to pray. This deals with family relationships, not salvation forgiveness. If we are unforgiving to others we separate ourselves from having intimate fellowship but the relationship is eternally secure because we born into the family of GOD. f) Finally, we need to pray in. The area of spiritual warfare.
Amazingly many people, even believers, vainly repeat the words Jesus uses ignoring the fact that HE had just condemned prayer repetition.His command is to pray " After this manner". If we study the commandments given to the church for this age in the epistles we will know all the detail to pray about within all these 6 areas.
Another point that needs to be addressed is this.No one can add to the WORD of GOD completed in Revelation. In the revelation of Jesus to John in Revelation 22:18-19 we are told that to add or take away from the words of GOD to man contained within the Bible is a guarantee that one is an unbeliever and destined for the Lake of Fire. The warning not to add or take away ifs found elsewhere in the Bible. However, at this time one can go to God and ask HIS forgiveness receiving Jesus as his SAVIOUR and LORD.
Please go to Matthew 7:21-23. In these awesome verses, Jesus states that only those who do the will of the FATHER belong to the LORD.3 specific acts of rebellion are mentioned. The first confession of these unbelievers is that they prophesied in HIS NAME. Whether some of the things prophesied came to pass is irrelevant. They acted exclusively of the LORD as unbelievers.
Secondly, they say they cast out demons. When any believer has cast out a demon that fallen Angel is cast into the abyss where he will remain until the fifth trumpet judgment of Revelation 9. Jesus makes it quite clear in Matthew 12:27 that the followers of the unbelieving Pharisees cast out demons. As they had no divine authority why would the demons leave? The reason is that by doing so they encouraged these religious unbelievers into thinking they were doing the LORD's work and would encourage other gullible people to follow the Pharisees. In these instances, the demons would merely leave and find other quarters.
Thirdly Jesus states something that covers a multitude of sins. The third confession is they did mighty works in HIS NAME. These will include error and deception in word and deed. They, in their unbelief, were counterfeits ie part of the tares in Matthew 13:24-29 where we see the source of their counterfeit enablement is the demonic realm they thought they were exercising power over! I have no faith in myself. Like everyone in myself, I am totally depraved and only the imputed righteousness of Jesus to each believer has cleansed us from all sins. Anyone who thinks they are good in and of themselves has no knowledge of themselves, and this is the problem for those in these verses.
If you go beyond the revealed WORD of GOD you are lost and without hope.
In John 6 Jesus reveals the will of the FATHER and it is very easy to understand. In John 6: 40 a statement is made that a child can understand The will of the FATHER is that each and everyone who beholds and believes in the SON has eternal life. This is not rocket science. Nevertheless billions embrace false religion for their own glory. Yet the LORD will still forgive them if they repent( literally change their minds) and instead of trusting in themselves and put their faith in Jesus and HIS words to us in the epistles.
One of the great errors, even with believing preachers, is to take a word out of context so that it becomes a pretext for what they want it to mean. When we look at John 14 we will see how easily this is done and how infinitely destructive it can be.
It is strange how easy it for any of us to deceive ourselves. I have just read that Paul's word recorded in Scripture and revealed and inspired by the LIVING GOD are in some way subordinate to the words of Elijah. Paul and Elijah are both sinners saved by the blood of the LAMB. Both received divine revelation yet only Paul was inspired to record GOD's WORD. To in any way devalue the words recorded is to deny the divine person and words.
Let us look at what the Bible says about Elijah. He was a prophet to the evil northern kingdom of Israel; he feared the LORD and through GOD'S great power and totally submitted in faith, he was empowered to perform 7 miracles. He was a non-writing prophet and those things the LORD wants us to know about him are found mainly in 1 Kings 17- 2 Kings 10. He, together with Moses, appears with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration recorded in the first 3 gospels. This fulfilled the promise that Jesus made to Peter, James, and John that some of HIS disciples would see HIS glory prior to the Cross. Remember Elijah was one of 2 men raptured in the Old Testament. One of the purposes of this revelation was to authenticate to all of us that there is eternal life after the grave. Elijah never died and Moses did.
Up until just before the Great Tribulation, Elijah will have no more dealings with the affairs of man. However, we are told in Malachi of 2 forerunners to announce the coming of the LORD. In Malachi 3:1 an unnamed prophet will proclaim the LORD at HIS FIRST COMING, and that is seen to have been fulfilled by John the Baptist.
However, Malachi went on to prophesy, by divine inspiration in Malachi 4:5- 6 that Elijah would return before the DAY OF YHWH.
The Day of the LORD is the most common phrase in Scripture for what theologians now call the Great Tribulation. Indeed Paul refers to this in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3. The purpose of the return of Elijah is the same as he had previously and that is to get Israel to believe in their MESSIAH. He will come for the remnant of Israel. In other words, sometime prior to the Great Tribulation Elijah will begin preaching again. continued in next post.