₦airaland Forum

annyplenty:
Do your restitutions.

You are preaching heresy

Sukersoc:
I have found the doctrine of the trinity very confusing and I'm not alone it seems. Many proponents and opponents alike appear to be equally confused about the doctrine itself.

Proponents will often say, God is a mystery as a way out of the Trinity debate. By the way, majority of Christianity are believers in the trinity of God.

The Bible it seems though, overwhelming teaches that there is only one true God the Father, and that the Father is greater than the Son. There are offcourse a few scriptures which appear to lend credence to the Trinity.

Thus I wonder, Why is the majority of Christainity insistent on a doctrine that is so clearly debatable and difficult to prove even from the Bible?

Can you tell us if you believe in the Trinity, why, and if not, why not?

The trinity doctrine is not a confusing one. It is embedded in several parts of the scriptures including the gospels. Those who find it confusing usually aren’t students of the Bible and their teachers likewise.

Firstly, let’s look at the vision of the first Chapter of Ezekiel:
1. There are four living creatures.
2. Each one had four faces.
3. Each had four wings.
4. They were joined together by the wings.
5. They moved as one.

As for the resemblance of their faces, the description is as follows:
1. One face like that of a man.
2. One face like that of a lion.
3. One face like that of an ox.
4. One face like that of an eagle.

The same description is given in Revelation 4. (“Man” representing intelligence; “Lion” representing royalty or the strength of a King; “Ox” representing a burden bearer; “Eagle” representing deity. The four gospels which give story of one man in several views is arranged in this manner: Matthew, the Gospel of the King; Mark, the Gospel of the Son of Man; Luke, the Gospel of the Suffering Servant (burden bearer); John, the Gospel of God or the Son of God. These four called the synoptic gospels give different faces of one theme.)

Away from the parenthesis, Ezekiel saw these:
1. The four creatures were independent; but moved as one using the face of the one that faced the Spirit.
2. He saw a Wheel.
3. He referred to it as Wheels.
4. He saw the mechanism behind the Wheels.

Why did he refer to multiple wheels as “Wheel”? He seems to describe the mechanism of the Wheels to be similar to that of the four living creatures - they moved as one - independent but not mutually exclusive. Mechanically, a mechanism is given one name e.g. a clock. But a clock is nothing without its wheels and pinions; A ratchet wheel is nothing without a main wheel. A clock maker or a specialist in repairing tires, brakes, rims and flywheels will understand Ezekiel’s vision- several parts moving as one is given only one name.

So how many parts move as one? The Old Testament showed: it is three. Abraham sees three men, he bows to them as one saying, “My Lord” (not Lords). Let’s look at the altercation between Jesus and the Jews (who knew Jehovah was plural in essence): In John 10 Jesus says, “I and My Father are one. This He said plainly to define His claim as Son of God - One of the Godhead - who moves when the Father moves (John 5:19).

The Salutation of the first chapter of Revelations shows something outstanding. The letters to the Churches in Asia Minor are from three authorities (equal in rank) bearing the same title (when you break down their epithet):

1. The eternal one (who was, who is and who is to come)- used mostly to describe the Father.
2. The Seven Spirits - The Pluralis Majestatis of the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ.

Three signatures, and one title.

I could make it longer but I think this should be enough for now. The Trinity isn’t complicated: it is best described as Three-as-one. It is just the aversion of people to read in this present time that gives the headache.

Lovelyn451:
Interesting

What did you find interesting about the writeup?

Namma:
I have this man i worked with and he has refused to pay me since june till date..
He no longer takes my call..
I am very frustrated as i need the money for something urgent.
Please how do i go about getting my money... I don't want to involve my council...
Thank you

Have you got your money now?

Eviana:
Acehart,
You are correct.
There is a righteous judgment that Christians are told to exercise

John 7:24 (KJV)
24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment"

I think that oftentimes, we tend to abuse that "right to judgment" when dealing with our brethren.
We are very critical of our brethren, rather than praying for, being firm yet loving, and encouraging towards them...when we too have faults that need to be eradicated.
We aren't sometimes, really in a position to rebuke others when we have just as many faults.
Christ is the measuring stick.
So I was looking at that aspect of the OP.


Appreciation for making that point, and showing the balance.

Hi,

The tongue is a servant of the heart. When one of the ‘brethren’ criticizes, the right question to ask is: is that brother regenerated? The hearts (in the church) are like the soils in the parable of the sower: hard, shallow and good soil. If a brother is fond of criticizing, I dare say that he had not been to the Cross of Calvary, the place of regeneration.

Not many are born again but they have a form of godliness; Because we see them in the church and they talk like someone from a church we tag them “Christians.” Those who are born of the spirit are merciful: I’m sure they join Paul in seeing nothing good about themselves saying, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Or Isaiah in saying, “Woe is me...I am a man of unclean lips”. Jesus said, “But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Those who criticize amongst us have not been forgiven of much because they think they are perfect (in their own eyes); they are self-righteous - they don’t have a loving heart, the good soil.

But one thing I have observed is this: teachings stating that we are saved by works breeds self-righteous people. So it is also important that if one is saved, he knows the right ground (church) to flourish in. Prayer is very important too: those who pray for even their enemies don’t indulge in negative words about anyone because righteous prayers purifies the heart. So churches that pushes us to pray for the misfortune of anyone are to be avoided.

You may ask: are you saying those who are born again don’t criticize? We do (at our baby stage); as Paul and experience says, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” We do criticize; but as we age in Christ we stop because of the Lord’s discipline (with strokes of His cane).

I’m sorry for the late response.
‭‭


‭‭

“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Hi,

I have highlighted the text above to introduce what I think about your admonition. Matthew 7:3-5 was not the beginning of the discourse. We would have to go back a chapter to see that Christ’s warned his disciples to desist from the practice of the Pharisees, the hypocrite and the Gentiles. Verse 5 from your first reference text shows that Jesus was referring to the hypocrite not his disciples. The hypocrite was not to judge because he is not qualified. Luke 6 shows that Jesus was referring to the blind leader, the evil man.

Apostle Paul writes to us that the spiritual man judges all things (not like the carnal man who has only his perception to guide his judgement). In the judgement of the spiritual man, Christ is his guide. We can see how the Church in Ephesus found out the lies of the Nicolaitans in their midst.

The verses you quoted in the way you did, makes many Christians docile. The Church in Ephesus May have lost its first love, but they had not forgotten to judge all things - We are to judge all things in righteousness.

Let the scriptures in its fullness guide your admonition so that you would strengthen the weak hands.

Sukersoc:
I have just exited a popular dangerous religious cult. Mind you, ardent members of this religion do not see the religion as I have just described it, and I personally didn't see it that way too for the many decades I was a member, but many outsiders recognise the religion for what it truly is - "a cult".

But I'm not about the religion at this time and do not intend to talk about them any further, unless it becomes very necessary for the purpose of perhaps warning unsuspecting others who do not see the wolf beneath the sheep covering. My goal is to find a church or Bible study group that is solely focused on the study of the Bible, that study the Bible "Exegetically" not "Eisegetically".

In case you are wondering what this two terms mean; Exegetical study of the Bible implies simply allowing the scripture to interpret itself, i.e. interpreting scriptures contextually, while Eisegetical study of the Bible is the process of interpreting scriptures in such a way as to introduce one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases into the text.
The later unfortunately has been the preferred choice for most Christendom denominations, allowing them to distort scriptures to suite there personal, and sometimes selfish agendas and doctrines.

I have found many useful YouTube channels that teach the Bible Exegetically but that is not enough, it doesn't fill the need to gather together as instructed at Hebrews 10:23-25.

Therefore, I'm in search for any church or Bible study group that meets this criteria, no matter how small the group may be, and no matter how modest.

I know suggestions will be made about a great many known Churches we have in Nigeria, but i can tell you, I've checked-out and reseached a whole many of them; they study the Bible Eisegetically. In fact a lot of them do very little study of the Bible if at all. Sermons are based largely on emotionally charged stories of how success and wealth is indicative of God's blessing, and how suffering and poverty is indicative of God's denunciation, a notion that I can hardly trace to the scriptures. In most of these places, study and interpretation of scriptures is the exclusive preserve of the "man of God" and not the collective church.

Some might say, I'm searching for perfection, but far from it; what I'm looking for obtains in some other countries where the Christian religion is practiced and I believe there are perhaps a few here in Nigeria. Often, groups like this are not famous but they exist and I'm hoping to find one.

In the event that I'm unable to locate any such group, I may be open to joining other like minds in organising a Bible study group that can meet at least once a month for Bible study at an agreed location. So in case you're in my shoes and have unsuccessful in finding a church or group that meets your spiritual need and you're based in Abuja, you might indicate on this thread. But this option is only a plan B please.

I reside in Abuja.

Trinity Baptist Church and Soverign Grace community church. These two are popular for teaching reformed theology.

Davash222:
So, na you wan teach me how to pray now
Is God complaining that I'm commanding Him??
Who are you?? Assistant God

Isa 45:11  The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, Will you put a question to me about the things which are to come, or will you give me orders about my sons, and the work of my hands?

Isaiah 45:11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “How dare you question Me concerning My sons, or instruct Me about the work of My hands“

Osisam:
Another prophecy of the senior pastor of Omega fire ministry, Apostle Johnson Suleman,

BREAKING NEWS:

PROPHECY # 27 SPOKEN BY THE RESTORATION
APOSTLE, PROF JOHNSON SULEMAN AS REVEALED BY GOD FULFILLED.

HIS EXACT WORD,
“CHINA TO EXPERIENCE MAJOR LOSES”

PLEASE DO REMEMBER CHINA IN YOUR PRAYERS.


BREAKING NEWS: PROPHECY # 27 SPOKEN BY THE RESTORATION APOSTLE, FULFILLED.


Follow link to continue reading

https://www.osisam.com/breaking-news-prophecy-27-spoken-by-the-restoration-apostle-fulfilled/

What are the major losses?

lifeagain22:
. Spiritual things are deeper ,Going to church to Pray, shout on top of your voice ,paying tithes etc does not makes You Spiritual ,Jesus was Spiritual throughout his eartly sojourn he was not a talk talk and loose personality .To over evils that is every where you must be Spiritual .Wake up in the morning ,Get some sea salts ,Pour it in a water ,read psalm 35 ,7 times in it ,drink very little and use the remaining to bath .Fast throughout that day ,No sex ,No hatred ,keep positive mind
..do this for 7 days .fasting could be between morning and 4 pm..Avoid meat ,fish during fasting Eat fruits ,Vegetables .

What church do you go to?

grandiose4ever:
I posted the verse in Yoruba up there. There's no Amotekun (cheetah). You only have Kinniun(lion) Ikooko(hyena) ekun(leopard)

In many English versions, leopard is mentioned. Nevertheless, it's not a leopard defending the city but it speaks of the lion and the wolf stealthily lying in wait like a leopard to destroy (attack) the people of the city who venture out.

The man is very ignorant and fueled by wickedness.

AntiChristian:
I will tell you if you mention Jesus'!

I thought you were a very bold man or woman. But your shying away is a sign of pride. I can see where those heavy words you use against my Lord comes from. Well, Christ said He has judged you already; the result which you would see very soon.

Haleplushearty:
The Power, Praise and Purity Bible has study notes from Pastor Adeboye.

A Bible commentary is a written, systematic series of explanations and interpretations of Scripture.

Commentaries often analyze or expound on individual books of the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Some commentary works provide analysis of the whole of Scripture.

It's an error to say EA Adeboye is the first black man to author a study Bible or a commentary. It's a great misinformation.

AntiChristian:
Sorry I don't bye all this epistle.
Will you generate same epistle for each of these too?

Matthew 23:33
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Luke 11:40
You foolish people! [/b]Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

Matthew 16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "[b]Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

What type of perfect role model is this to follow? He went around insulting people while he preached, while at the same time he told his followers to show love to their enemies? He even went so far as calling one of his disciples "Satan"!! Why couldn't Jesus be more patient and hold his tongue?

What is your highest academic qualification?

AntiChristian:
The Biblical Jesus said...

Matthew 15:26
He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

The Jews used to use the word 'dogs' as a derogatory term in order to refer to the Gentiles. Christians argue back that Jesus only used this term because it was common language back at that time and so the woman would have known what Jesus was speaking about.
This is a pathetic excuse. Jesus should have come and abolished this silly practice of referring to Gentiles as 'dogs'. If he wanted to communicate to the lady regarding Gentiles, he could have simply said 'Gentiles' and she would have understood. He didn't have that to use that term and continue allowing this silly and offensive practice to continue.

Don't blame me if i call you a dog if i think you're a Gentile to me!

One, you quoted Jesus wrongly; from your response to other people, your insertion of the word "their" in the reference text is dubious.

When quoting anyone, you have to show objectivity by sticking to the context of the speech or discourse. You didn't show due diligence because of your haste.

Let me help you a bit with this long explanation (let's start from the beginning of the dilenma) :


Matthew 15:24: But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Two, please permit me to use a technique I use in my profession to answer your question; it’s called Problem-Solving methodology. Firstly, all the right information about a problem is gathered. Secondly, only six questions are answered. These questions are called the 5W 1H: who, what, where, when, why, how.

1. All the information related to the meaning of “Lost sheep”in the Christian Bible:
a. A select set of people in Israel: These were the spiritually sick (Matthew 9:13). They were the ones who mourned for their sins and needed a Messiah (Luke 5:31-32, 15:6). Psalm 119 refers to the term “lost sheep” as one who recognizes that he is a sinner. Other scriptures show that they are the ones led astray by bad leaders.

2. Who was Jesus talking to?: It was not stated whether He was talking to His disciples or the Syro-Phoenician woman. It’s best to think that He was talking to Himself. However, the woman at the center of this quagmire was referred to as a “dog”. A dog is someone whom the Bible says has many religious affiliations - syncretic, would be the right description. She was a Syno-Phoenician: It was typical of the people of that region to be faithful to many gods (2 Kings 17:24-33).

3. Why did Jesus say what He said?: It was only in Israel that the concept of sin was understood; and extensive rituals for sin and righteousness were observed. Other religions and cultures of that time did not have such a thing. If He met a Gentile, one who did not have an understanding of the concept of sin, He would be in a dilemma and the soliloquy in point 2 above is understandable - He would be wasting His time talking to her. (Do you remember how Christ didn't utter a word to Pontius Pilate, a Gentile renowned for his lack of restraint regarding sin? Likewise, Jesus’ first response to the woman was silence)

4. What was Jesus’ mission?: I’d like to ask you this: if you were to open a shop, wouldn’t you open it where you will have the largest amount of customers? This doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t sell your goods to people while you are on the way to your shop. (There is a man that supplies Agege bread to a woman close to my office. He doesn’t spend more than 10 minutes when he comes to supply his bread. Nevertheless, some people walking to their office will walk to his car to buy his bread without going to his preferred customer - the woman).

Only the children of Abraham were Christ’s preferred customers because of an agreement God had with Abraham. It will only make sense that if He had only three years to sell His bread, the best place to sell is where He had an agreement. This doesn’t mean that other people along the way wouldn’t eat His bread. When Israel broke the agreement, He carried His bread to other people - the Gentiles. So it will be that if the woman who sells the Agege bread breaks the agreement she has with the bread supplier, then he will find a new agent.

You can see the juxtaposition of the use of the words lost sheep and dog to explain Christ's mission. Do not be in a haste when reading the scriptures. Many resources are available for you to use to make the right judgement of texts in the Bible, no matter how difficult they look.

Remember when God said: Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? He was speaking to those that misrepresented Him or misquoted Him rather. He later condemned them. Let us be careful when we quote God; when a man speaks against a man, another man can defend him; when God speaks against a man, who can defend such a man? - You darkened God's word by your words.

It is a waste of time. Those unsolicited interviews are run by syndicates who want marketers for little or nothing

Dear readers, written below is my response to someone who posted on the WhatsApp forum of the Youth Fellowship of my church that we can decree life into every gloomy situation. Two messages were sent prior to the one below you are about to read. This was my final reply. I hope you enjoy it:

I will keep my eyes ONLY on “Speak life (to your situation)” and “I DECLARE that this difficulty will only serve to strengthen & mature me” in my response – the bones of my contention.

I hope you are born-again in the hope of the resurrection of the saints; because I would need your patience and love (the fruits of the Spirit to the saints); I plead for your patience while you read my response and I will plead for your love after you have read it. It would be nice if I will be precise as the servant-girl who identified Peter as a member of the Galilean’s movement.


I have been a Baptist for less than half a decade now. But from where I came from, we used to practice a “non-Baptistic” approach to prayer – Speak life (to your situation) and “I decree-and-declare” prayers, known as “name it-and-claim it” doctrine.

While I was there, I prayed or rather I should say we prayed in line with the “Speak Life” and “Decree it” approach for my friend who had cancer (but died after a long battle with it), my friend who had sickle cell anemia complications (but died of its complications), my best friends who had diabetes and hypertension (but died because of them). I saw my friends pray in line with the “Speak life to your situation” and “Declare such and such” that their children who were autistic should be like other kids who did things ebulliently; one with a child with cerebral palsy “speaking” (as you directed us last night) that her only son be like other springy children.

We lost faith in God for a while until He led us to search the scriptures concerning what my contention with some part of your instruction (last night) is. We found that like the early Church fathers that we were to interpret scripture with scripture, and be silent where scripture is silent and speak where it speaks. These were our findings regarding our misinterpretation:


1. The misinterpretation of Job 22:28: “You will also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you”:

Who was quoted? Eliphaz, one of the friends of Job whom the Lord God rejected. Here is what God said concerning Eliphaz’s sayings: The LORD said to Eliphaz: “What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry with you and your two friends for not telling the truth about me” (Job 42:7).

If we ended in Job 22:28, we would not see the disclaimer from God concerning every word from the tongue of Job’s friends especially Eliphaz. Therefore, we agreed that whatever God rejects, we do not accept.

We later found out that right from antiquity as well as in the Christian scriptures that decrees we issued out only by magistrates, rulers, government, the church elders and Jehovah God; and these decrees are brought about by the force of a written law.

Luke 2:1 is a typical example – “a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

Proverbs 8:15 says, “By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just”.

Therefore, the question one should ask when I say “I decree such and such” is: are you a king?

2. The misinterpretation of Proverbs 18:20-21: ”Death and life and in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”:

A curious reader would ask: whose tongue(speech) has the power to sentence one to death or appoint one to life? Firstly, we saw that the Book of Proverbs was an account of a king’s and queen’s instruction to their son, soon-to-be-king. If that verse was referring solely to their son, then, the speeches or sentences of kings have the “power of life and death”, a God-like power; Israel was split into two kingdoms on the account of the speech of King Rehoboam (1 Kings 12).

However, the scriptures not only show that magistrates, rulers, government, the church elders and Jehovah God have this power, but their appointed messengers too possess this power by proxy. The slanderous letters of King Sennacherib and his insolent messages by Rabshekeh were looked at: By his words, the Lord God killed Sennacherib and sent judgment upon Assyria. Likewise, the cursings of Shimei at David and his resultant death by the sentence of King Solomon was looked at. (Space wouldn’t permit me to write of the speeches of some wonderful women which led to the preservation of the lives of their love ones - Proverbs 16:24 says, Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones).

Apostle James warned teachers of the use of the tongue in the congregation of the saints. Those who were eager to teach but by their words cause people to stumble will incur God’s wrath.

Apostle Paul speaks intensely to Timothy to avoid arguments and unwholesome speech that lead to ungodliness.

So, what tongues incurs the sentence of death? Careless and frivolous talk, scorn, lies, slander, indecent speech. (2 Tim. 2:14, Eph. 4:29, Psalm 1:1)

What speech leads to life? The gracious words that lead sinners to Christ, comforting and encouraging words, kind words, words spoken against falsehood, pure words and words that enlightens.

In all, Proverbs 18:20-21 is bipolar: it consists of a speaker and a hearer; it is not a “self-centered” propagating pair of verses; Isaiah 3:10 says, “Say to the righteous that it will go well with them.”

3. The misinterpretation of Romans 4:17: It was the easiest to clarify: Paul states that is God alone the calls things that are not as though they were. The word for “call” is the same as “summon”. Paul was emphasizing divine election in the decree of God concerning righteousness. According to the name-it-claim-it doctrine, we can speak God’s word over our finances, possessions, jobs etc. and we will see supernatural effects in our favour. The doctrine claims that if we “confess” and have enough faith, God will be moved to do what we desire. However, It negates the sovereignty of the Lord God; it infers that the confessor is Lord of God; it is not in line with the mode of prayer according to the gospel – we speak to God the Father (only) through Christ alone.

Point three of your instruction says that we should DECLARE that our difficulty should SERVE us.

What would you say to us who are inspired by Romans 8: 39 to turn our gaze away from the difficulties but focus on the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus? Should we not remember Apostle Paul speaking of his obliviousness to difficulties for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor. 11:1-30). Perhaps, we should declare to our difficulties because we do not do anything daily for the sake of the gospel.

I know your instruction was well-intentioned; the parts that praise God are good; but partial truths are as deadly as falsehood; they are yeasts that the saint should be zealous to avoid or battle against when he meets them. A tongue can only be cured by unchanging meditation of Christ. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith; and it is He alone that can speak life to all our situation (life which he has spoken concerning us before the foundation of the world) because of His love for us.

Mcuzy:
Do you know how hard it is to stop ? Am trying my best. Thanks man

I have had sleep paralysis. I didn’t watch pornography, masturbate or do any crooked. Sleep paralysis doesn’t last long. Try to live a healthy life - exercise, eat healthy and avoid anything that makes the brain uneasy.

However, you would have worse things to worry about if you continue to indulge in these sexually motivated habit of yours. To overcome sin is to realize that Jesus died naked on a cross to set you free from those proclivities. Just look to Him. If you fall again, tell Him to pick you up until you can stand leaning on Him.

You suffered from ‘sleep paralysis’. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking.

UNDERSTANDING MALACHI 3:10


Then, what is it we hear of the interpretation of Malachi 3:10? Do you not know that that distinct blessing of Malachi 3:10 is Christ, the Bread of Heaven? Is it not simple to understand? Let us observe the verse: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (KJV). Malachi points to a single, distinct, blessing that cannot be contained by any room (on earth, I’ll say).

Mathematically, the geometry of a room in its simplest form is modelled according to its length and its width and its height. This room without measure would mean that the distance between each vertex is infinite. Simply, its elevation can be expressed as the distance between anywhere on our planet to outskirts of the universe, skywards, past all the heavenly bodies; likewise the width and the length.


The Lord of Hosts challenges King Ahaz (in similar fashion as He did to the priests in the Book of Malachi) in Isaiah 7:11, to ask for a distinct sign whose ramification is as high as the heavens and reaches to the lowest parts of the earth: That distinct sign was the child born by a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), whose name is Christ Jesus. Concerning Christ, Ephesians 4:9, 10 says, “(Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens)” (NASB); He who descended to the lowest parts of the earth and ascended past all heavens is Christ Jesus. That distinct blessing in Malachi 3:10 was Christ, of whom the psalmist said, “If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there”.

O! Whenever the windows of Heaven are open as all scripture reveal, Christ is seen by the eyes of men, the sound of His sweet voice hits men’s ear cords, His apparel of splendour causes men to faint and the earth opens up and salvation springs forth: Jacob dreamt of a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and He said: “I am the Lord”; Isaiah peeped through the ‘orifice’ of Heaven and said, “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne”; Steven looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. O! What visions of what pours out of Heaven that Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, and John saw, and now Malachi sees?! Nothing proceeds from the Heaven of God to earth except Christ, alone. Paul with joy writes to us when he returned from the third heaven -where he saw Christ: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven” (Eph. 1:3, ICB).

The blessing of Malachi 3:10 is Christ indeed.



And Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open. You will see angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51, ICB)

Acehart

FIRSTFRUITS (The New Testament perspective)


There are seven sabbaths legislated in the Torah (The Law). They areh:

1. The Feast of Passover.

2. The Feast of Unleavened bread.

3. The Feast of Firstfruits. (Feast of Shavout)

4. The Feast of Weeks. Also called The Feast of Pentecost.

5. The Feast of Trumpets.

6. The Feast of Atonement.

7. The Feast of Tabernacles. Also called The Feast of Booths or The Feast of ingathering.

---

It was foretold in the Pentateuch[/i]l, the writings and the Prophets (in forms, shadows, symbols, and types) that someone was coming to fulfill the essence of these Sabbaths (Holy-days). The Image and reality was Christ (Col. 2:16-17).

Hebrew 12:23 says, ”You have come to the joyful gathering of God's first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, who is the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people made perfect”.

Firstfruits, “[i]Bikkurim”, in the Hebrew language, means firstborn sons or male firstling of the herd. (According to the Torah, the firstfruits offering in the temple consisted of the male lamb and the barley loaf with a drink offering of wine).

In the Gospels, concerning the Day of the Feast of the Firstfruits and the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the grave, 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Christ is referred to as the Firstfruit of the dead.

According to Apostle James, being born again according to the will of our Heavenly Father through the power of the gospel makes us a kind of firstfruits God acquires for Himself. (James 1:18).

Concerning firstfruits, Dr. John MacArthur writes, “Originally an OT expression referring to the first and best harvest crops, which God expected as an offering. Giving God that initial crop was an act of faith that He would fulfill His promise of a full harvest to come (Prov. 3: 9, 10)”.

In the same way, the saints are the first evidence of God’s new creation - a sign of a glorious harvest for all creation (Romans 8:19-23). If this is true, the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel, a type of firstfruits (Revelation 14: 4), who usher in a full harvest of redeemed people during the time of tribulation - the great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, people and tongues in the ninth verse of the seventh chapter of the Revelation of John.

eduman365:
Black mamba... I recognize it 100%. It's silvery black lower part. Very venomous.

Black mambas are known by their tongue and not their skin

midnighter:
Yes, its appropriate and youre welcome. I enjoyed the scientific/technological angle

Imagine a detective who only makes a decision based only on evidence without considering eyewitness testimonies and many other factors that inform wise judgment. That’s how a scientific atheist is - he has never proved beyond reasonable doubt (either to himself or the community) that there isn’t a God. When you ask a science-induced atheist how something came out of nothing? He dwells on the ‘something’ and ignores the ‘nothing’ until the argument is no longer objective. Once one is an atheist by choice, there is little one can do to change him - that battle is the Lord’s. For the OP, he is a contradiction and his reasoning - a-dime-a-dozen type found amongst who enjoy pleasure, is his drive towards atheism.

Happy New Year

predatorX:
Do not limit yourself to this planet by believing creation has stopped. As i write, creation is still happening on a universal scale.

So you are right if you chose to be logical and reason along with me - You say creation should be perpetual, and i cannot agree more because you are very accurate. The same energy(the big bang) initiated by an IT that created all universes is still rapidly accelerating, thus expanding the fabric of space. But even though the fabric of space is expanding throughout the Universe - everywhere and in all directions - we aren't. Our atoms remain the same size. So do the planets, moons, stars, as well as the distances separating them. Even the galaxies in our Local Group aren't expanding away from one another; they're gravitating towards one another instead. WHY My answer: At this level, please throw away Isaac Newton and evolve to understanding Albert Einstein's proven theories of General and Special Relativities.

The first thing we have to understand is what our theory of gravity is, and how it differs from how you might think of it intuitively. Some like you think of space the way Newton did: as a fixed grid, with unchanging set of coordinates that you could place your masses down onto. But when Einstein came along, he recognized that this imaginary grid wasn't fixed, wasn't absolute and wasn't at all like Newton had imagined. Instead, this grid was like a fabric, and the fabric itself was curved, distorted and forced to evolve over time by the presence of matter and energy. Moreover, the matter and energy within it determined how this space-time fabric was curved.

The same energy that started it all, accelerates symmetrically away from the point of origin which explains the expanding universe. However, applying theory of relativity by assuming our position to be the center of creation(the big bang), you will see that there is no way you can go forward in time to stop the force of creation because if you try to jump time, your length contracts and you will appear to be squished in the space-time fabric. As all these are happening simultaneously, the universe is equally stretching away relative to the speed of your time jump and current position. It is impossible to catch up literally!!

Now you may wonder why this expansion is not widening the distance between the planets within our solar system or galaxy since space is elastic. Why is the distance between the Earth and the Sun constant, or the distance between the sun and other suns in our solar system constant. The answer is simple - Our Local gravity is stronger than the elasticity of space. Because the expansion of the Universe only has any effect where another force - whether gravitational, electromagnetic or nuclear - hasn't yet overcome it. If some force can successfully hold an object together, even the expanding Universe won't affect a change.

If you think time is inconsequential, please read up on space-time dilation and be enlightened that time is everything. It is because of time that we exist now and not in the dinosaur age when the earth was very inhospitable to human life-forms.

SO THE CREATOR WAS NOT SILENT ON TIME BECAUSE THE CREATOR ITSELF IS AN EMBODIMENT OF TIME AND SPACE. RATHER THEOLOGY AND RELIGION CANNOT COMPREHEND THE IDEA OF TIME ITSELF.

As for Point 3. Nothing was created in "EXCESS". Even the Oxygen that gives life to earth dwellers is just 21%. The concept of excess was conceived from the greedy mind of mankind because the creator never created anything in excess. But your religion says you should have your cake and eat it too. You would rather take your life's sustenance and store in your barnyard that which belongs to others.

I appreciate your response and I see the limit of your understanding. Einstein believed the problem of God was the "most difficult in the world"—a question that could not be answered "simply with yes or no." He conceded that, "the problem involved is too vast for our limited minds."

You have indicated your side of the divide. My side of the divide is not for the intelligent in the matters of everything. The best I can do is: stretched my hand across the divide to wish you the best in life and encourage you to give outstanding value wherever you find yourself.

Good morning.

midnighter:
This is great

I don’t know whether to thank you is appropriate. But it’s nice you read my long response.

mrollyB:
What happens when he said he was not sent to anybody, but to the lost sheep of israel. The Jews that he was as well. If he can say that by himself what else.

Good evening,

Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Please read my response with an open mind. Please permit me to use a technique I use in my profession to answer your question; it’s called Problem-Solving methodology. Firstly, all the right information about a problem is gathered. Secondly, only six questions are answered. These questions are called the 5W 1H: who, what, where, when, why, how.

1. All the information related to the meaning of “Lost sheep”in the Christian Bible:
a. A select set of people in Israel: These were the spiritually sick (Matthew 9:13). They were the ones who mourned for their sins and needed a Messiah (Luke 5:31-32, 15:6). Psalm 119 refers to the term “lost sheep” as one who recognizes that he is a sinner. Other scriptures show that they are the ones led astray by bad leaders.

2. Who was Jesus talking to?: It was not stated whether He was talking to His disciples or the Syro-Phoenician woman. It’s best to think that He was talking to Himself. However, the woman who was the center of this quagmire was referred to as a “dog”. A dog is someone whom the Bible says has many religious affiliations. She was a Syno-Phoenician. It was typical of the people of that region to faithful to many gods (2 Kings 17:24-33).

3. Why did Jesus say what He said?: It was only in Israel that the concept of sin was understood; and extensive rituals for sin and righteousness was observed. Other religions and cultures of that time did not have such a thing. If He met someone who did not have an understanding of sin, He would be in a dilemma and the soliloquy (in point 2 above) is understandable - He would be wasting His time talking to her.

4. What was Jesus’ mission?: I’d like to ask you this: if you were to open a shop, wouldn’t you open it where you will have the largest amount of customers? This doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t sell your goods to people while you are on the way to your shop. (There is a man that supplies Agege bread to a woman close to my office. He doesn’t spend more than 10 minutes when he comes to supply the bread. Nevertheless, some people walking to their office will walk to his car to buy his bread without going to his preferred customer - the woman).

Only the children of Abraham were Christ’s preferred customers because of an agreement God had with Abraham. It will only make sense that if He had only three years to sell his bread, the best place to sell is where He had an agreement. This doesn’t mean that other people along the way wouldn’t eat His bread. When Israel broke the agreement, He carried His bread to other people. So it will be that if the woman who sells the Agege bread breaks the agreement she has with the bread supplier, then he will find a new agent.

It wouldn’t be necessary talking about ’how’ and ‘when’ because of my explanations above. Thank God the woman pressed on and was saved. You too have to eat Jesus’ bread to enjoy the agreement God had with Abraham.

Thanks for your time.

Preetychina22:
I understand and I'm correct. QR code: Unique identification techniques.

Okay

predatorX:
There is a beginning! Something created the beginning. You and I do not know what did, so it is an IT and not a HE. And it is definitely not a religious GOD so stop looking at creation through the myopic views of Christianity.

God is Nature. Nature is Energy, and Energy is all around us that is why IT is Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent.
The JEWS with their limited intellect at the time, understood this as YAWEH and personified IT masculine as HE/HIM. They began adding a lot of myths and chronicles to the mix. Then, the Europeans with their twisted tongues and language barrier misinterpreted this as JEHOVAH and then began conducting crusades and conquests allover the globe "in the name of the Lord". That is the beginning and current state of religion in summary.

So, to answer your final question........Our value in this universe is let other life-forms, other beings - whether plant or animal, let them feel your impact positively and expect no gratitude. Your only reward is self-satisfaction
Do you know that the earth which you currently draw life from has been in existence for about 6.4Billion years, and that life-forms have gone extinct 6 times?
The rule of Nature is "take what you need and not what you want"...........Obey this simple law and you would not need any Bible or Qu'ran, nor Pastor nor Imam to help you live a fulfilling life.

I conclude by agreeing with the OP. I do not think he wants to be an Atheist in the real sense of it because every atheist finds it difficult to answer this one question. Can something exist from nothing? If the answer is NO, then that pre-existing entity is a creator. Unfortunately, religion adds a whole new dimension to the idea of the creator and creation, and this is what confused me then, yet confuses the OP.

Hi. The contention about the existence of a HE- God has always been about the Creation, the beginning. Cain and Abel’s sacrifice was based on their belief about whether there was a HE-Creator or not. (Sorry for bringing up Biblical stuff. But on the two sides of the divide are those that do not believe there is a God through physical evidence against those who believe by listening to ‘word of mouth’).

“God is nature”, you said. “Nature is energy”, you said. Let’s go back to the first principles: an object will remain in a state of rest (until an imbalance) or perpetually move unless an equal force brings it to rest. (Newton’s First Law). I’d like to ask: why did creation stop? If an IT was responsible, logical reasoning says creation will be perpetual. If you would say that I am illogical for saying this: that the same energy at the initial point moved forward in time to resist what it started. Then I’ll ask, “what is the result”? Zero. (Mx dot dot + kx dot + cx =0). Creation never existed or it is natural that what we call creation will end since IT energy is yet resist what IT started. PredatorX your postulation sounds like religion and not science. But we see that Creation stopped and something like a cyclic-sustaining factor is in the mix - there isn’t any energy equation in science with such a factor - there is nothing like a perpetual motion machine.

To make a wise conclusion, one must have full knowledge of a science and theology. Unfortunately, those who lean on science don’t know (Christian) theology but draw conclusions based on half-knowledge: Christianity is based on the gospels and not on the Jewish text: the Law of the Christians (not referring to the religion) is written in their heart: they have “no need“ for a book to know that they must:

1. Preserve the earth.
2. Sustain the earth.
3. Take what you need. Store the excess.
4. Love the Creator and do their best for his creation.

If you would have read the Christian scriptures, you would see that the Creator’s real intention was for men not to have a need for a teacher or a book but follow the rule of nature in his heart. Why then is there a book? (Well, I keep a dictionary because I forget words easily and I’ll always need it for reference and articulation)

Another issue about creation is the seven day process which the Hebrew text gives. The translation for ”day“ is “Time period”. If you do some form of computer programming, you would know that a time period is never less than zero or greater than infinity. “Time period” is easily the most adjustable parameter and easily the most inconsequential parameter. 6 billion years is within a time period or seven time periods. But you have not gone to great lengths to know this. If God was silent about the time period size, a programmer will know why - it is inconsequential.

Many men have no value. They are guilty of the same thing they accuse another for. Today he stands for something, tomorrow he fights against that same thing he would have died for previously. He covers one meter and he screams that he has covered the earth.

Happy Holidays.

Preetychina22:
Nothing mind blowing about that. Science has done more. The QR Code is a good example of unique identification techniques made by science.

Hi. I was referring to his own unique fingerprint on his ten fingers and not technology.

DAVE5:
Hmmnn, enjoyment at other people’s expense, some of those people barely have 3 square meals daily, well make I no speak further before I sin against my spirit


happy holidays

Close your eyes against them. Look to Christ. Do you know what you can do to those whom you perceive to be false prophets? Read your Bible and resource from Reformed theologians like a mad man. When you come out like Jeremiah to write, the whole world will catch fire; and they will not know what hit them.

DAVE5:
Are you suffering?
How come our big church G.Os are flexing life to the core, I mean hard balling, wearing all white to church, buying private jets, buying the rolls royces, fast super cars

The life of suffering only fits the church followers but not the G.Os

I suffered. I suffer daily. But I earn about three million naira a year with incentives and I have a nice car and more. For many years I had nothing, zero. (At one point I taught in a nursery and primary school). But those things I have now don’t complete me. I don’t count another man’s money and I’ll advise you to do the same because the issue of looking at images is the strategy of Satan to take your gaze away from godliness and contentment.

When you read the later verses of Romans 8, you would see that God never promised us an easy life of comfort, not even safety from our enemies or a hiding place from persecution. God has promised that whatever we face in life, we will overcome them by his meeting every need of ours. If we suffer, God gives us the ability to rejoice even when our needs takes time to come to fruition.

I am sure those GOs suffered to. You are only seeing their “today”. Have you seen their yesterdays? Whatever they are doing now which is not pleasing to you, is not for you to jump into conclusion; it is God that judges every man.

Happy Holidays