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Continuation of Thread On Modern Day Pharisees
Posted : 12 Jul, 2011 11:56 AM
"Hey...Why dont you post some of the stuff from your blogs...there are many here that do not participate in the Forums but only read..."
I will think about posting them. But most of them are longer than a few paragraphs, and the way the system on CDFF increases the vertical spacing, they would appear too long for many to bother trying to read.
"Some Who Get Close To Christ May Shine Like the Sun,"Let This Mind Be In You Which Was In Christ Jesus," "Jesus Christ, the Light of the World," "Candlesticks and Lightstands As Representing the Light of Christ: Revelation 11,"
"When We See Him Face To Face," and "God's Plan To Do Away With Death: Part Four ."
Some Who Get Close To Christ May Shine Like the Sun
In the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13, Christ said that after
the tares are gathered by his angels, the righteous will shine as the sun in the kingdom
of their Father.
Matthew 13: 36-43: "Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Yet in Exodus 34: 29-30 the skin of the face of Moses shone after he came down from the mountain after being with God and receiving the law. Moses was still in his physical body when this happened. This shows that some can shine like the sun even while in their physical bodies, when they get close to the Lord.
Exodus 34: 27-30 says "And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
29. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
30. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him."
Daniel 12: 3 says "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
It says they that turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever. Remember that Daniel 11: 33 says "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days."
Let This Mind Be In You Which Was in Christ Jesus
Paul says in Philippians 2: 5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" As Christ was
obedient to the will of God the Father, so in submission to having a part of the mind of Christ in us, we are to be obedient to him. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." (Revelation 14: 4-5) "I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." (Zephaniah 3: 12-13) In having taken on ourselves some of the mind of Christ - we cannot take all of his mind for his ways are higher than ours - we are not deceptive. We have come out of the current age or culture of deception. In having part of the mind of Christ, we are not afraid of what men can do to us. Some of us are just now moving toward not being afraid any more.
In having a part of the mind of the Lord, we may have his protection against what is coming on this country and the world now and may get worse soon. The full armor of God of Ephesians 6 is this protection. He promises us in Luke 10:19, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Serpents and scorpions are metaphors for types of enemies; they are people. See Matthew 23: 29-33 for what serpents are, and Ezekiel 2: 5-6 for some understanding of what the scorpions are.
By saying nothing shall hurt us, Christ does not necessarily mean that none of us can be hurt by men,
or by the natural disasters which may be ahead on planet earth, maybe including extremes of temperature. He means our spiritual enemies cannot hurt us in a spiritual way. Nevertheless, some of us may also be protected at times against what men might do to us, or by what naturtal disasters can happen to us.
Going back to Revelation 14, there is another important benefit from having in us part of the mind of Christ. Verse 4 says "These are they which were not defiled by women: for they are virgins." This is metaphoric, and not literal. Looking at the "woman" of Revelation 13: 1-8, we see that she is called the (censored for CDFF) and Mystery Babylon, the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. The woman here is false religion. Revelation 14: 4, in saying these people are not defiled
by women and are virgins, means they are not defiled by false religion; they do not follow false doctrines or take part in a church system which is false. Those who were in false doctrines and in the churches have come out of "her" as Revelation 18: 4 says to do.
And - Christ promises in John 14: 12, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works
shall he do: because I go unto my Father." Those who are given a significant part of the mind of Christ, will do the works that Christ calls them to do, such as instructing many according to Daniel 11: 33 and some of us may do greater works than others. There are different degrees of having in us the mind of Christ. In spite of what may be coming on this country and the world soon, we have something to look forward to, and that is having more of the mind of Christ in us.
Jesus Christ, the Light of the World
Isaiah 49: 1: "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name ."
Isaiah 49: 5-6: "And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."
"Me" in Isaiah 49: 1 is Jesus Christ. And in Isaiah 49: 5 "me" also refers to Christ. This is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ as the savior of Israel. Christ is the savior of Israel, and it is he who is said in Isaiah 49: 6 to be a light to the Gentiles, that is, a light to the nations, or the various peoples of earth.
Isaiah 42: 6-7: "I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7. To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."
Again, Isaiah 42: 6-7 is a prophecy of Christ being the light to the Gentiles. In Matthew 11: 1-5, John the Baptist in prison sent two of his disciples to ask Christ "Art thou he that should come,, or do we look for another?" Christ answered in verse 5, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." In Isaiah 42: 7 opening the eyes of the blind is a metaphor for opening up spiritual truths for those who before did not have eyes to see or ears to hear. Bringing the prisoners out of the prison house is metaphorically making the prisoners of the Strong Man, or Satan, free from their bondage to sin and false doctrines.
Isaiah 9: 2: "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
The great light the people were to see was Christ, who as the savior of Israel, is the light to the Gentiles. Physical Israel was to be blessed because the light of the world was to come through them.
But as John 1: 11 says "He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
Israel was transformed into Israel reborn in Jesus Christ, who is the savior of Israel, as shown by John 3: 1-6. Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee, came to Christ by night. Christ told him that "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The fact that Nicodemus was a physical descendant of Abraham, and a Pharisee, did not make it possible for him to enter the Kingdom of God. Members of ethnic or physical Israel had to be born again in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. And Gentiles born again in Christ and by the Spirit, have their identity in Christ as reborn Israel.
Christ confirms in John 8: 12 that "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Then, Paul in Acts 13: 46-47 takes this revelation of Christ as the light of the world a step farther. "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."
Paul says the Lord commanded us, the Christian believers, to be a light of the Gentiles, or a light to the world in darkness. Those who Paul and Barnabas said judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life were Jews and proselytes of the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia.
In Matthew 5: 14 Christ confirms that Christian believers are the light of the world. He says "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."
Philippians 2: 15 says "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"
But after the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4, caused by the deceptive false prophets Christ in Matthew 24: 11 said would come, very few church Christians remain the light of the world. In their church corporations chartered by the Internal Revenue Service and in their various man-made theologies most of the present day church Christians are part of that world mentioned in Philippians 2: 15.
Candlesticks and Lightstands As Representing the Light of Christ: Revelation 11
I Corinthians 3: 17: "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
I Corinthians 6: 19: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
I Peter 2: 5: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
Those who are born again in Christ are now, after the Cross and the Day of Pentecost, the Temple of God.
I Samuel 3: 3: "And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;"
There was a lamp of God, representing his great light, even in the early form of the temple.
II Chronicales 4: 7: "And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left." "He" is Solomon.
In the New Testament the physical building in Jerusalem, the Temple, is said to be transformed so that the human followers of Jesus Christ are now the temple of God. The candlesticks and lampstands are inside the temple, and can represent not only the glory of God - the light of Christ- but also the light of the born again followers of Christ (Matthew 5: 14-16) As such the candlesticks represent a large group of Christians as the witnesses (the two witnesses) in Revelation 11: 3-12.
If born again followers of Jesus Christ are the temple of God, then would not Christ's light shine through them? Yes, He says in Matthew 5: 14, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.."
Hebrews 9: 1-2 says "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shew bread; which is called the sanctuary."
Hebrews 9: 11-12: "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
The Old Covenant contained metaphors showing what was to come later. The candlestick represented the light of Christ to come. But when Christ had come, the Old Covenant was done away with. Hebrews 10: 8 explains that "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." Christ took away the First Covenant, the Old Covenant, that he might establish the Second or New Covenant.
Revelation 1: 12-16: "And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."
"His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." Christ shines with a blinding light, as in the Transfiguration in Luke 9: 28-36.
He stands in the midst of the seven candlesticks which were the Old Testament representation of that shining light which is Christ.
Revelation 2: 1, 5 says "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks...Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Christ is seen as walking in the midst of seven golden candlesticks which represent his great light. Each congregation has been given Christ's light, but here Christ threatens to take that light away from the congregation at Ephesus. He says in verse 4,"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Thy first love is love of Christ, and Christ's truth as the Gospel. Could it be that the golden candlestick as Christ's light has been taken from a great many congregations at this point in time? Have they lost the love of Christ's truth?
Revelation 4: 1, 5 says "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter...And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.:
Ezekiel chapters eight to eleven show that the Glory of God, the Shekinah presence of God, leaves the Temple at Jerusalem, Solomon�s Temple, because of the sins of the Children of Israel.
But the transfiguration of Christ in Luke 9: 28-35 gives us a glimpse of the return of the shining of Christ. "And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
29. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
30. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.
31. Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him."
Not only did Christ shine with a light brighter than the sun, but so did Moses and Elias, or Elijah. Those born again in Christ are living lamps of light or lampstands. Maybe during the tribulation some that are reborn and who follow the Lamb wherever he goes (Revelation 14: 4) will also shine like Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration.
Christ in John 8: 12 says "Then spake 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."
Matthew 5: 14-16 says "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Zechariah 4: 1-6: "And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
2. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3. And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5. Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."
The Spirit of God is shown metaphorically to be a candlestick with seven lamps, and by two olive trees. Then in Revelation 11: 3-4 it says "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."
The witnesses are represented by two candlesticks and two olive trees. Remember that Paul in Romans 11 uses the metaphor of the good olive tree into which Gentile believers are grafted.
And the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11: 3, who in verse 4 are described as two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth are not literally two men. Verse 7 says " And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."
As many more than two men, these olive trees and candlesticks who are witnesses will be the Christian martyrs mentioned in Matthew 24: 9-11, Luke 21: 16, and John 16: 2. Rather than trying to figure out who the two witnesses are as literal men, the key question is what or who are they witnessing to?
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