“Are ye able to drink of the Cup that I shall drink of?” (Matt 20:22) “We might think of the word Cup as representing various experiences of life-that everybody has, his or her Cup of mingled joys and sorrows. But Jesus used the word in a different sense. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”…
“Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death (Made participators with him)?” (Rom 6:3) What does it mean to be a participator in Christ death? How do we participate with him in his death? It might be helpful if we first asked about his death that is how exactly he died? Yes we all know that he was crucified on the cross, but that is not what we…
2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 A word of Warning, continued Although the warning here comes near the end of this chapter (Verses 9-12 respectively) nevertheless for the sake of those not so familiar with the implications of the text we should begin with Verse 1 in order to get the full picture of events, some of which is in the past, and some of which is yet still future. Another reason for our going into such detail in this particular instance…
What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? As was mentioned in our previous post the baptism of the holy spirit came upon the Church at Pentecost and as such has continued with us even unto this day. To be baptized in the holy spirit is to be baptized into Jesus Christ, and to be baptized into Jesus Christ is to be baptized into his death. Even as the Apostle so states in Rom 6:3-5: “Do you…
We have put together the following reply in response to a comment made on one of our post in which we had stated: “The Scriptures make a distinction between the faithful of the past who were moved by the holy spirit, and those during the Gospel age who are begotten by the holy spirit. Both have the holy spirits presence and guidance, but only those begotten of the holy spirit are begotten to a new nature, a spirit nature. A…
Matthew Chapter 24 VERSES 23 and 24 “Then (during the period described in verses 15-19) if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” The deceivers here described certainly are not the fanatics who from time to time have claimed to be Christ and have deceived but few possessed of any degree…
Matthew Chapter 24 One of the many stumbling blocks we observe in correctly interpreting this prophecy is in establishing the proper sequence of events. Unfortunately many imagine events as one directly following the next just as it is written, but that is not how events are being described. Perhaps before we proceed on to Verse 23 a review of what we had learned earlier on in this study might help. If you recall in Verses 4-8 our Lord had briefly…
Matthew Chapter 24 Once again, Verse 21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” “In the days previous to the flood the fallen angels had materialized and taken human wives, and violence was in the earth. In other words, incidental to and preceding the Flood, there was the prevalence of evil, but all that evil was not the trouble. THE trouble was the…
Words and Phrases The Seven Spirits The expression, THE SEVEN SPIRITS, occurs four times in the book of Revelation. A comparison of these usages reveals the likely interpretation of the meaning. Rev. 1:4: shows the seven spirits BEFORE THE THRONE —a symbol of the position of SERVICE. Rev. 3:1: points out that Jesus also has these spirits, that 1:4 showed them to be God’s is here strengthened by stating that they are “OF GOD.” Rev. 4:5: “defines” these spirits by…
Words and Phrases The Four Living Creatures HOW DO WE KNOW THE FOUR BEASTS REPRESENT GOD’S ATTRIBUTES? It has become standard Bible student response to say that the four living ones (four “beasts” in the KJV) of Revelation represent the four attributes of God —Wisdom, Justice, Love, and Power. From whence did this understanding come? It seems to have been defined by Brother. W. I. Mann in 1883 (See R529). To summarize his explanation, we give the following: By building…