A reupload of a youtube video minus my former Arian leanings.This is FAR from a Nicene council schooling.If you want that I recommend the excellent book "When Jesus Became God" by Richard E. Rubenstein..All this is is a reiteration of a literal few arguments that Athanasius presented at the council,why they're easily invalidated and a little about the influence of Greek philosophy on the minds of the Early Church Fathers..Since Arius's books were all burned and no one knows the intricacy of his every argument in no way am I claiming to believe JUST as he did.I don't think there was good reason to use a "nature" or "essence" argument anywhere..and I think both sides did.The bible is pretty clear..Angels are spirits.God is a spirit..so all heavenly creatures have a SPIRITUAL nature that is not corporeal and so claiming that Christ has the same nature as his father means what exactly?That they're both life giving spirits?Then I concede.(though I believe Jesus is a life giving spirit in corporal form..Col. 2:9 and only because God made him one)The same being?Sorry,that's not in the bible.Let me post some explicit creeds that need not be tampered with:
John 17:3:Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, AND Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
1 Corinthians 8:5:For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (so we have the ONE GOD identified AGAIN as the father..and we have the ONE LORD Yeshua who had to be MADE LORD BY the ONE GOD.(Acts 2:36)..Trust me when I say (and please be realistic here) God is not the SAME Lord he had to make Lord.Yeshua is not the SAME God who had to make him Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:4:Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (and men can use twists of tongue and sly speech and outright lies to say if they have 3 each individually the one true God and say they have just 1 true God all they want,but it doesn't make it real,except in a traditional illusion/lie)
Links:
http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/arius-chart
http://books.google.com/books?id=tclFM-nRh2IC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA9&ots=Cam23HeKCR&dq=eperor+constantine+quotes&output=html
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/athanasius/volume1/index.html
http://arian-catholic.org/arian/arius.html
http://www.scripturaltruths.com
http://www.theologicalperspectives.com
**disclaimer**:Technically,the full revelation of the trinity wasn't concocted at the Nicene council but later at another council since their definition of *exactly* what the holy spirit was at the Nicene one was ambiguous to be sure.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Anthony Buzzard on Hebrews 1:10 part 2
Since I have been covering Hebrews 1:10 in 3 other blogs(including Anthony Buzzard's commentary on it) found here(scroll down for all 3 blogs):
http://yahislove.blogspot.com/search/label/Hebrews%201%3A10
I thought I would share a video Anthony Buzzard made discussing it.I think he did a good job.
Truth is that there are too many texts to count that explicitly reveal Yahushua's father as the only Genesis creator(even some rather clear statements from Messiah himself saying his father created with no hint he did too as Anthony stated in this video..(Matthew 19:4,Mark 13:19..& GOD rested Heb. 4:3,4)Of course logically,however, Yahuwah had Christ in mind at the center of it all,as the purpose for a kingdom,before He ever made a thing.Yes,he made all things in Yahushua as the one he knew would hold it all together and make it all possible as the foreordained and decreed savior and upbuilder of a new creation.(Rev. 13:8,1 Peter 1:20,Is. 65:17,66:2,Eph. 1:10, 11,Gal. 6:15)I can't help reminding everyone that there's an alternative view also well presented to Hebrews 1:10 just for good measure and to not be so dogmatic about what I personally consider to be an ambiguous text.If you'd like to understand what that view is,go to the link above for my other blogs or click on Hebrews 1:10 under trinity texts to the side of my blog.God bless everyone.
http://yahislove.blogspot.com/search/label/Hebrews%201%3A10
I thought I would share a video Anthony Buzzard made discussing it.I think he did a good job.
Truth is that there are too many texts to count that explicitly reveal Yahushua's father as the only Genesis creator(even some rather clear statements from Messiah himself saying his father created with no hint he did too as Anthony stated in this video..(Matthew 19:4,Mark 13:19..& GOD rested Heb. 4:3,4)Of course logically,however, Yahuwah had Christ in mind at the center of it all,as the purpose for a kingdom,before He ever made a thing.Yes,he made all things in Yahushua as the one he knew would hold it all together and make it all possible as the foreordained and decreed savior and upbuilder of a new creation.(Rev. 13:8,1 Peter 1:20,Is. 65:17,66:2,Eph. 1:10, 11,Gal. 6:15)I can't help reminding everyone that there's an alternative view also well presented to Hebrews 1:10 just for good measure and to not be so dogmatic about what I personally consider to be an ambiguous text.If you'd like to understand what that view is,go to the link above for my other blogs or click on Hebrews 1:10 under trinity texts to the side of my blog.God bless everyone.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Jehovah's Witnesses & Death to Sin(a Romans 6:7 issue)
**Blog disclaimer**..Before I begin,please understand I am not suggesting here anywhere that Jehovah's Witnesses don't rely on the death of Yahushua for their salvation and way to eternal life.This blog is more about their odd belief that their own physical deaths eradicate their sin records,which to me personally seems irreconcilable with an actual need for a Redeemer beyond themselves since it is only sin that brings death at all.JW's don't think their own deaths acquit them from Adamic sin,just their "sin record."And without one of those,who would need a redeemer?This is why their misuse of Romans 6:7 is such a huge deal.
From the NWT:
Romans 6:7:For he who has died has been acquitted from his sin
Let's see what the WT has to say about this text(here beginning with a reference to resurrected ones being judged):
"How will returning ones be “judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds”? These scrolls are not the record of their past deeds; when they died, they were acquitted of the sins they committed during their lifetime. (Romans 6:7, 23) However, resurrected humans will still be under Adamic sin."~ WT 7/1/1998
The WT also says,from the Insight book vol. 1 under "Declare Righteous" :"The apostle Paul states that the person who dies is “acquitted [form of di·kai·o′o] from his sin,” having paid the penalty of death.—Ro 6:7, 23."
So the WT says that *our own* deaths acquit us from sin then say that we aren't free from it after all,still being under Adamic sin even after being raised.Interesting.
First of all,this is probably not the best translation of this verse,considering the Greek word the WT translates as "acquit" more properly means "freed."
The most important thing we can do here is heed the larger context from the ESV before we go any further.Not only will doing so make it clear the JW's have a twisted interpretation handed to them about this verse but also reiterate to all of us how important it is to crucify our own flesh and live for God.The correct interpretation of Romans 6:7 is not found within the WT but in context:
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
The bible,in it's immediate Romans context here, is speaking of crucifying our flesh for Christ and not living in sin any longer.Yes,a death to our flesh which frees us from the bondage of sin.When we follow Christ's model and crucify ourselves daily,living for God and His Son and their kingdom instead of our own desires and potentially corrupt will as descendants of the first Adam,we're no longer slaves to sin.It doesn't reign in our lives.We fight it and find victory in Yahushua,the Last Adam, who showed us how to live and act,the perfect blemishless model.The greatest servant of Yahuwah's who ever walked this earth.Verse 4 explicitly articulates the "death" verse 7 is talking about.A death to our own flesh and will as opposed to the actual physical perishing that the WT propagates egregiously out of context.Verse 6 ALSO makes it clear that the death in verse 7 is a "crucifying" of our own flesh,not an actual physical death.Verse 8 sums it up when it says "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."This means that we die to sin and live in the spirit!
Galatians 2:20 says:I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
And Romans 8:10 says:But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
These scriptures provide elaboration on the old self and flesh being that which figuratively dies in correlation with Romans 6:7 and it's surrounding context.So we must heed these texts and die to our flesh as we live in the spirit,again.Let's see more of what the WT has to say about Romans 6:7:
" The death state is used to illustrate the spiritually dead condition of the world in general, so Jesus could speak of ‘the dead burying the dead,’ and the apostle Paul could refer to the woman living for sensual gratification as “dead though she is living.” (Lu 9:60; 1Ti 5:6; Eph 2:1) And since physical death discharges one from any debts or obligations existing up to that time (Ro 6:7), a Christian’s being freed or liberated from sin (Ro 6:2, 11) and from the condemnation of the Mosaic Law (Ro 7:2-6) is also likened to death, such one having ‘died’ to his former situation and obligations. The one figuratively dying in such a way, of course, is still alive physically and is now free to follow Christ as a slave to righteousness.—Ro 6:18-20; Ga 5:1. Insight vol 1 under heading "Death"
So basically what we have here is the WT admitting that "death" in scripture often entails a figurative one(one example they gave was "the dead burying the dead") and not a physical one,determined according to context and reason of course.Yet within the very same paragraph and thought process,they say Romans 6:7 is actually speaking of a physical death instead of a figurative one even though any honest examination of the context would reveal the opposite!Amazing.
Of course no one's ABLE to physically breathe or move,much less commit sin when they're physically dead.But the WT is propagating an actual acquittal from any of it by OUR own physical deaths.
This particular ridiculous WT dogma(and I say dogma because, to put it in their own words,their "entire range of teachings" no matter how bizarre or unbiblical must be believed to supposedly be an acceptable Christian)would absolutely mean that our own deaths free us from sin instead of the death of Yahuwah's spotless and perfectly righteous Lamb.Something we do(namely,simply dying) would instead be what we would be crediting for removing our sin and sanctifying us.Blasphemous really.We should never look to anything we've done as if it could actually cleanse or save us.Only what Christ has done accomplishes that!We then as Christians should of course proceed to follow Yahushua's model and crucify our flesh and its desires,dying to sin.
1 Peter 4:1-2 says: Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
If you're a JW teaching this false notion to others ,that simply sleeping in a grave can eradicate your record of sin,it is time to repent of this lie.The bible says the unrighteous will be resurrected and each one will have to pay according to the deeds that they have done in this life if they did not exercise faith in the Messiah.The righteous who did exercise faith in Yahushua will inherit his glory and an everlasting kingdom.The rest will have to suffer God's wrath against their sin because God is perfectly holy and just.We're all criminals against God's wise and beneficial laws, so anyone who doesn't accept the acquittal offered only in our glorious redeemer in whom solely is found life must justly pay for their own sin accordingly because of not accepting HIS payment.
Yes,please beware everyone:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.(see also 2 Corinthians 11:15)
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
Notice there is no hint in these texts about these deeds for which the unrighteous will suffer God's wrath being those which they do AFTER being resurrected.That has to be read INTO the text,and it is by the the WT,dangerously and unjustifiably.
Yahuwah demonstrated His wrath against sin on His Son.Agony and torture leading to death.Only in the second death,the lake of fire, there can be no resurrection.But like the first death,it certainly doesn't "acquit" us from sin or those who suffer it would have no reason to be held by it.Because lack of sin would mean life.Death may be *payment* and a *consequence* for sin,but it certainly isn't an acquittal or no one could be held by it because Yahuwah desires to give everlasting life to anyone who exercises faith in Him and his Messiah,anyone free from sin.Those who don't have that saving obedient faith in the Lord aren't acquitted from their sins just because they have slept in a grave.Again,the bible makes it crystal clear that there will be payment for the unrighteous in the resurrection according to their deeds.Which obviously means their physical deaths didn't save them from such even though those deaths are a natural *consequence*(as opposed to an acquittal) from Adamic sin.
A serious question about this WT teaching would be:
If you're freed from your sins just because you have died,then how is it that *even* the second death itself won't demand another resurrection since it would merit sinlessness for those who experience it?(that is if death erases a record of sin)In other words,if an individual's perishing acquits that one from any sin they've ever committed,then Yahuwah would have no right to not raise every sinner even from the second death and say "well you paid and now you are acquitted and may live forever with everyone else."Because naturally an acquittal from sin would equal eternal life since it is only sin that brings a consequence of death.Freedom from it means life.In the WT world,everyone,for simply perishing should be acquitted of sin and hence free to live forever.Nonsensical,of course.There would have been no real reason for Christ to have had to die since *our own* physical deaths can free us in the world of the WT.
This WT dogma would naturally give JW's and those who believe their teachings a false sense of security that it doesn't really matter what they do ultimately,that their own deaths will acquit them of any wrongdoing or sin.Though that may be comforting,it is false and deceiving,which is never ok.Though the JW's may not be able to see it without some critical thinking outside the governing body's dictates,this false doctrine they have would logically lead to universalism because all it would take is a perishing on any individual's part then they're clean in God's eyes.Look to Christ's death for salvation and redemption,not your own.Obey Christ and don't think physical death can eradicate all the evil deeds you have done.Only faith in Yahushua and in HIS death and resurrection as well as a subsequent crucifying of our own flesh IN Yahushua can.
Thanks be to God for the opportunity to live for something greater than a world that's passing away and vain or harmful pursuits.We have a purpose here.To crucify our flesh and live for God looking forward to a glory so extraordinary that to do it justice in trying to articulate it in human terms would inevitably fall short.Now is the time for ALL of us to make our lives ALL about loving God and fellow man,preparing ourselves and others for the eternal kingdom of Yahuwah and his Messiah!!Not removing ourselves from the world of course,but nevertheless feeling like foreigners in it as we maintain an eagle eye focus on the kingdom of God and His righteousness and bringing it alive to others in the spirit.We certainly don't need an organization or a class of supposedly especially gifted men to do this.Only God,His Son,and love.
In conclusion,Romans 6:7 is about dying to our own fleshly will and hence no longer having sin reign in our mortal bodies.Yes,dying to it.This is NOT what the WT teaches though it's what the context makes clear.A couple last texts here to further summarize Romans 6:7 for Jehovah's Witnesses:
Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
2 Corinthians 5:17:So if any one be in Christ, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new:
So what,in context,in Romans 6:7 and also according to many correlating texts,"dies" by getting "crucified" and "passing away?"
Answer:the old man,the flesh,our own will
And then what does that lead to?
Answer:Freedom from bondage to sin
Yes he who has (figuratively) "died" is free from sin!
From the NWT:
Romans 6:7:For he who has died has been acquitted from his sin
Let's see what the WT has to say about this text(here beginning with a reference to resurrected ones being judged):
"How will returning ones be “judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds”? These scrolls are not the record of their past deeds; when they died, they were acquitted of the sins they committed during their lifetime. (Romans 6:7, 23) However, resurrected humans will still be under Adamic sin."~ WT 7/1/1998
The WT also says,from the Insight book vol. 1 under "Declare Righteous" :"The apostle Paul states that the person who dies is “acquitted [form of di·kai·o′o] from his sin,” having paid the penalty of death.—Ro 6:7, 23."
So the WT says that *our own* deaths acquit us from sin then say that we aren't free from it after all,still being under Adamic sin even after being raised.Interesting.
First of all,this is probably not the best translation of this verse,considering the Greek word the WT translates as "acquit" more properly means "freed."
The most important thing we can do here is heed the larger context from the ESV before we go any further.Not only will doing so make it clear the JW's have a twisted interpretation handed to them about this verse but also reiterate to all of us how important it is to crucify our own flesh and live for God.The correct interpretation of Romans 6:7 is not found within the WT but in context:
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
The bible,in it's immediate Romans context here, is speaking of crucifying our flesh for Christ and not living in sin any longer.Yes,a death to our flesh which frees us from the bondage of sin.When we follow Christ's model and crucify ourselves daily,living for God and His Son and their kingdom instead of our own desires and potentially corrupt will as descendants of the first Adam,we're no longer slaves to sin.It doesn't reign in our lives.We fight it and find victory in Yahushua,the Last Adam, who showed us how to live and act,the perfect blemishless model.The greatest servant of Yahuwah's who ever walked this earth.Verse 4 explicitly articulates the "death" verse 7 is talking about.A death to our own flesh and will as opposed to the actual physical perishing that the WT propagates egregiously out of context.Verse 6 ALSO makes it clear that the death in verse 7 is a "crucifying" of our own flesh,not an actual physical death.Verse 8 sums it up when it says "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."This means that we die to sin and live in the spirit!
Galatians 2:20 says:I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
And Romans 8:10 says:But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
These scriptures provide elaboration on the old self and flesh being that which figuratively dies in correlation with Romans 6:7 and it's surrounding context.So we must heed these texts and die to our flesh as we live in the spirit,again.Let's see more of what the WT has to say about Romans 6:7:
" The death state is used to illustrate the spiritually dead condition of the world in general, so Jesus could speak of ‘the dead burying the dead,’ and the apostle Paul could refer to the woman living for sensual gratification as “dead though she is living.” (Lu 9:60; 1Ti 5:6; Eph 2:1) And since physical death discharges one from any debts or obligations existing up to that time (Ro 6:7), a Christian’s being freed or liberated from sin (Ro 6:2, 11) and from the condemnation of the Mosaic Law (Ro 7:2-6) is also likened to death, such one having ‘died’ to his former situation and obligations. The one figuratively dying in such a way, of course, is still alive physically and is now free to follow Christ as a slave to righteousness.—Ro 6:18-20; Ga 5:1. Insight vol 1 under heading "Death"
So basically what we have here is the WT admitting that "death" in scripture often entails a figurative one(one example they gave was "the dead burying the dead") and not a physical one,determined according to context and reason of course.Yet within the very same paragraph and thought process,they say Romans 6:7 is actually speaking of a physical death instead of a figurative one even though any honest examination of the context would reveal the opposite!Amazing.
Of course no one's ABLE to physically breathe or move,much less commit sin when they're physically dead.But the WT is propagating an actual acquittal from any of it by OUR own physical deaths.
This particular ridiculous WT dogma(and I say dogma because, to put it in their own words,their "entire range of teachings" no matter how bizarre or unbiblical must be believed to supposedly be an acceptable Christian)would absolutely mean that our own deaths free us from sin instead of the death of Yahuwah's spotless and perfectly righteous Lamb.Something we do(namely,simply dying) would instead be what we would be crediting for removing our sin and sanctifying us.Blasphemous really.We should never look to anything we've done as if it could actually cleanse or save us.Only what Christ has done accomplishes that!We then as Christians should of course proceed to follow Yahushua's model and crucify our flesh and its desires,dying to sin.
1 Peter 4:1-2 says: Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
If you're a JW teaching this false notion to others ,that simply sleeping in a grave can eradicate your record of sin,it is time to repent of this lie.The bible says the unrighteous will be resurrected and each one will have to pay according to the deeds that they have done in this life if they did not exercise faith in the Messiah.The righteous who did exercise faith in Yahushua will inherit his glory and an everlasting kingdom.The rest will have to suffer God's wrath against their sin because God is perfectly holy and just.We're all criminals against God's wise and beneficial laws, so anyone who doesn't accept the acquittal offered only in our glorious redeemer in whom solely is found life must justly pay for their own sin accordingly because of not accepting HIS payment.
Yes,please beware everyone:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.(see also 2 Corinthians 11:15)
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
Notice there is no hint in these texts about these deeds for which the unrighteous will suffer God's wrath being those which they do AFTER being resurrected.That has to be read INTO the text,and it is by the the WT,dangerously and unjustifiably.
Yahuwah demonstrated His wrath against sin on His Son.Agony and torture leading to death.Only in the second death,the lake of fire, there can be no resurrection.But like the first death,it certainly doesn't "acquit" us from sin or those who suffer it would have no reason to be held by it.Because lack of sin would mean life.Death may be *payment* and a *consequence* for sin,but it certainly isn't an acquittal or no one could be held by it because Yahuwah desires to give everlasting life to anyone who exercises faith in Him and his Messiah,anyone free from sin.Those who don't have that saving obedient faith in the Lord aren't acquitted from their sins just because they have slept in a grave.Again,the bible makes it crystal clear that there will be payment for the unrighteous in the resurrection according to their deeds.Which obviously means their physical deaths didn't save them from such even though those deaths are a natural *consequence*(as opposed to an acquittal) from Adamic sin.
A serious question about this WT teaching would be:
If you're freed from your sins just because you have died,then how is it that *even* the second death itself won't demand another resurrection since it would merit sinlessness for those who experience it?(that is if death erases a record of sin)In other words,if an individual's perishing acquits that one from any sin they've ever committed,then Yahuwah would have no right to not raise every sinner even from the second death and say "well you paid and now you are acquitted and may live forever with everyone else."Because naturally an acquittal from sin would equal eternal life since it is only sin that brings a consequence of death.Freedom from it means life.In the WT world,everyone,for simply perishing should be acquitted of sin and hence free to live forever.Nonsensical,of course.There would have been no real reason for Christ to have had to die since *our own* physical deaths can free us in the world of the WT.
This WT dogma would naturally give JW's and those who believe their teachings a false sense of security that it doesn't really matter what they do ultimately,that their own deaths will acquit them of any wrongdoing or sin.Though that may be comforting,it is false and deceiving,which is never ok.Though the JW's may not be able to see it without some critical thinking outside the governing body's dictates,this false doctrine they have would logically lead to universalism because all it would take is a perishing on any individual's part then they're clean in God's eyes.Look to Christ's death for salvation and redemption,not your own.Obey Christ and don't think physical death can eradicate all the evil deeds you have done.Only faith in Yahushua and in HIS death and resurrection as well as a subsequent crucifying of our own flesh IN Yahushua can.
Thanks be to God for the opportunity to live for something greater than a world that's passing away and vain or harmful pursuits.We have a purpose here.To crucify our flesh and live for God looking forward to a glory so extraordinary that to do it justice in trying to articulate it in human terms would inevitably fall short.Now is the time for ALL of us to make our lives ALL about loving God and fellow man,preparing ourselves and others for the eternal kingdom of Yahuwah and his Messiah!!Not removing ourselves from the world of course,but nevertheless feeling like foreigners in it as we maintain an eagle eye focus on the kingdom of God and His righteousness and bringing it alive to others in the spirit.We certainly don't need an organization or a class of supposedly especially gifted men to do this.Only God,His Son,and love.
In conclusion,Romans 6:7 is about dying to our own fleshly will and hence no longer having sin reign in our mortal bodies.Yes,dying to it.This is NOT what the WT teaches though it's what the context makes clear.A couple last texts here to further summarize Romans 6:7 for Jehovah's Witnesses:
Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
2 Corinthians 5:17:So if any one be in Christ, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new:
So what,in context,in Romans 6:7 and also according to many correlating texts,"dies" by getting "crucified" and "passing away?"
Answer:the old man,the flesh,our own will
And then what does that lead to?
Answer:Freedom from bondage to sin
Yes he who has (figuratively) "died" is free from sin!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Is Elohim plural?A trinity issue
This is a pretty good presentation from youtube user onedropatl.His ultimate explanation of Genesis 1:26 in video 2 here is only ONE possibility,however.There are a few possible interpretations that I may share in a future blog.He may very well be right.Just can't be dogmatic about it personally.What is super valuable here,especially,is his articulation of Hebraic concepts in relation to the plurality of certain Hebrew words and what it means.Enjoy!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Jesus wants you to know the Father by Joel Hemphill
Just one of MANY good sermons found on :
http://www.21stcr.org
Please visit the site to see new uploads,sermons,articles etc..monthly.It is a site dedicated to declaring the One God and Kingdom of God message worldwide.Glory be to God Most High Yahuwah THROUGH His servant and Son Yahushua the Messiah.Thy Kingdom come!!The folks at 21st Century Reformation may not endorse all my beliefs and I may not endorse *all* theirs.But what we share is a strong and uncompromising biblically based belief in One God (who made His Son Lord & king) and in the dire importance of proclaiming the kingdom of God.(Matt 24:14)
Read your bible.Listen to Yahushua.And trust him alone.If a preacher says anything to you that Yahushua didn't(like perhaps that he's the same God as the One he himself worships),then don't believe that preacher.Let God be found true though every man be a liar!!Don't interpret everything in the bible in light of a possible misuse of a literal few texts.Let the majority and the obvious speak THEN deal with the few precarious or ambiguous texts.Milk first!:)
I know some of you are going to have a problem with Hemphill saying Peter and a couple others only ever used "God" for the father.What you have to understand though is his use of logic.If a writer uses a certain term for someone *countless* times then out of nowhere someone tells you that he has used it like he never had before but the grammar is ambiguous with more than one possible interpretation, then the reasonable thing to do would be to recognize that the grammar,if it could go either way,would *probably* end up on the side of how that writer has spoken consistently.
http://www.21stcr.org
Please visit the site to see new uploads,sermons,articles etc..monthly.It is a site dedicated to declaring the One God and Kingdom of God message worldwide.Glory be to God Most High Yahuwah THROUGH His servant and Son Yahushua the Messiah.Thy Kingdom come!!The folks at 21st Century Reformation may not endorse all my beliefs and I may not endorse *all* theirs.But what we share is a strong and uncompromising biblically based belief in One God (who made His Son Lord & king) and in the dire importance of proclaiming the kingdom of God.(Matt 24:14)
Read your bible.Listen to Yahushua.And trust him alone.If a preacher says anything to you that Yahushua didn't(like perhaps that he's the same God as the One he himself worships),then don't believe that preacher.Let God be found true though every man be a liar!!Don't interpret everything in the bible in light of a possible misuse of a literal few texts.Let the majority and the obvious speak THEN deal with the few precarious or ambiguous texts.Milk first!:)
I know some of you are going to have a problem with Hemphill saying Peter and a couple others only ever used "God" for the father.What you have to understand though is his use of logic.If a writer uses a certain term for someone *countless* times then out of nowhere someone tells you that he has used it like he never had before but the grammar is ambiguous with more than one possible interpretation, then the reasonable thing to do would be to recognize that the grammar,if it could go either way,would *probably* end up on the side of how that writer has spoken consistently.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Is Jesus the Beginning and the End?(a Revelation 22:13 issue)
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Most Christians will tell you that Yahushua is speaking here.I will be honest from the get go.I have no idea.The speakers change in Revelation constantly.Reasoning why I think it's very possible that he is NOT speaking here:
In verse 16 Yahushua says "“I, Jesus," and there are only two other times this occurs in Revelation.It is with John and BOTH times John is BEGINNING to speak,not continuing to speak.(one example is verse 8 in the same chapter.The other instance of this construct is in Rev. 1:9)So if we are to follow that precedent then it would mean Yahushua is beginning to speak in verse 16,not before.I have seen some commentaries and reasoning from Christians who think it's the angel speaking,following from verse 9 on.This would make sense because in Revelation 1 :1 it says this:
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John."
So ultimately,God GAVE this entire revelation to Yahushua who gave it to an angel who gave it to John.It is God speaking ultimately through the agency of others.I guess this would mean that even if Yahushua is speaking in verse 12 that it could be God speaking through him,as he has done through angels and prophets in the past.Again,Yahuwah had to *give* the revelation to Yahushua!In no way can an omniscient Almighty God be GIVEN something and he be either Almighty OR omniscient.Though Yahushua has been *given* all power,looks like it's still being upheld consistently by his own God.It would also be the case for the angel as well(*if* it is the angel speaking in verse 12,following from verse 9) that it is ultimately Yahuwah speaking though Yahushua through the angel to John because we all know the angel isn't the Alpha and the Omega,which means the beginning and the end.
What I'm going to do here regardless is present a case as to why Yahushua could very well be called the Beginning and the End in a separate application to him as to that of his father.It could be the same reason we *know* without a doubt that he is called the First and the Last.Not because he's Yahuwah,but,*in context*(which needs obviously to be what we heed determinedly when interpreting)always has to do with his death and resurrection as opposed to his never having a beginning and never dying at all!
Revelation 2:8:These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who *died and came to life again.*
Trust me when I say that a God who cannot die cannot be brought back to life again either.Yahushua did not say that only a portion of him died or that he was awake (or alive)while he was dead.
Revelation 1:17:I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; *I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!* And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Notice in BOTH instances the context is his death and resurrection.God cannot die,obviously.So Yahushua is the FIRSTBORN(the first) from the **dead** and is now gifted an immortal life and one who can GIVE immortal lives to others like his father can.This is why he is so termed a life giving spirit..it has to do with the spirit in his glorified body being one which gives life to the world by the power,allowance,and decree of God.(1 Cor. 15:45,Romans 6:23)The *last* has to do with both his inability to ever perish again and all things now being upheld by and in and through him.He's the last directly raised by Yah as all others will be by & through him.Also,he is one of a kind like his father is.As the uniquely begotten heir and savior of the world.The First and Last of his kind.But to stay safely strictly within context,it has to do with his death and resurrection.And we must,again,heed the qualification of the context and not just throw it away so that we won't have to recognize the qualification for the threat it is to our own ideas.
from http://www.nazarene-friends.org/magazines/1999/1999-01.htm#OMEGA:
"A check of the context shows this “First and Last” was with definite limitations, was relative to just the matter of Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection, as verse 18 shows. Christ was the first one raised in the first resurrection, and the last one that will be raised directly by Jehovah God. Others who follow in that resurrection will be raised by God through Christ. (John 6:40; 1 Cor. 6:14) In fact, this limitation is also shown by the footnote on “First” in Revelation 1:17 in the New World Translation, where “First” is shown to mean “Firstborn” by one ancient manuscript. Christ was the firstfruits of those asleep in death. (1 Cor. 15:20) When “First and Last” is again applied to Christ Jesus, at Revelation 2:8, note that again it is with respect to death and resurrection. But when it speaks thus of Jehovah *no limitation is set on the meaning.*"
from http://godandson.reslight.net/alphaomega.html:
"We have no reason to restrict the term in application to God Almighty, except to satisfy the whims of those who wish to use it thus to prove that Jesus is Yahweh, which, in effect, would make the whole argument circular, that is, 'we believe that Jesus is Yahweh, thus we believe that the expression first and last must be used in application to God Almighty only, and thus this proves that Jesus is Yahweh."
Basically,in summary,Yahushua's being the first and last,in context,is in reference to the ceaseless life he received after being the FIRST one resurrected.
*If*(again that's an IF) Yahushua is called the beginning and the end,it's possible,based upon my own conjecture,that the reasons *may* go beyond why he's the first and the last in their contexts provided.Quite possibly,there's a more profound meaning behind it without him having to be the Most High God.After all, the Most High is *his* God,the God of Yahushua.Let's think upon some things.Keep in mind the whole time that this is all based on just a *possibility* that Yahushua is speaking about himself in Rev 22:12.
Yahushua is the fulfillment of all God's plans for mankind and kingdom plans for the world from the beginning to the end of time.Now THAT'S an extraordinary truth.
Yahuwah says:
Isaiah 46:9 I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
In Yahushua it was all accomplished & finished and shall be held together and perfected,by fulfilling God's word and plans.God said:
Isaiah 55:11 so shall my *word* be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
John 1:14 And the *Word* became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When this miraculously conceived and specially anointed servant of Yahuwah's grew up & had to die for the life of the world,when he was at the brink of death said:
John 19:30 “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.(he breathed his last..his spirit ,or breath & force of life, went to God who restored it to him on the 3rd day.)
Of course,he was raised as a life giving spirit.In that he can give life to the world now that God gave him the ability to do so..filled to the tip top fully with Yahuwah's holy spirit corporeally,bodily..(Col. 2:9)
When he was raised from death to glory,he was the *beginning* of a new creation.
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the *beginning* of God's creation.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the *beginning*, the *firstborn* from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
God cannot be the firstborn from death for he simply cannot die.So we know this is about a SON who had the capacity to die at that time.No indication anywhere whatsoever that only a nature perished to save mankind.This is a scripturally baseless position.Yahushua's position was that *he* did.He said "I was dead.""I" in Greek demands a mind and an ego.No,it simply wasn't good enough for a body with no Yahushua in it to "perish" as if this can even be done.How the traditions of men have nullified God's word!
And since Christ's body is that in which we are given life he is the *end* of God's creation and kingdom decrees as well.Because in him we consist.
Colossians 1:17 he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He's also the "last" and the "end" because he was given a ceaseless immortal life by the One who raised him from a genuine death,the One to whom he cried out profusely to save him from death by resurrecting him to the glory he was to inherit.He was heard for his reverent submission TO God,not because he IS (that same) God.(Heb 5:7)
2 Corinthians 13:4 For he(Yahushua) was *crucified*(this means he was really killed) in weakness(that's how he humbled himself even though he was a mighty king..Phil 2:4-11), but *lives by the power of God.* (see also John 5:26)For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.
From Genesis 3:15 where it was prophesied that Yahushua would crush the head of the serpent all the way to John 19:30 where he says "It is finished" ,fulfilling also 2 Cor. 1:20 where by means of him what God declared from the beginning to the end was fulfilled to perfection,we find good reason logically for Yahushua to be able to call himself the Beginning and the End in a beautiful but separate application from that of his father.Here's a text that sums up why beautifully for those with discernment:
2 Corinthians 1:20:For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Unlike his father,Yahushua had to be *given* life and also the power to give us life.
Revelation 1:17,18: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. **I died**,and behold **I am alive forevermore**, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
So he is the *beginning* of God's new creation and plans for a kingdom & the *end* and *last* having been granted an unending immortality and the power to give life to mankind by his own lifegiver and sustainer on the 3rd day.When his body was raised (he was *always* in it of course!)literally,his "other" body(we the Christians..1 Cor. 12:27)was also raised figuratively,metaphorically.
Power to give life wasn't (yet) inherent in his being(for he had to die before he was raised in glory or our faith is in vain.)God *gave* him the gifts he now has.
The God that will be "all in all" from 1 Cor. 15:27-28 is not a triune One and is the God of Yahushua.Yahuwah lets everyone know there who the only supreme God is in the end,though he gladly and lovingly,exceedingly even,gives remarkable gifts to his beloved children,especially Yahushua!(James 1:17,Matt 7:11)Because GOD IS LOVE.(1 John 4:8)
The Beginning and the End that Yahuwah is is completely wrapped up in the Beginning and the End that Yahushua *might be* in Revelation.Why?Simply because Yahushua perfectly and completely fulfilled God's declarations and prophecies to and for mankind from the beginning to the end,satisfying this principle by his miraculous birth,obedient inspiring life,heartwrenching death,and profound extolling.Deeming possible the gifts God desires to shower upon the earth and mankind in Christ,our forerunner to an unfathomable glory.Yes,God declared the end from the beginning and Yahushua fulfilled it by the word,decree,will and spirit of his father.
This "beginning and end" phenomenon is also wrapped up in what their names mean,entangled with one another because Yahushua is the Lamb by which Yahuwah gives life.:)Revelation 13:8 signifies that Yahushua was slain before the world was even founded & this may indicate exactly how it was God created all things in Christ.He foresaw and thoughtfully decreed the reconciliation of fallen mankind as new creatures in Yahushua before Yahushua even took a breath.(1 Peter 1:20,Romans 4:17)Before Adam even fell.
Yahuwah means "he causes to become" or "self existing one" and Yahushua means "Yahuwah is salvation."Yahuwah caused all His kingdom plans and His decrees to give life to a faithful righteous world to be fulfilled in his word of life,Yahushua, who epitomized his saving power and executed its brilliance,gloriously.Obediently & faithfully bringing God's plans from the beginning to the end of time to unstoppable life!(1 Cor. 1:18,1 John 1:1-4)
Yes,God's decrees from the beginning to the end of time..those which he declared and typified and prophecied throughout the OT with his promised dear Messiah at the heart of it all(as the foreordained *word of life* in his heart & plans to be manifest at the right time..Job 10:13,23:13,14,Gal. 4:4)became AMEN in his servant/Lamb/image/heir/agent/beloved/Son/king of the world/High Priest/Messiah.Yahuwah decrees.Yahushua fulfills that which his father decreed from the beginning to the end in his father's benevolent and perfect counsel.Working as one in the unity of God's holy spirit.
The crucial,faithful,and true tale here is the good news that we can be like and in Yahushua and inherit a kingdom along with him in glory *because* he is the beginning of God's new creatures and been granted an immortality without end!We can receive Christ's resurrection to the same glorious image as his!We shall see him then as he is,which we cannot possibly fully fathom currently in our fallen state of affairs.
2 Corinthians 4:6:For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Yes,first God shined through Yahushua so that he could also shine through us by means of Christ's accomplishments and salvation.Yahushua was his greatest gift to the world,a manifestation of his own personality and plans for a kingdom!His own saving power and his own peerless love.Christ was the first..and the last in that,as mediator,we have this privilege given us in him as his body.
2 Corinthians 3:18:And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We can have a taste of that glory now,being born again,but not fully and exceptionally encompassing its majesty till it's perfected in a resurrection at the last day.
Trinitarians often say that if Yahushua reflects and is the image of God's glory that it means he's God,inexplicably.This argument,if consistent,would mean that we're Christ and God.Impossible,of course.
1 John 3:2-3:Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure
This is the whole beautiful reality of God's word of life manifest to the world!It means our ultimate glorification and exaltation along with Yahushua's if we're faithful!We will never compare to Yahushua in that he has inherited a name and inimitable stance far above what anyone else's could ever be,but we are promised his resurrection and to be kings and priests with him.And eternal life in & through him.:)..Again,precisely because in him we say "AMEN!" to all God's promises and plans for mankind from the beginning to the end of time.
Yahushua so prays poignantly something we'd be blessed to comprehend :
John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
That my friends is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.Yahushua,our big brother as the foreordained firstfruits of God's soon to be immortalized creatures pleading for our glory to be like his and his father's love to be as extraordinary for us as it was for him.We have MUCH to be thankful for!To Yahuwah and his firstborn immortalized glorified exalted Son.Yes,we are immortalized,glorified,and exalted along with him in God's kingdom decrees, in his faithful and true salvation plans.
May Yahuwah bless you all!
Most Christians will tell you that Yahushua is speaking here.I will be honest from the get go.I have no idea.The speakers change in Revelation constantly.Reasoning why I think it's very possible that he is NOT speaking here:
In verse 16 Yahushua says "“I, Jesus," and there are only two other times this occurs in Revelation.It is with John and BOTH times John is BEGINNING to speak,not continuing to speak.(one example is verse 8 in the same chapter.The other instance of this construct is in Rev. 1:9)So if we are to follow that precedent then it would mean Yahushua is beginning to speak in verse 16,not before.I have seen some commentaries and reasoning from Christians who think it's the angel speaking,following from verse 9 on.This would make sense because in Revelation 1 :1 it says this:
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John."
So ultimately,God GAVE this entire revelation to Yahushua who gave it to an angel who gave it to John.It is God speaking ultimately through the agency of others.I guess this would mean that even if Yahushua is speaking in verse 12 that it could be God speaking through him,as he has done through angels and prophets in the past.Again,Yahuwah had to *give* the revelation to Yahushua!In no way can an omniscient Almighty God be GIVEN something and he be either Almighty OR omniscient.Though Yahushua has been *given* all power,looks like it's still being upheld consistently by his own God.It would also be the case for the angel as well(*if* it is the angel speaking in verse 12,following from verse 9) that it is ultimately Yahuwah speaking though Yahushua through the angel to John because we all know the angel isn't the Alpha and the Omega,which means the beginning and the end.
What I'm going to do here regardless is present a case as to why Yahushua could very well be called the Beginning and the End in a separate application to him as to that of his father.It could be the same reason we *know* without a doubt that he is called the First and the Last.Not because he's Yahuwah,but,*in context*(which needs obviously to be what we heed determinedly when interpreting)always has to do with his death and resurrection as opposed to his never having a beginning and never dying at all!
Revelation 2:8:These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who *died and came to life again.*
Trust me when I say that a God who cannot die cannot be brought back to life again either.Yahushua did not say that only a portion of him died or that he was awake (or alive)while he was dead.
Revelation 1:17:I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; *I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!* And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Notice in BOTH instances the context is his death and resurrection.God cannot die,obviously.So Yahushua is the FIRSTBORN(the first) from the **dead** and is now gifted an immortal life and one who can GIVE immortal lives to others like his father can.This is why he is so termed a life giving spirit..it has to do with the spirit in his glorified body being one which gives life to the world by the power,allowance,and decree of God.(1 Cor. 15:45,Romans 6:23)The *last* has to do with both his inability to ever perish again and all things now being upheld by and in and through him.He's the last directly raised by Yah as all others will be by & through him.Also,he is one of a kind like his father is.As the uniquely begotten heir and savior of the world.The First and Last of his kind.But to stay safely strictly within context,it has to do with his death and resurrection.And we must,again,heed the qualification of the context and not just throw it away so that we won't have to recognize the qualification for the threat it is to our own ideas.
from http://www.nazarene-friends.org/magazines/1999/1999-01.htm#OMEGA:
"A check of the context shows this “First and Last” was with definite limitations, was relative to just the matter of Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection, as verse 18 shows. Christ was the first one raised in the first resurrection, and the last one that will be raised directly by Jehovah God. Others who follow in that resurrection will be raised by God through Christ. (John 6:40; 1 Cor. 6:14) In fact, this limitation is also shown by the footnote on “First” in Revelation 1:17 in the New World Translation, where “First” is shown to mean “Firstborn” by one ancient manuscript. Christ was the firstfruits of those asleep in death. (1 Cor. 15:20) When “First and Last” is again applied to Christ Jesus, at Revelation 2:8, note that again it is with respect to death and resurrection. But when it speaks thus of Jehovah *no limitation is set on the meaning.*"
from http://godandson.reslight.net/alphaomega.html:
"We have no reason to restrict the term in application to God Almighty, except to satisfy the whims of those who wish to use it thus to prove that Jesus is Yahweh, which, in effect, would make the whole argument circular, that is, 'we believe that Jesus is Yahweh, thus we believe that the expression first and last must be used in application to God Almighty only, and thus this proves that Jesus is Yahweh."
Basically,in summary,Yahushua's being the first and last,in context,is in reference to the ceaseless life he received after being the FIRST one resurrected.
*If*(again that's an IF) Yahushua is called the beginning and the end,it's possible,based upon my own conjecture,that the reasons *may* go beyond why he's the first and the last in their contexts provided.Quite possibly,there's a more profound meaning behind it without him having to be the Most High God.After all, the Most High is *his* God,the God of Yahushua.Let's think upon some things.Keep in mind the whole time that this is all based on just a *possibility* that Yahushua is speaking about himself in Rev 22:12.
Yahushua is the fulfillment of all God's plans for mankind and kingdom plans for the world from the beginning to the end of time.Now THAT'S an extraordinary truth.
Yahuwah says:
Isaiah 46:9 I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
In Yahushua it was all accomplished & finished and shall be held together and perfected,by fulfilling God's word and plans.God said:
Isaiah 55:11 so shall my *word* be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
John 1:14 And the *Word* became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When this miraculously conceived and specially anointed servant of Yahuwah's grew up & had to die for the life of the world,when he was at the brink of death said:
John 19:30 “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.(he breathed his last..his spirit ,or breath & force of life, went to God who restored it to him on the 3rd day.)
Of course,he was raised as a life giving spirit.In that he can give life to the world now that God gave him the ability to do so..filled to the tip top fully with Yahuwah's holy spirit corporeally,bodily..(Col. 2:9)
When he was raised from death to glory,he was the *beginning* of a new creation.
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the *beginning* of God's creation.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the *beginning*, the *firstborn* from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
God cannot be the firstborn from death for he simply cannot die.So we know this is about a SON who had the capacity to die at that time.No indication anywhere whatsoever that only a nature perished to save mankind.This is a scripturally baseless position.Yahushua's position was that *he* did.He said "I was dead.""I" in Greek demands a mind and an ego.No,it simply wasn't good enough for a body with no Yahushua in it to "perish" as if this can even be done.How the traditions of men have nullified God's word!
And since Christ's body is that in which we are given life he is the *end* of God's creation and kingdom decrees as well.Because in him we consist.
Colossians 1:17 he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He's also the "last" and the "end" because he was given a ceaseless immortal life by the One who raised him from a genuine death,the One to whom he cried out profusely to save him from death by resurrecting him to the glory he was to inherit.He was heard for his reverent submission TO God,not because he IS (that same) God.(Heb 5:7)
2 Corinthians 13:4 For he(Yahushua) was *crucified*(this means he was really killed) in weakness(that's how he humbled himself even though he was a mighty king..Phil 2:4-11), but *lives by the power of God.* (see also John 5:26)For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.
From Genesis 3:15 where it was prophesied that Yahushua would crush the head of the serpent all the way to John 19:30 where he says "It is finished" ,fulfilling also 2 Cor. 1:20 where by means of him what God declared from the beginning to the end was fulfilled to perfection,we find good reason logically for Yahushua to be able to call himself the Beginning and the End in a beautiful but separate application from that of his father.Here's a text that sums up why beautifully for those with discernment:
2 Corinthians 1:20:For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Unlike his father,Yahushua had to be *given* life and also the power to give us life.
Revelation 1:17,18: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. **I died**,and behold **I am alive forevermore**, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
So he is the *beginning* of God's new creation and plans for a kingdom & the *end* and *last* having been granted an unending immortality and the power to give life to mankind by his own lifegiver and sustainer on the 3rd day.When his body was raised (he was *always* in it of course!)literally,his "other" body(we the Christians..1 Cor. 12:27)was also raised figuratively,metaphorically.
Power to give life wasn't (yet) inherent in his being(for he had to die before he was raised in glory or our faith is in vain.)God *gave* him the gifts he now has.
The God that will be "all in all" from 1 Cor. 15:27-28 is not a triune One and is the God of Yahushua.Yahuwah lets everyone know there who the only supreme God is in the end,though he gladly and lovingly,exceedingly even,gives remarkable gifts to his beloved children,especially Yahushua!(James 1:17,Matt 7:11)Because GOD IS LOVE.(1 John 4:8)
The Beginning and the End that Yahuwah is is completely wrapped up in the Beginning and the End that Yahushua *might be* in Revelation.Why?Simply because Yahushua perfectly and completely fulfilled God's declarations and prophecies to and for mankind from the beginning to the end,satisfying this principle by his miraculous birth,obedient inspiring life,heartwrenching death,and profound extolling.Deeming possible the gifts God desires to shower upon the earth and mankind in Christ,our forerunner to an unfathomable glory.Yes,God declared the end from the beginning and Yahushua fulfilled it by the word,decree,will and spirit of his father.
This "beginning and end" phenomenon is also wrapped up in what their names mean,entangled with one another because Yahushua is the Lamb by which Yahuwah gives life.:)Revelation 13:8 signifies that Yahushua was slain before the world was even founded & this may indicate exactly how it was God created all things in Christ.He foresaw and thoughtfully decreed the reconciliation of fallen mankind as new creatures in Yahushua before Yahushua even took a breath.(1 Peter 1:20,Romans 4:17)Before Adam even fell.
Yahuwah means "he causes to become" or "self existing one" and Yahushua means "Yahuwah is salvation."Yahuwah caused all His kingdom plans and His decrees to give life to a faithful righteous world to be fulfilled in his word of life,Yahushua, who epitomized his saving power and executed its brilliance,gloriously.Obediently & faithfully bringing God's plans from the beginning to the end of time to unstoppable life!(1 Cor. 1:18,1 John 1:1-4)
Yes,God's decrees from the beginning to the end of time..those which he declared and typified and prophecied throughout the OT with his promised dear Messiah at the heart of it all(as the foreordained *word of life* in his heart & plans to be manifest at the right time..Job 10:13,23:13,14,Gal. 4:4)became AMEN in his servant/Lamb/image/heir/agent/beloved/Son/king of the world/High Priest/Messiah.Yahuwah decrees.Yahushua fulfills that which his father decreed from the beginning to the end in his father's benevolent and perfect counsel.Working as one in the unity of God's holy spirit.
The crucial,faithful,and true tale here is the good news that we can be like and in Yahushua and inherit a kingdom along with him in glory *because* he is the beginning of God's new creatures and been granted an immortality without end!We can receive Christ's resurrection to the same glorious image as his!We shall see him then as he is,which we cannot possibly fully fathom currently in our fallen state of affairs.
2 Corinthians 4:6:For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Yes,first God shined through Yahushua so that he could also shine through us by means of Christ's accomplishments and salvation.Yahushua was his greatest gift to the world,a manifestation of his own personality and plans for a kingdom!His own saving power and his own peerless love.Christ was the first..and the last in that,as mediator,we have this privilege given us in him as his body.
2 Corinthians 3:18:And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We can have a taste of that glory now,being born again,but not fully and exceptionally encompassing its majesty till it's perfected in a resurrection at the last day.
Trinitarians often say that if Yahushua reflects and is the image of God's glory that it means he's God,inexplicably.This argument,if consistent,would mean that we're Christ and God.Impossible,of course.
1 John 3:2-3:Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure
This is the whole beautiful reality of God's word of life manifest to the world!It means our ultimate glorification and exaltation along with Yahushua's if we're faithful!We will never compare to Yahushua in that he has inherited a name and inimitable stance far above what anyone else's could ever be,but we are promised his resurrection and to be kings and priests with him.And eternal life in & through him.:)..Again,precisely because in him we say "AMEN!" to all God's promises and plans for mankind from the beginning to the end of time.
Yahushua so prays poignantly something we'd be blessed to comprehend :
John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
That my friends is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.Yahushua,our big brother as the foreordained firstfruits of God's soon to be immortalized creatures pleading for our glory to be like his and his father's love to be as extraordinary for us as it was for him.We have MUCH to be thankful for!To Yahuwah and his firstborn immortalized glorified exalted Son.Yes,we are immortalized,glorified,and exalted along with him in God's kingdom decrees, in his faithful and true salvation plans.
May Yahuwah bless you all!
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