Genesis 42:8 (NASB)
But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.
- Joseph entered Egypt as a 17 year old young man. He probably had no developed beard, but 13 years later, he likely would have had a full beard.
Isaiah 50:6 (NASB)
I gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Luke 24:13-16 (NASB)
The Road to Emmaus
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
John 20:15-16 (NASB)
Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Luke 8:17 (NASB)
For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Luke 12:2 (NASB)
But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Hebrews 10:19-23 (NASB)
A New and Living Way
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NASB)
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Just a whisper
Genesis 19:1,13 Two angels arrived in Sodom…we are going to destroy this place
Revelation 20:1-3 One angel
Do not be afraid:
Genesis 21:16-18
2 Kings 1:14-16
1 Chronicles 21:29-30
Matthew 1:19-21
Matthew 28:4-6
Luke 1:12-14
Luke 1:29-31
Revelation 9:13-15
The Sixth Trumpet—Army from the East
Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.
Let's see here. 2 Angels wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah. 1 Angel puts Lucifer in the Abyss. Everytime someone sees one of these magnificent creatures they are scared to death. 4 angels will wipe out 1/3rd of mankind.
POWERFUL! MAGNIFICENT! AWESOME!
Matthew 26:51-53
And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
TWELVE LEGIONS - are you kidding?!
What would you feel, if you suddenly saw 12 legions of angels. Just think about it for awhile.
Genesis 6:5-8
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Praise God for His mercy, grace, patience and love!!!
Luke 23:33-34
The Crucifixion
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
What was Jesus feeling in the garden? God sent angels to minister to Him.
What was God feeling when His precious son was on the cross, tortured and bearing all the weight of immeasurable filth and sin?
Was God in rage? In anger? They were spitting on His boy. They were hitting Him. They mocked the Son of the Most High. They beat Him nearly to death. They ripped all the skin off of His back. When He was bleeding out, they put a robe on His back and after the blood congealed, they ripped it off. Thorns. Unspeakable. Nails. The Cross.
All of Heaven and Hell were watching. Every angel. All 12 Legions, were up early that day. Armed to the teeth. Power incalculable. Ready.
One word. One nod. One motion. The least indication. Were the swords drawn? Were the swords at the throats of everyone of us?
Tears. Weaping. Anguish. The King of Kings is writhing in pain. Unbearable.
Yet for our sins He was broken.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Luke 2:1-14
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Did you get that - 1 angel came and they were terrified. Just one. How were they feeling when suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared?
Praise God that they did not come back to destroy. It certainly has crossed God's mind before.
Guess what? They're coming back:
Matthew 13:40-42
So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Are you ready?
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God - Hebrews 10:31
Revelation 20:11-15
The Dead Are Judged
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
His pain
Why did you create?
Why did you, knowing what would happen (Is. 46:10) – the rebellion, the accusations, the torture, rape, abuse, rage, anger, violence and terror?
Genesis 8:21
The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
Does your heart break? Does your anger explode? What are you like to be around in your anger? Do you weep rivers of tears? Are you sad?
Are you conflicted with joy and deep sorrow, in the wedding feast and the judgment of the damned?
When we are laughing and dancing at the wedding will part of you weep for the tribulation, insanity and judgment?
Where are you? What are you thinking? How can I help with your pain?
What percentage / how many of your followers pray that you would be famous, that your pain and fight for our behalf would come to an end and that you would rest? How many of us pray incessitantly for our own welfase, like a bunch of whiny children?
Luke 2:11 - Heaven rejoiced that Christ came to suffer for us. Was your heart torn? Were their tears behind the joy of redemption.
You encouraged your son in the garden. When He asked "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing", was He holding you back? His Father, who carried rage and brokenness.
Jesus wanted another way in the garden. Did you want to quit at the cross? To curse all of us and cast us all into eternal torment and to put all of our memories in the sea of forgetfulness and remember us no more?
He could have called 12 legions of angels - swords sharp and fully prepared to destroy us all. One angel could have done the job, but 12 legions were ready. They were on scene in Bethlehem. They were online and ready in the garden. Were they just behind the veil seithing at the torture, humiliation and death of the most High?
When the mockers came, were the knives at their throats and your army looking intently at your face for any sign?
Am I ridiculous in these questions?
I can only imagine.
I am in love with you and anxious to see you. Anxious and terrified simultaneously. Anxious to see all made right and to see you at rest and peace with all that is around you.
I love you.
Greg
Why did you, knowing what would happen (Is. 46:10) – the rebellion, the accusations, the torture, rape, abuse, rage, anger, violence and terror?
Genesis 8:21
The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
Does your heart break? Does your anger explode? What are you like to be around in your anger? Do you weep rivers of tears? Are you sad?
Are you conflicted with joy and deep sorrow, in the wedding feast and the judgment of the damned?
When we are laughing and dancing at the wedding will part of you weep for the tribulation, insanity and judgment?
Where are you? What are you thinking? How can I help with your pain?
What percentage / how many of your followers pray that you would be famous, that your pain and fight for our behalf would come to an end and that you would rest? How many of us pray incessitantly for our own welfase, like a bunch of whiny children?
Luke 2:11 - Heaven rejoiced that Christ came to suffer for us. Was your heart torn? Were their tears behind the joy of redemption.
You encouraged your son in the garden. When He asked "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing", was He holding you back? His Father, who carried rage and brokenness.
Jesus wanted another way in the garden. Did you want to quit at the cross? To curse all of us and cast us all into eternal torment and to put all of our memories in the sea of forgetfulness and remember us no more?
He could have called 12 legions of angels - swords sharp and fully prepared to destroy us all. One angel could have done the job, but 12 legions were ready. They were on scene in Bethlehem. They were online and ready in the garden. Were they just behind the veil seithing at the torture, humiliation and death of the most High?
When the mockers came, were the knives at their throats and your army looking intently at your face for any sign?
Am I ridiculous in these questions?
I can only imagine.
I am in love with you and anxious to see you. Anxious and terrified simultaneously. Anxious to see all made right and to see you at rest and peace with all that is around you.
I love you.
Greg
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Fight
Ezekiel 10:9-14 (spectacular)
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 (Young's Literal Translation)
11And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
12`Son of man, lift up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, And thou hast said to him: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Thou art sealing up a measurement, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13In Eden, the garden of God, thou hast been, Every precious stone thy covering, Ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and gold, The workmanship of thy tabrets (tambourines), and of thy pipes, In thee in the day of thy being produced, have been prepared. (built in organs/instruments of praise? His job/purpose?)
14Thou [art] an anointed cherub who is covering, And I have set thee in the holy mount, God thou hast been, In the midst of stones of fire thou hast walked up and down.
15Perfect [art] thou in thy ways, From the day of thy being produced, Till perversity (sexual?) hath been found in thee.
16By the abundance of thy merchandise They have filled thy midst with violence, And thou dost sin, And I thrust thee from the mount of God, And I destroy thee, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.
17High hath been thy heart, because of thy beauty, Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness, On the earth I have cast thee, Before kings I have set thee, to look on thee,
18From the abundance of thy iniquity, By the perversity of thy traffic, Thou hast polluted thy sanctuaries, And I bring forth fire from thy midst, It hath devoured thee, And I make thee become ashes on the earth, Before the eyes of all beholding thee.
19All knowing thee among the peoples Have been astonished at thee, Wastes thou hast been, and thou art not -- to the age.
Job 38:7
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 1:6
6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Prerequisites to the flood?
Genesis 6:4
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
Jude 1:5-7
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Genesis 6:1-9 (Young's Literal Translation)
1And it cometh to pass that mankind have begun to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters have been born to them,
2and sons of God see the daughters of men that they [are] fair, and they take to themselves women of all whom they have chosen.
3And Jehovah saith, `My Spirit doth not strive in man -- to the age; in their erring they [are] flesh:' and his days have been an hundred and twenty years.
4The fallen ones were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards when sons of God come in unto daughters of men, and they have borne to them -- they [are] the heroes, who, from of old, [are] the men of name.
5And Jehovah seeth that abundant [is] the wickedness of man in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil all the day;
6and Jehovah repenteth that He hath made man in the earth, and He grieveth Himself -- unto His heart.
7And Jehovah saith, `I wipe away man whom I have prepared from off the face of the ground, from man unto beast, unto creeping thing, and unto fowl of the heavens, for I have repented that I have made them.'
8And Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah.
9These [are] births of Noah: Noah [is] a righteous man; perfect he hath been among his generations; with God hath Noah walked habitually.
(one commentator – indicated this may mean that Noah’s dna/geneaology was unpolluted, undefiled – his ancestors had not intermarried with these angels)
The Israelites prepare to invade the promised land
Numbers 13:22-28
22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
Numbers 13:33 *****************
33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Deuteronomy 1:28
28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”
Deuteronomy 2:10-11
10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites.
Deuteronomy 2:21
21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
Deuteronomy 9:2
2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”
So who were the Israelites to fight when they crossed the Jordan River? Were these fallen satanic angels?
Ephesians 6:12
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
God delivers the Anakites into Joshua’s hand and they are destroyed.
Joshua 11:21-22
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
Joshua 14:12-15
12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)
God’s judgement on satan and his minions
Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a desert,
who overthrew its cities
2 Peter 2:4-5
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
Revelation 12:3-9
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Luke 10:18
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Genesis 3:1-24
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever
You may see this post as a wild collection of verses and an unfounded conclusion, based on some weird spooky text.
You might be right.
I hope you will step away from the fear and just mull it over.
Can we talk about the text without fear and at the end of the day say “that’s interesting”. I am certainly not putting this thought up there with the cross or the trinity.
I am simply encouraged to remember to things:
• We were made to praise Him and failure to move towards God’s purposes in our lives leads to destruction.
• Our fight is not against flesh and blood.
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 (Young's Literal Translation)
11And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
12`Son of man, lift up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, And thou hast said to him: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Thou art sealing up a measurement, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13In Eden, the garden of God, thou hast been, Every precious stone thy covering, Ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and gold, The workmanship of thy tabrets (tambourines), and of thy pipes, In thee in the day of thy being produced, have been prepared. (built in organs/instruments of praise? His job/purpose?)
14Thou [art] an anointed cherub who is covering, And I have set thee in the holy mount, God thou hast been, In the midst of stones of fire thou hast walked up and down.
15Perfect [art] thou in thy ways, From the day of thy being produced, Till perversity (sexual?) hath been found in thee.
16By the abundance of thy merchandise They have filled thy midst with violence, And thou dost sin, And I thrust thee from the mount of God, And I destroy thee, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.
17High hath been thy heart, because of thy beauty, Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness, On the earth I have cast thee, Before kings I have set thee, to look on thee,
18From the abundance of thy iniquity, By the perversity of thy traffic, Thou hast polluted thy sanctuaries, And I bring forth fire from thy midst, It hath devoured thee, And I make thee become ashes on the earth, Before the eyes of all beholding thee.
19All knowing thee among the peoples Have been astonished at thee, Wastes thou hast been, and thou art not -- to the age.
Job 38:7
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 1:6
6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Prerequisites to the flood?
Genesis 6:4
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
Jude 1:5-7
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Genesis 6:1-9 (Young's Literal Translation)
1And it cometh to pass that mankind have begun to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters have been born to them,
2and sons of God see the daughters of men that they [are] fair, and they take to themselves women of all whom they have chosen.
3And Jehovah saith, `My Spirit doth not strive in man -- to the age; in their erring they [are] flesh:' and his days have been an hundred and twenty years.
4The fallen ones were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards when sons of God come in unto daughters of men, and they have borne to them -- they [are] the heroes, who, from of old, [are] the men of name.
5And Jehovah seeth that abundant [is] the wickedness of man in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil all the day;
6and Jehovah repenteth that He hath made man in the earth, and He grieveth Himself -- unto His heart.
7And Jehovah saith, `I wipe away man whom I have prepared from off the face of the ground, from man unto beast, unto creeping thing, and unto fowl of the heavens, for I have repented that I have made them.'
8And Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah.
9These [are] births of Noah: Noah [is] a righteous man; perfect he hath been among his generations; with God hath Noah walked habitually.
(one commentator – indicated this may mean that Noah’s dna/geneaology was unpolluted, undefiled – his ancestors had not intermarried with these angels)
The Israelites prepare to invade the promised land
Numbers 13:22-28
22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
Numbers 13:33 *****************
33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Deuteronomy 1:28
28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”
Deuteronomy 2:10-11
10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites.
Deuteronomy 2:21
21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
Deuteronomy 9:2
2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”
So who were the Israelites to fight when they crossed the Jordan River? Were these fallen satanic angels?
Ephesians 6:12
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
God delivers the Anakites into Joshua’s hand and they are destroyed.
Joshua 11:21-22
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
Joshua 14:12-15
12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)
God’s judgement on satan and his minions
Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a desert,
who overthrew its cities
2 Peter 2:4-5
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
Revelation 12:3-9
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Luke 10:18
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Genesis 3:1-24
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever
You may see this post as a wild collection of verses and an unfounded conclusion, based on some weird spooky text.
You might be right.
I hope you will step away from the fear and just mull it over.
Can we talk about the text without fear and at the end of the day say “that’s interesting”. I am certainly not putting this thought up there with the cross or the trinity.
I am simply encouraged to remember to things:
• We were made to praise Him and failure to move towards God’s purposes in our lives leads to destruction.
• Our fight is not against flesh and blood.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hannukah
It is the wrong time of year to talk about Hanukkah, but I tripped over this in a study I was doing and thought I would share…. Blessings to you. God is bigger than we can imagine… There is more insight and meaning in the Bible than we begin to grasp. God has much more for us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar_(Bible)
After their (the Jews) return from the Babylonian captivity it (the altar) was re-erected (Ezra 3:3-6) where it had formerly stood. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes pillaged Jerusalem, (165 BC) he defiled the Altar of Burnt Offering by erecting a pagan altar upon it. Judas Maccabeus renewed the altar when he re-took Jerusalem. Since the existing altar had been defiled by the blood of pagan sacrifices the old stones of the altar were removed and replaced with new, unhewn ones. However, since the old stones had been previously sanctified by the Jewish sacrifices they could not be moved to an unclean place; so they remained on the Temple Mount, "until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them." (1 Maccabees 4:41-47).
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2010:22-42&version=NIV
John 10:22-42
Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah - 25th of Keslev - around December - remembers the Antiochus Epiphanes defiled temple and the restoration) at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (interesting that on Solomon's porch on the temple mount that there were stones just lying around, in a place fastidiously clean) 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
http://www.letusreason.org/doct4.htm
But really it is the feast of miracle’s which is its real emphasis.
Jn.10:22-24: describe for us what happened at this time Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's’ porch, the people asking him if you are the Christ tell us plainly.
In Jn.10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.” He attributes all the miracles to himself. This is to have the people to come to his person and not follow his miracles his miracles authenticated his person. But the people wanted the show and not the person nor his message. Their reaction to Jesus stating “I and my Father are one” was in vs.31-33 “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” The people finally found out what to do with the stones of the temple that were desecrated from Antiochus and put aside when the Messiah would come. They were used to be thrown at the Messiah for telling them the truth that he was God. The stones that were torn down because of the temple desecration by an abomination were then used against the messiah who was the temple made without hands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar_(Bible)
After their (the Jews) return from the Babylonian captivity it (the altar) was re-erected (Ezra 3:3-6) where it had formerly stood. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes pillaged Jerusalem, (165 BC) he defiled the Altar of Burnt Offering by erecting a pagan altar upon it. Judas Maccabeus renewed the altar when he re-took Jerusalem. Since the existing altar had been defiled by the blood of pagan sacrifices the old stones of the altar were removed and replaced with new, unhewn ones. However, since the old stones had been previously sanctified by the Jewish sacrifices they could not be moved to an unclean place; so they remained on the Temple Mount, "until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them." (1 Maccabees 4:41-47).
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2010:22-42&version=NIV
John 10:22-42
Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah - 25th of Keslev - around December - remembers the Antiochus Epiphanes defiled temple and the restoration) at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (interesting that on Solomon's porch on the temple mount that there were stones just lying around, in a place fastidiously clean) 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
http://www.letusreason.org/doct4.htm
But really it is the feast of miracle’s which is its real emphasis.
Jn.10:22-24: describe for us what happened at this time Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's’ porch, the people asking him if you are the Christ tell us plainly.
In Jn.10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.” He attributes all the miracles to himself. This is to have the people to come to his person and not follow his miracles his miracles authenticated his person. But the people wanted the show and not the person nor his message. Their reaction to Jesus stating “I and my Father are one” was in vs.31-33 “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” The people finally found out what to do with the stones of the temple that were desecrated from Antiochus and put aside when the Messiah would come. They were used to be thrown at the Messiah for telling them the truth that he was God. The stones that were torn down because of the temple desecration by an abomination were then used against the messiah who was the temple made without hands.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)