I want to clarify my position on comments on posts that I did not write. I expect the authors on this blog to oversee the comments on their posts. As such, I only delete comments that include foul language, incite physical violence or attack specific individuals on their posts.
I see people bringing up the celebration of holidays and personal attacks on Yet Another Pagan Ebenezer. Let me add some Old Testament perspective:
Isaiah 1:10-15
Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?
Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I doubt the author of the post had any intention of causing controversy concerning the celebration of holidays when he penned his essay. I think readers can see how a few comments can escalate and corrupt the true message being presented.
The above verses from Isaiah give a different representation of how the Lord views holidays and sacrifices according to Isaiah. Stop your meaningless arguments and turn back to the Lord. Division comes from every direction in these evil times. Let the Lord guide your words and actions and become more Christlike.
David DeGerolamo
Amen, David. For those of us that are believers, who every day must deny our flesh and live in the spirit, it is too often easier to slip back into the “old man suit”.
We are living in very evil days with a bombardment of bad news on a daily basis. It is too easy to fall back into anger and despair, at times. We must stay in the Word and surround ourselves with other believers of like-mind (Iron sharpens iron) and not turn anger and frustration at the success of evil by turning on our loved ones and/or online contacts.
“The above verses from Isaiah give a different representation of how the Lord views holidays and sacrifices according to Isaiah. Stop your meaningless arguments and turn back to the Lord. Division comes from every direction in these evil times. Let the Lord guide your words and actions and become more Christlike.”
Well said, brother. Amen.
I’m a bit confused, David. The main reason I quit going to church and decided to concentrate on the bible alone has to do with the fact that no one in any church I have been in wants to discuss difficult topics in the bible. I’ve been to almost every denomination over the years and it’s the same story. Do not ask questions about difficult topics and do not question the preferred narrative. I suppose, as they say, keep your opinions to yourself. I understand your concerns but………
I do not understand your comment. I believe that discussions concerning difficult topics are what increases our faith and understanding. Blind obedience gives the world child suicide bombers and tyrants.
My point is that the article discussing the satanic statue was not the appropriate place for a discussion on holidays. Misdirection leading to division and personal attacks accomplishes nothing.
Throw off the doctrines of men and only pay attention to what Jesus said and the division would cease. Just saying. I find it interesting that we call the religion ‘Christianity’ and then give more credence to Paul and Constantine and his minions than to Jesus. Read the Bible. No … I mean REALLY read the Bible. Here’s an example:
KJV Luke 18:18-19 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Doctrine of men: Jesus is God
Jesus said: Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Clear inference? Jesus never claimed to be and is not God. He always deferred to the Father and is always referred to as the Son of God. Words mean things.
I lost my ordination over this question. So be it. I prefer the truth to the approval of men. My intention, here, is not to create more division, but rather to demonstrate that doctrines are what divide us. Everyone has to believe something, but if you want to follow Jesus, for heavens sake pay more attention to what he actually is claimed to have said than to the doctrines fomented by an Emperor and the Catholic Church. Power and wealth was their goal. Those were certainly not the goal of Jesus.
Bravo, Malachi! Every major professing Christian denomination teaches the trinity. Jesus Christ is called the son of God 46 times in the NT. He is never called God the son. Instead, cloudy scriptures like John chapter 1 are elevated and 46 to 0 is ignored. That’s not honest biblical research.
Jesus as God crept in at the council of Nicea at 321{?] AD. They filled in the trinity later at Constantinople years later. I totally understand how difficult is it for those who have been taught since day one the trinity. Who is the father of lies? I also was taught the trinity being raised Roman Catholic. I still remember the sense of betrayal as I was shown from the scriptures that the trinity ain’t in God’s word.
Do you really think that God could have a Son and that Son not be God ? Like begats like. Also when reading the Gospels you have to take into account what the theme of each is. Matt -- Jesus the Son of David, King of the Jews. Mark -- Jesus the Servant . Luke -- Jesus the Son of man. John -- Jesus God in the flesh. All written from a different perspective to show the fullness of His walk on Earth.
Jesus has to be God, since no one can save except God.Isa 43:11 -- ‘beside me (Jehovah) there is no Saviour’ Jesus is Emmanuel -- God with us. He demonstrated His Godhood by showing omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. Satan called Him holy. The angel called Him Holy. Psa 16:10 called Him holy. A really fun exercise is to compare the OT comments about God with what is said about Jesus. Isa 44:6 calls Jehovah ‘the first and last and beside me there is no God.’ Rev 1:17-18 Jesus says He is the first and last.Psa 10:16 says Jehovah is King for ever. Jesus has a kingdom not of the world Jn18:36 Jesus declared Himself to be ‘I AM’ in Jn 8. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all said to have raised Jesus from the dead -- Rom 6:4, Jn 2:19, Rom 8:11 Jesus accepted worship w/o correcting the ‘error’ of worshipping Him contrary to Ex 34:14, Matt 8:2, Jn 9:38. Every knee will bow to Jehovah Isa 45:23, Jesus Phil 2:10. I would not have ordained you either. They made the correct determination.
Son of God 46 times, God the son 0.
Yep. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and the Holy Son of God was conceived w/in her. Do you think God could be the actual Father of someone and that someone not also be God ?Like begats like.
Only begotten son of God. Check your dictionary for the definition of begotten. To beget: 1. (especially of a man) bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction 2. cause; bring about. Begotten infers a beginning. Is God not eternal?
I’ll let this be my last comment so I don’t gum up the thread. If Jesus is not God, Who or What is He ? Was He just a good guy talking some good stuff ? Did He just come into being in a manger ? Or did He pre-exist Creation as 1Pet 1:19-20 tells us ?
I’ll let this be my last comment so I don’t gum up the thread. If Jesus is not God, Who or What is He ?
What the Bible says he is. The Son of God. That doesn’t take away from his mission. And perhaps he was begotten before creation.
I appreciate your openness. No offense intended.
I hate to say I’m thru and start again. Malachi, you just contradicted yourself maybe. Who did God have sex with to beget Jesus before the world began ?( From your comment on begotten) Jesus was begotten and we are told so in the story of His birth and begotten by the Holy Spirit at that time. We don’t have to speculate.
The explanation is really very simple. Jesus has always existed just as our Father in Heaven has always existed. Jesus was “begotten” physically by God the Father when his mother, Mary, who was a virgin, was miraculously impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Please, stop thinking in human terms. Think in Godly terms. I wish you well.
Then explain Luke 18:18-19. If Jesus was not yet aware that he’s God, then he’s not omniscient. Is not omniscience an attribute of God? Jesus even infers he’s not good. Only God is good. Or, one can make the argument that the Bible has mistakes and contradictions. I’m not making that argument. I think the text is clear. We all are free to believe what we will.
KJV Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Again, the omniscience thing.
Look, I’m not trying to start a big argument. I was taught at Piedmont Baptist College to study the Bible ‘tabula rasa‘, blank slate. The professor told us to set aside everything we’d been taught, everything we’d been programmed to believe, and rather than reading into Scripture what we’d been taught it says, to allow it to speak to us. The words do mean what they say. If the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense.
People can find passages of Scripture that are somewhat vague and bend them to confirm what they’ve been taught, or they can let the plain sense make sense.
Malachi, 2 Corinthians 5:20 says we are ambassadors for Christ, not defense attorneys. You hold forth the word as well as you understand it. A line gets crossed when someone starts to defend what they are saying. Truth needs no defense. I will proclaim but not try to prove. Don’t get caught up in debates. You can tell right away is someone is interested in what you have to say or want to tear it down. That is their right. That being said, I love your passion!
I see Jesus’ comment as a rhetorical response to the ‘Good Master’ comment aka Why are you asking me if you don’t consider me good as well ? He does later in Jn 10:30 clearly tell us He and the Father are One, so They would each (?) be good.
I have a few questions (to start) on Jesus is God.
So if Jesus is God, who is God’s God?
John 20:17 -- 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.Matthew 27:46 -- 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?Luke 22:42 -- 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.If God knows everything, then why does Jesus not know when the is coming back?
Matthew 24:36 -- 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
There was a time where Satan worked on me to believe the trinity thing. To believe there was three Gods. This was not what I was taught or believed. I went to God in prayer and asked Him “to show me the truth. I could not be wrong in this. I do not want to go to Hell. I have nothing without you Father”. That was my prayer cried from deep inside. I use to drive a lot and would listen to the Bible along with reading and such. He revealed to me over 292 verses that I have questions about and need answers too before I could believe the trinity.
Isaiah 1 is about the rebellion of Judah against YHWH and thus the hypocrisy of their offerings to YHWH. It isn’t that YHWH hated their offerings, per se; indeed, He had commanded those offerings in the first place.
You are correct that the Levitical priesthood and the associated law of atonement with its animal sacrifices and oblations, which was added at Mount Sinai because of transgressions of the Torah (Galatians 3:19), ended with Christ (Galatians 3:24, Hebrews 7:11-12).
But please keep in mind that the word ‘law’ is generic, it does not always mean The Law. Indeed, Paul writes of at least three different laws of YHWH and several laws of man. So we must use discernment in determining which law is which.
The Law, itself:
1) The Torah, or the Word of God (Isaiah 2:3), which can be expressed as the Two Greatest Commandments [the summary], the Ten Commandments [the table of contents], and the Book of the Law [the details], is the standard for what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, what is holy and profane, what is clean and unclean. The Torah does not change as YHWH does not change (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). How can what He declared to be right, ever be wrong? How can what He declared to be wrong, ever be right? Indeed, Christ Himself declared that not one letter of the Law would pass away until heaven and earth pass away (Matthew 5:17-19). That is not a reference to the ‘it is done’ at the cross (John 19:30), but rather a reference to the ‘it is done’ at the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
And the laws of atonement:
2) The Levitical priesthood
The sin sacrifice laws of atonement for the flesh / body via animals sacrifices and oblations under the Levitical priesthood. This system has many names including the law of works, the circumcision of the flesh, and the tutor. It is sometimes called the Law of Moses because it came through Moses as its mediator. This was a temporary law. It was only ever meant to teach, by using the physical to symbolize the spiritual. It was never meant to and never could save anyone (Galatians 3:21). This was the law that was added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19) and the law that changed with Christ (Galatians 3:24, Hebrews 7:11-12).
3) The Melchizedek Priesthood
The sin sacrifice laws of atonement for the heart / spirit via the sacrifice of Christ under the Melchizedek priesthood. This system has many names including the law of faith, the law of liberty, the law of righteousness, the law of grace, and the circumcision of the heart. It is sometimes called the Law of Christ because it came through Christ as its mediator. This is an eternal law. It is this law that King David appeals to when he offers to YHWH the sacrifice of a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). It is this law that the Prophet Jeremiah appeals to when he warns the men of Judah that they must circumcise their hearts (Jeremiah 4:4).
Did you know that there are Rabbi’s who speak of a Messiah walking among us now?
Jesus was and is “the Christ” (Greek) or “the Messiah” (Hebrew). Both mean “the Anointed One.” I can assure you that he is not walking around the earth right now, but fear not, the signs of the times make clear that his triumphant return is coming soon.
What, according to the scriptures found in The Holy Bible, constitutes God? Is it not God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost? Is not perfect goodness always fully manifested in them since they work together and are joined together in perfect harmony? So, when Jesus said to the ruler, “Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God,” wasn’t he being intentionally respectful toward the entire body of the Holy Trinity of God, which is composed of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? And are they not all together one God? Yes, my friends, but of course they are!
Did Jesus claim to be God? Here are a few scriptures to ponder:
KJV John 8:57-58 “Then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I Am.”
KJV Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent you.””
And Jesus used the same name, “I AM,” to describe himself.
In the first chapter of the book of John, the apostle John calls Jesus the “Word” and says the “Word was God.” He further states that the “Word became flesh” and lived for a while among us.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus is God. And so are the Father and Holy Ghost, God, too. One in three, three in one. Praise God!
I like this discussion. If I may make an analogy -- Ice, Water, Vapor. God the father is the stationary polar ice. Jesus is the melt water that can be anywhere but only in one place at a time, The Holy Spirit is the vapor that is everywhere. One person in three different bodies each with a purpose. He/They can be whatever they choose to be.
Strider and Eddie, I’m onboard with your analogies. The Godhead is as three “rocks” (the Father -- Deut. 32:15, the Son -- Matt. 16:18, the Holy Spirit [the water out of that “Rock” in 1 Cor. 10:4]). Jesus Christ is as three seeds (Abraham’s -- Hebrews 2:16, David’s -- Romans 1:3, the woman’s -- Genesis 3:15). The three likenesses of Abraham’s seed (“stars” -- Genesis 15:5, “sand” -- Genesis 22:17, “dust” -- Genesis 13:16). The three applications of the Old Testament sacrifices (the individual -- Genesis 4:4, the family -- Genesis 8:20, the nation -- Leviticus 4:13-15). The Old Testament reveals the Father, the Gospels reveal the Son, and the Acts and Epistles reveal the Holy Spirit. The number three is naturally connected with the Trinity (Matthew 28:19, 1 John 5:7-8). Allow me to provide a few examples of God’s creation: a Man has a Soul, Body and Spirit; a Family consists of a Man, a Woman, a Child; Problems are Mental, Physical, or Emotional; Time is Past, Present, and Future; Location is Land, Sea or Air; Music is Harmony, Rhythm, and Melody; Bible language is Hebrew, Aramaic, And Greek; the Old Testament is the Law, the Prophets and the Writings (Psalms); the New Testament is the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles. I could go on and on as God has left examples throughout his Creation. 2 Timothy 2:15 -- Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Please search this verse in any modern translation -- something that reads differently isn’t the same. Another analogy of a triune or trinity: a basketball. 1) the outer flesh is the body 2) the hidden bladder is the soul 3) the air filling the ball is the spirit. You and Eddie are spot on.
What, according to the scriptures found in The Holy Bible, constitutes God? Is it not God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost? Is not perfect goodness always fully manifested in them since they work together and are joined together in perfect harmony? So, when Jesus said to the ruler, “Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God,” wasn’t he being intentionally respectful toward the entire body of the Holy Trinity of God, which is composed of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? And are they not all together one God? Yes, my friends, but of course they are!
Did Jesus claim to be God? Here are a few scriptures to ponder:
KJV John 8:57-58 “Then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I Am.”
KJV Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent you.””
And Jesus used the same name, “I AM,” to describe himself.
In the first chapter of the book of John, the apostle John calls Jesus the “Word” and says the “Word was God.” He further states that the “Word became flesh” and lived for a while among us.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus is God. And so are the Father and Holy Ghost, God, too. One in three, three in one. Praise God!
Paganism is paganism.
Look how angry they (we) become. Why?
No one wants to hear it, Yet perhaps He would like us to see, understand, and recognize it, Change our ways, turning back to Him, then He may with mercy, turn back to us?
Isaiah 1:18-
Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahuah. ” Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If you submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,’ for the mouth of Yahuah has spoken.
Perhaps it would be in all of our good interest to investigate all of the sin and paganism taking place in our lives, painful or not. All the things we have been taught and taught our own.
Christmas is to painful, “Easter” is on its way just like clock work. Look into the eggs. Do not just listen to the narrative. Question everything.
Many of our traditions are worthless in His eyes, does this sound like something to kill each other over?