I was intrigued to hear a minister claim recently that every prophecy had been fulfilled, so therefore the Lord could return at any moment. Whilst I agree that the Lord can return when he so chooses, there are still some conditions that need to be met: 2 Thessalonians 2:1 states that his return will not occur until the Man of Lawlessness is revealed. He may be revealed this morning and Jesus could be here for breakfast (we always assume long time delays, but things may happens so fast that we might never hear about them).
I'd like to know what other prophecies have not been fulfilled - click 'comments' below
8 comments:
The Bridegroom (God) will descend at the *perfect* time. Not a minute sooner or later. If that is before I finish writing these words or a 100 years away then it will have been appointed so.
The question is; is the waiting Bride (the Soul) pure or polluted?
If pure how do we maintain it?
If polluted how do we purify it in time for the Wedding?
yes i do believe like the disciples jesus can return now but there is prophecies as we see then to be fullfilled but they can be fullfiled in an instant so be ready today dont look for some antichrist figure the bible says await our saviour from heaven
Pure? As in 'justified' or 'sanctified'? None of us is wholly sanctified because we still have a corrupted nature/body, and that will not change until we receive our resurrected/transformed body. However, we are 100% pure in the justfied sense if we are those who believe - the mark of which is that we adhere to the teaching of Jesus alone (John 8:31) and live accordingly (1John 3:7-10). That is a work for which we share a responsibility (self cntrol/discipline), but all the strength for that comes from God, so we can say that it is maintained by him (John 15:4-5; Colossians 1:29; Philippians 1:6). Many make the mistake of trying to do it themselves (Galaxians 3:3) and then give up because it can not be done - it is the scourge of the church through the ages! Let God do it, and he will change us, taking all of our own ideas and morals, and other men's philosophies, from us so that HE can resent us pure and unblemished.
Firstly, my advance apologies for any mis-spellings (it's late LOL).
>None of us is wholly sanctified because we still have a corrupted nature/body<
Amen!
In essence I could not agree more. It does lead to the question of *why* our body/nature is so antithetical to the full sanctification of the soul?
>That is a work for which we share a responsibility (self cntrol/discipline), but all the strength for that comes from God, so we can say that it is maintained by him (John 15:4-5; Colossians 1:29; Philippians 1:6).<
This raises the question of why God would create a framework of existence that requires self-control or discipline (assuming that God created it). It is tantamount to saying that God created an obstacle course and gave man the strength and endurance necessary to complete that obstacle course. Why create it in the first place if it is the Will of God to overcome it?
Our body/nature/soul was created by God, so is not of itself sinful or contrary to holiness, quite the opposite in some respects. Unfortunately we have BECOME corrupt - sinfulness should be seen as a disease that has no right to be in our beings. For example Adam and Jesus were both formed withour the sinful nature (the very significance of the virgin birth) so they were not corrupt. That means they were ABLE to sin, but it was a weakness rather than a compulsion. Adam could have resisted, as Jesus demonstrated, but fell of his own free will. Both Adam and Jesus were put under external pressure to sin, whereas we are tempted internally (James 1:14), because we, on the other hand, have inherited this 'disease' which causes us to feel compelled to sin. That does not absolve us of responsibility for we could resist that compulsion. Nor are we judged for having a sinful nature, only for giving in and sinning. If we could not resist then we could not be judged fairly. It is popular for many to think that they can not help themselves becuase their nature makes them sin - but that is palming off reponsibility. It is however, alos true to say that I can only be holy with the help of God - but that is also part of the judgement: did we accept the help that is offered to all?
God created this 'obstacle course' as a test of our free-will, because 'choice' is a necessary element of obedience and love.
Thank you for your reply.
>Our body/nature/soul was created by God, so is not of itself sinful or contrary to holiness, quite the opposite in some respects.<
Please explain this to me. In what respects is our body/nature holy?(for me the Soul is a separate issue - in fact I just finished "blogging" on this very topic)
> we, on the other hand, have inherited this 'disease' which causes us to feel compelled to sin<
Is our predilection a characteristic of true Free Will? In other words can it really be called "Free" Will when a bias is within our nature?
> God created this 'obstacle course' as a test of our free-will, because 'choice' is a necessary element of obedience and love.<
This is ultimately inconsistent though raises quite interesting questions. Taking as a starting point that God created material existence it is reasonable to conclude that the laws of material existence (ie: physics) have been created by God. However, those same laws obstruct true Free Will (which if it was fully given should mean the ability to do *whatever* one wishes including actions contrary not only to Biblical laws but also natural/physical laws).
I cannot choose not to be subject to the law of gravity, I am compelled to live by it whether I like it or not. Therefore if God implemented the law of gravity he is also constraining my Will to live by it and in the process denying me the option of choice.
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I do feel that I should very quickly say that you should not be compelled to answer any questions or comments that I post. For the most part it is just theological/philosophical musing and I doubt it will have any dramatic effects to either your or my spiritual path. Though in debating it can sometimes lead us to a deeper understanding of why we believe the things we do and thus deepen our spiritual walk. X
I'm enjoying this, so I'm glad to answer your questions/ask you some.
First of all, as a Bible beleiver, I am working from the Biblical view of the 'soul' rather than the Greek/European view which we naturally read into the scriptures when we read them. The Greek considers the 'soul' (as in Gk pseuche) to be the inner person, roughly equivalent to the ghost/conscience etc). Unfortunately, when scholars translated the Hebrew scriptures from Hebrew into Greek they used Pseuche for the Hebrew word nephesh, so then Greek definitions were assumed.
HOWEVER, the Hebrew nephesh is a whole lot broader.
It is popular, though not universal, to think that this is a human characteristic, yet Genesis 1:20 ascribes it to animals.
Genesis 2:7 is especially revealing for it explains that man BECOMES a nephesh - therefore we should not think of the nephesh as something we HAVE, but what we ARE. For humans it would be better translated into English as 'person' because you do not 'have a person' because you 'are a person'. That would also better express the broad meaning of nephesh becuase Numbers 6:6 uses it of a corpse - everything BUT the 'inner persona' - the meat that is left. Just as in English we might speak of 'personal insult' or taking something 'personally' we can also speak of 'personal injury' for physical damge we have suffered. 'Person' covers everything to do with 'us' - physical, spiritual, emotional. The same can be said of nephesh. Soul is a misleading translation because most readers assume the Greek definition of pseuche applies instead of the Hebrew nephesh. However, when the NT authors used pseuche it is evident that they were using a Greek word with a Hebrew understanding, for the man of sin is in fact the 'soulish' (Gk pseuchikos) man in 1 Corinthians 2:14; 15:44, 46; Jude 19! Normally would we not call them 'fleshly'? A similar term is used in James 3:15. Not a lot of people know that.
So, we should not consider the 'soul' (bad term) as a separate issue, for we are seen holistically in scripture, although we might go as far as to see our spiritual and physical aspects as sides of a coin - different but inseparable.
Therefore we must understand that our whole being has been created by God, and as such is not inclined to sin, even though free will is part of that created order - Adam made a choice which God allowed. Indeed God allowed the serpent to provide Adam with an alternate view so that he could choose. Therfore the created nature is counteracted, however, by the 'infection' of sin. Therefore we have a war of wills within.
Thank you for your reply.
You would go and complicate it further! (LOL)
I am in absolute agreement that a distinction exists between consciousness (in the European sense, "Pseuche" if you prefer) and Nephesh. What we differ on is the nature and origin of both.
From my understanding of it (and I am no expert in Judaic philosophy) a Nephesh is within every living organism; humans, animals and plants because Nephesh *is* the force of life (I can give some links on this if you wish). It is the energy that everything with life must possess in order to be living; Vitality itself. It is telling that it is equated with the breath (Genesis 2:7) especially in consideration of the scripture "let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6) which some Jewish mystics have interpreted to mean that all life by fact of it's very existence bears constant testimony to the craftsmanship of the creator. With all this in mind and in relation to human existence, its obvious that Nephesh is inextricable from the human body and the animal instincts that are part of that body (if it was not part of the body, the body would simply die). However, there must also be *another* existential principle exclusive to the human race......
While even canonical scripture agrees that animals and plants share the principle of Nephesh with us, we are the only living species which can paint the "Mona Lisa" or write "Romeo and Juliet" and the reason for this is that we are the only species which possess' a Soul or consciousness (Greek: Pseuche, Hebrew: Ruach, Aegyptian: Ba). Whether or not this idea of "soulishness" is what Paul is writing of in 1 Corinthians 2 I have no idea but the fact of me writing these words into the Internet proves its existence.
As a Dualist (who by virtue of his spirituality MUST remain open to the possibility of changing his mind) I hold that matter is inherently Satanic. As matter includes my physical body then by default my body - which is the product of evolution and contains all the animal and savage impulses that evolution have embedded within it - must be Satanic, though I also am possessed of a Soul which in contradistinction is the source of all my humanity, creativity, in fact the source which makes me different from being just another animal (the way in which the Soul came to be trapped in matter is beyond this particular post).
The full purification of the Soul from the body which it is imprisoned by is the point of a work that has been going on since the day I walked into a red tent in Armthorpe. That same work is being carried out by every man and woman who makes the conscious decision to live a life in which the needs of the Soul are placed above the wants of the Flesh.
Whether they know it or not ;-)
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