Featured Another look at Matthew 15:24

16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 2 Pe 3

18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book:
19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. Rev 22

 

??? We agree that you're ignorant and unsteadfast and that you wrest the scriptures? And that you shouldn't be adding to or taking from the scriptures?

 

No one understood your point by your pasting two references without explaining how they related to the subject under discussion. Van thought you were agreeing with him according to his immediate response. Who could tell at that point that he was just being sarcastic. when employing sarcasm on a message board it is good to end with something like this. (sarcasm off).

Few people look up your verse references. My advice is to quote the verses and explain how they eddress the subject. Otherwise we are left to guess at your meaning. If we happen to guess wrong it is more your fault than ours.

 

Van, you are so confused.. I don't forsee any help for you with reason and logic and faith. Carry on.

 

I am responding to the sentence I underlined.

It depends on what gospel You speak of. They certainly understood the gospel of the kingdom of God because they and Jesus had been preaching it to none but Israel. Their OT prophets spoke about it and they studied it their whole lives. There are 4 major themes in the prophetic word that almost all posters on these forums miss and therefore deny for lack of light. They are caught up in religious persuasions that keep them in the dark and they will never learn. John the Baptist was first to preach it and introduce the King to Israel.

Mt 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Reason and logic; If the kingdom of heaven was "at hand' it meant that the kingdom of heaven was not yet. There had been a kingdom of Israel and a kingdom of Judah but there had not been a kingdom of heaven. How do I know that? Because the kingdom of heaven was "at hand." What was different about the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of heaven? There can only be one thing since the context is the coming of the Jewish Messiah to his own people with a fore runner announcing his presence among them. Will there be an argument among the deniers about the definition of the word "kingdom." Yes, for sure. Few on this board will allow the definition of the word kingdom to mean a sphere of rule with boundaries and a single sovereign ruler.

But John the Baptist preached to Israel that a man was in their midst who came from heaven to rule over the whole world, beginning with Judah and Israel. No one in Israel resisted the fact that there was a predicted kingdom but they did resist the man who claimed to be that King. His kingdom required that all citizens who enter must previously be born again. The requirement for entering his kingdom or even perceiving it is to subject themselves to the authority of Jesus Christ and to believe two things about him. John the apostle gave both and drew both from the evidence that he gave to them. Read it here;

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Now watch this about the King;

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The King is not showing himself while he builds his kingdom. No one saw him after he rose from the dead except those who saw him before his crucifixion. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his subjects in his kingdom must live forever because there will be no death in his kingdom when it is complete. Therefore it is essential that those who are in his kingdom understand from verse 31 above that his Father in heaven gave him his authority to reign on the earth and those who will be his subjects MUST believe he is the son of God. It is to be the rule of heaven over the earth in the person of the son of God, Jesus Christ. He will not take his rule as King over Israel and Judah until they are all born again. He will not appear unto them until then and his rule will not be because he has conquered them but because he has delivered them.

The kingdom of heaven is built on his testimony, on his word. No one will see him in person until the kingdom of heaven appears because he will bring it with him. Neither will they hear his voice. He is the kingdom of heaven in his presence among the inhabitants of earth. Why do you think the adversary is so invested in getting people to doubt the words of the scriptures and even deny them like I believe you do often times by saying the words are not correct and should be edited according to you. Why is it that there is less godliness in the world and less unity among professing Christians today despite 100 English Bibles? This philosophy has produced men like you who are willing to change words at a whim and thus proclaim yourself wiser than God.

He came in meekness the first time to establish his kingdom of heaven on the earth and was rejected of them who should have received him, his own people.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.

But the next coming will be in power and every eye on earth will see him.

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending (of the churches in context), saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

No one will understand truth unless they believe the words God has given to us. This is where the truth is.

 

All they had to do was click on the link. If they're not interested enough to even do that I'm not interested in delving into their reasoning.

 

The 'lost' are blinded to gospel truths by the Devil unless God intervenes and 'shines' in their heart:

4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus` sake.
6 Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4

 

Just as an aside KY. The first word in 2 Cor 4 is "Therefore." This tells me that the context of the previous chapter is being carried into chapter 4 for a conclusion based on what was said and to whom it was said. Check out about whom is being referred to in chapter 3 and check Paul's reasoning and logic for his comments in chapter 4.
Did you know that Paul the apostle never once used the term "lost" to apply to a gentile's spiritual condition and relationship to God in his 13 letters to us? This is a term that is applied to the ethnic group of Israel, the people of God. The English word lost appears only 16 times in the KJV but only this one time in the New Testament epistles. The remaining 15 are in the gospels. I think I am right about this. Context is so very important. Do not feel you must respond here. I do not wish to change the subject of the thread. I just thought maybe you were unaware of the context.

 

Yea.

It wasn't Paul that gommed it up.

 

Van, quote one person who had been the disciple of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry as recorded by Mark in chapter 1, when he was baptized in the Jordan River until his appearance after his resurrection, who believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. That seems mighty strange if they had been preaching that Jesus would die for them and then rise from the dead. They did not believe it because that is not the gospel they nor Jesus preached. Mary and the women did not go to the tomb before daylight on the day after the sabbath to watch Jesus rise from the dead because they believed he would. They went there because they believed his death was final and they took stuff with them to anoint his body because they did not have time to anoint it before he was entombed until the sabbath at 6 pm after they took his body down from the tree at 3 pm on Friday. They could not anoint it on the Sabbath day.

Here is what Matthew said about Jesus Christ and what he preached;

Mt 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

There are few men on this board who are able to follow the story line and who believes Matthew and what he wrote. These Jews reject the man Christ Jesus who came from heaven to be their King.

Look what two trusted disciples said as they walked with Jesus on the day of his resurrection, not knowing who he was. They were heading out of town, defeated, quitting because Jesus was dead.

Lk 24"21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

This was Sunday by the way, the first day of the week and the third day.

The natural man just cannot know. The narrative says they went back to Jerusalem and I would bet they were in the upper room when Jesus entered and breathed the Holy Ghost into them.

Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

These are the ones who Jesus taught for 40 days. These teachers were not natural men after this encounter. By having the Spirit in them they could receive and understand spiritual things that natural men cannot learn. Their message to Israel for the next seven years after Jesus ascended to heaven was that they must receive the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent to them as his gift. Those who had been with Jesus were the only commissioned preachers during this time span and they were specially endowed with sign gifts to confirm their words.

Ac 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Now get this, these men who were so privileged to minister with Jesus for 3 1/2 years before his death and resurrection and were taught of him for 40 days after his resurrection asked one question of him as he ascended from earth to heaven in their sight. What was it?

Ac 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Ponder that a minute. With reason and logic tell us what you suppose Jesus was speaking of during those 40 days. The kingdom. All but when the kingdom would come.

The Spirit however taught them that rather quickly.

See here.

Acts 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Believe the words God has given to us and honor context and you can have holy sanctification. And true light.

 

Van, with all due respect you are proving that you are as blind as a bat in spiritual matters. Here is the passage you referenced;

Matt 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
____________________________________________________________

Now here are the next few verses;

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Can you imagine a man like Peter who understood that Jesus must die and rise again and his, Peter's, eternal life depended on his doing so acting as Peter did upon hearing that news from Jesus for the first time in 3 1/2 years?????????

You cannot read with understanding and your position is illogical and unreasonable. You do not have a clue what "from that time forth Jesus began" means. Talking to a person who cannot reason is frustrating.

27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Do not tell any man that Jesus is the Christ because that gospel of the kingdom is at hand is passe' at this time because of the rejection of his kingdom by Israel collectively. Now his preaching is to individuals but his kingdom will come later after he rises from the dead and comes again in glory and every eye see him. He will build his church by saving individuals and adding them to it and that is what he has been doing for two thousand years. We live in these days by faith and not by sight. Jesus is going to give his disciples a preview of the kingdom that is coming when he, the glorified Christ will rule over the earth. This took place at the "transfiguration."

Think!

 

The Jews had an excuse for not believing the gospel that Jesus preached to them alone, that is the gospel of the kingdom. You do not have an excuse. You have a complete Bible and testimony of God himself and you have the evidence of history and fulfilled prophecy. You are more guilty than the Jews in your rejection of the kingdom of God.

None of the apostles understood the gospel of Christ at all because it was not preached. Jesus had not died and rose again from the dead. As late as a few days before his crucifixion at Jerusalem as he made made his way from Galilee to be the Passover Lamb, all the gospel writers wrote that they knew nothing about our Lord's death , burial, and resurrection and the report that came from Matthew that Peter resisted it when he first heard of it in Matthew 16, I have already shown. Here is what Mark wrote about it;


Mr 9:9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

Mr 9:30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Lu 9:6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Lu 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

Joh 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

I have quoted 10 verses from John. Nine of the 10 is historical and he tells what happened. But one verse is his commentary on why it happened as it did. That is verse 9. I underlined it so you cannot miss it.

The gospel (good news, glad tidings) that Jesus and his disciple preached to Israel was not the gospel of Christ crucified and risen from the dead so men can be saved, it was the gospel of the kingdom of God on the earth. They must believe Jesus is the Son of God before they can believe that his death and burial and resurrection can save them. They must believe he is God in the flesh, without sin. His coming to Israel and his mighty deeds proved to them that he was the one the prophets wrote about . He is the fulfillment of the covenant promises that God swore to Israel in the unconditional covenants , the Abrahamic, the Palestinian, and the Davidic covenants. The new Covenant made with these same people after his death and resurrection assured that his blood would take away all their sins and by extension, the sins of the whole world as God made the heathen to be partakers with Israel in the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant, which is forgiveness of sins in Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost, his righteousness, in us so we might be one with Jesus Christ in this age.

The only way to receive light from God is to believe his words because the Spirit teaches the saved through the words God has chosen. Do not re-write the testimony of the eye witnesses who wrote what they saw and heard and experienced..