29March23 the Signs of the Times

•  Zech. 8:1 - 8
• Jer. 30:19 - E
• Jer. 31: ALL
• Zech. 8:8 - E
• Is. 66: 1 - 13
• Zech. 8:16 - E
• Zech. 9: ALL
• Rev. 3:21 - E
• Rev. 18:6 - E
• Joel 3: ALL

26March '23 LOVE, Biblical meaning of:

•  1 Cor. 13:1 - 3
• Rom. 15:1 - 6
• 2 Cor. 10:1 - 5
• 1 John 2:15 - 26
• Is. 55:1 - 12
• Ezek. 2:1 - 6
• Is. 55:12 - E
• Rev. 22:1 - 2
• Gen. 2:22 - E
• Lev. 18:22 - E
• Lev. 19:1 - 22, 35 - E
• Ezek. 16:1 - 15
• Rev. 18:2 - 8
• Ezek. 16:15 - 49
• Mal. 3:5 - 10
• 2 Peter 2:  ALL
• Col. 1:  ALL

Notes:

• (re: Rom 15:4)  "...with patience, AND the comfort of the Scriptures, we might have HOPE."  Not for this life, but for our reward: eternal life.
• (re: 1 John 2:19)  "They went out from us, but they were not of us....") [they were not a part of the body, the church], "...if they had been of us, they no doubt would have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us".  The Catholic church proclaims that their 'early church fathers' were contemporaries of the Apostles.  Yet their doctrine is not that of the Apostles.  This is their condemnation by Paul.
• (re:L Is. 55:8) God is GOD!  Carnal man cannot understand 'His ways, His thoughts'.  Man fails to acknowledge this, and thus becomes his own god;l his thoughts,  his desires,  his lusts are unrestrained.  Society today is incontrovertible proof.
  
• (re: Lev. 19:22)  Sodomy is an abomination to GOD.  It is black and white, not gray; not contestible, no '...but! ....but!.  Two cities were destroyed, as a lesson to all generations after, that it is 'black and white'. (see the note above:  GOD's RULES stand.) 
• (re: Col. 1:9)  worldly knowledge is what drives us forward in our understanding of how this world 'is'. Spiritual understanding gives us knowledge about 'WHY'.  A phrase I heard many years ago states:  "Imagination fills in the gaps where there is no understanding present"  We see this in the 'lore' of past cultures, and in our culture. Ghosts, goblins, aliens, and the lies so many people ingest, (believe), about 'what is right vs. wrong'.   These points, these notes, all tie together: "...Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness...."  and "Thou shall LOVE the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself."  These are the greatest commandments, everything else is pedicated, contained, depends on these two, first.

Our responsibility: our forever future; 19Mar23

•  Ezra 9:  ALL
• Rev. 18:1 - 9
• Eph. 1:3 - E
• Eph. 2: ALL
• 1 Cor. 3:9 - E
• 2 Thess.1:4 - E
• 2 Thess. 2: ALL
• 2 Peter 1:3 - E
• 2 Peter 2: ALL

fire and smoke from the pit 15Mar23

•  Rev, 9:1 - 2
• Acts 2:14 - 20
• Rev. 9: 3- E
• Deut. 28:14 - 51
• Deut. 28:59 - E
• Joel 3:1 - 15

Notes:

• (re: Deut. 28: 62)  "...as the stars of heaven..."  This is what John sees and refers to in  his Revelations 12:4;   "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth..."   Definitely has occurred. Definitely.

Buying without money, 12March2023

•  Is. 55: ALL *
• Gen. 10:32, 11:1 - 9  **
• Deut. 31:16- 19, 21 - E
• Ps. 78:21 - 39
• Luke 21:1 - 36  ***

Notes:

• * (re: Is. 55:1)  "...he without money, buy and eat, buy wine and milk without money and without price..."  Thinking of this statement, you have to arrive at the idea that, either God is instituting a 'welfare state' or, what is being purchased is spiritual, not carnal. Therefore, how do you 'buy' something without a 'medium of exchange'?   The message of the Bible is: GOD is everything. He has abundantly more than you need, in order for you to be 'His "son" '. But that requires your 'investment'; Paul calls it a 'living sacrifice... your reasonable service'. Israel's 'cost' was obedience to HIS law, and fulfilling their calling, to be 'kings and priests to the world'. 
•  (re: Is:55:8)  "{My thoughts are not your thoughts..."  Here, to Israel, and by extension, to all of humanity,  God is GOD. On a natural level, we cannot understand Him or His plans for man, except we understand His Word.  (Continually) doing that,  we come to know HIM, and in doing so, He knows us.  "Christianity" preaches that 'we need to accept Him';  yes and no.  We need to acknowledge that God is GOD, and put nothing else above Him, or in His place. This includes our own thoughts and imaginations or someone else's understanding of (their) God, We need to KNOW HIM, for ourselves.
• (re: Is. 55:13)  Instead of 'thorns and briars', a phrase we hear from other prophets and Apostles, something else will grow.   Christ often refers to trees, vineyards, and 'plantings', (which He/His father have planted), which yield fruit, or don't.  Briars and thorns are not 'productive' (except for more of the same!). All these are metaphors for people being and doing what they were not supposed to (briars and thorns), versus 'fruitful plants'.  When Israel does what they were called to do, (and haven't yet done), they will be likened to fruitful trees, (fir and myrtle trees).
• ** (re: Gen. 11:1 - 9):  Post-flood humanity reverts to their own imaginations, even after the consequences of that endeavor in their recent history. With 'one mind', they seek to evolve (their) society, to elevate themselves to magnificent heights; they desire to build a tower to heaven, (to 'get closer' to 'god'? or to be gods(?)).  It is written that their goal is to "MAKE US A NAME...", i.e., something to unite us in this goal, and for posterity. God intervenes.  How much different is: today's global economy, 'our' social network regimes, and our focused mindset on being (our own) 'gods'?  Aren't we trying to control everything? The climate, the future of the planet, (environment and resources), humanity's well-being, world hunger/poverty?  Truly, "(we) are gods!" 
• *** (re: Like 21)  'What shall be the signs when these things shall be?'.  Answer: It's happening! And guess what?  Your investments, your silver, your gold, your IRA/401K or any off-shore accounts, nor your stockpiles of pallets of 30-day supplies of 5 yr shelf-life food: nothing will save you from the calamity to come.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God,...."; '...work out your own salvatioin...";  "...look up, for your redemption draweth nigh..."

8March2023

•  Ps. 22:22
• Matt. 11:1 - 6
• Is. 8:18
• Matt. 11:7 - 18
• Ezek. 33:25 - E
• Matt. 11:19 - E
• Ps. 22:22 - E
• Ps. 23: ALL
• Ps. 24:1 - 7
• Jer. 17:5 - E
• Rev. 21:6 - 12
• Is. 4:2 - E
• Ps. 24:6 - E
• Ps. 25: ALL
• Jude 10 - E

His "Annointed" from 5Mar2023

•  Job 13: 1 - 15 [*, **]
• Ps. 2:1 - 2
• John 5:25 - E [***]
• Ps. 2:  ALL
• Ps. 5:1 - 6 [****]
• Is. 1:21
• Jer. 4:31
• Ps. 5:6 - E 
• Ps. 16: ALL
• Ps. 18:1 - 6
• ! John 5:11 = 15
• Ps. 18:4 - 38 [*****]
• Rom 16:17 - 20
• Ps. 18:38 - E
• Ps. 19: ALL [******]
• Ps. 20: ALL
• Ps. 21:1 - 9
• Rev. 19:11 - E
• Ps. 21:9 - 11
• Rev. 13:3 - 11
• Ps. 21:9 - E
• Ps. 22:1 - 13
• 2 Tim. 4:7 - 17
• Ps. 22:13
• Acts  7:48 - E
• Ps. 22:12 - 22

([*} re: Job 13:4 )  Job calls out those who practice 'religion' as being creators, (forgers), of lies, i.e., liars, and 'worthless'  physicians, who do not 'heal' (spiritual illnesses).  

• This is an indication of the 'healing' that is talked about throughout the rest of scripture.  (eg:  Jer.14:19; Jer. 30:13; Nah 3:19 Mal. 4:2;  and the actual physical healing Christ did as evidence of His anointing by God;  
• also a reference to this is James 5:14-16, those who are sick need 'saving'.  Its not a physical thing, its about a sin-sick soul, (--of a nation that forsook their Savior, their God)

([**] re: Job 13:5) ;  our paraphrase of Job's admonition to his 'friends':  shut up and sit down; "let your silence be your wisdom".  People, religious preachers, evangelists, and 'proselytizers' going about preaching lies, ought to be silent until they  have a better understanding of His Word, until they KNOW GOD, through His Word.  (see below, another note addresses this more...)

([***] re: John 5:37-40)  Christ is the 'anointed'/Messiah, sent from God; they rejected that fact!  He tells them, 'search the Scriptures, they prove who I am; but you don't believe, so you don't know those 'Scriptures', even though every last one points to the Christ. If you would, you would find eternal life, but no. you won't'.

([****] re: Ps. 5:4 )  Evil cannot dwell in God's presence!  He does not take pleasure in man committing evil!  

• So how could God create a satan?  Much less, another 'god' who has any influence over man(kind).  He can't, He didn't, He wouldn't! 
• any soul that has not put away their 'old man', their carnal desires, and expects to be 'saved' is worshipping their own 'god', their own fleshly desires, to do what is contrary to being 'in His image', a born-again 'believer', a 'son'.

([*****] re: Ps. 18:31)  Who is a rock save our God?  Isn't this the dame 'rock' that followed them in the wilderness, (1 Cor. 10:4), Christ?   What?  Word-Pictures are impressive for those who comprehend; others, not so much!

([******] re: Ps. 19:7 - 11)  I mentioned last week that the reality of "knowing" GOD, was not a 'brain-function'.  It has been said 'it's not so much that you know God, but that HE knows you'. (I) think they both have to be true.  In knowing God, He then knows you.  Christ says to the religious 'big-wigs' in his day, "If you believe not that I AM (translators added 'HE'), you shall die in your sins. (see [***] above). It's not a 'head-knowledge' "knowing"! Rather it is to experience GOD, (again, not a 'warm-and-fuzzy' feeling, but having a communion with  the creator of 'everything', having a relationship with your 'heavenly Father'.  To the point of knowing God, the psalmist in this chapter, is saying these things, not reciting 'facts', but telling them from his experience! 

• a really easily understood example of this is the situation where several new mothers are in a room, their babies in another room;  one cries out, and his/her mom jumps up to see what it needs.  Mothers know their babies voices, their individual 'cries' without doubt or hesitation, "was that my baby??"  They 'know' their own.

     

1March2023 finishing up on "sorceries",

•  Is. 57:1 - 9, 20 - E
• Rev. 18:3 - 9
• Rev. 9:1 - 4, 20
• Acts 2:14 - 21
• John 3:19 - 21
• Rev. 9:20 - E
• Rev. 21:1 - 3
• Lev. 26:1 - 12
• Rev. 21: 3 - 8
• Rev. 22:10 - 19
• Jer. 2  ALL
• Deut. 4:14 - 31

Notes:

• (re: Deut. 4:24)  Only God is a consuming fire.  Mentions of fire throughout the rest of the Bible pertain to HIS actions and 'rewards' (or purifying), of evil.