tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1993425751844974132024-03-12T19:13:44.877-07:00An unbiased view of the BibleMaria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-72113931899758158972010-11-24T03:22:00.000-08:002014-01-10T04:29:25.611-08:00Magic powers in the Bible<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many enemies of Judaism and Christianity consider the Bible as a book of magic. Consequently, since magic has been widely thought of either as charlatanism or as the work of the devil, they dismiss the entire book. </span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What, then, is the difference between magic and unadulterated faith in God or pure spirituality? Where do the miracles have their origin? Where does the power for miracles reside? Is it in the soul and spirit of man or in God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is every man a magician in the making? Through the following quotations from the Bible, which of course are not the only accounts of magic therein, one may discern the truth.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘When Pharaoh says to you, “Prove yourselves by working a miracle”, then you shall say to Aaron, “Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent”.’ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord commanded: Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their enchantments. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Ex. 7: 8-12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a demonstration of magic powers before Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron transformed a rod into a serpent. But Pharaoh’s wise men and sorcerers did the same thing! If Moses and Aaron’s magic powers were greater than those of the sorcerers, they should demonstrate it by performing a greater miracle. And so they did. Aaron’s rod (serpent) swallowed up the rods of the sorcerers!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most Christians believe that in this demonstration of miraculous powers we actually have a contest between God and Satan. I firmly believe...</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that God does not get involved in such shows. It is people’s magic (occult) powers that perform the ‘miracles’. No doubt Moses, who had grown up as a prince in the Egyptian palace, had been initiated into the Egyptian occult wisdom. This, in edition to his inherent and exceptional psychic powers and his faith in God, enabled him to become a great miracle worker, i.e. a great magician.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Ex. 17: 10-13)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By reading this story one wonders why Moses, a mighty man of prayer, did not pray to God and ask him to give the Israelites victory over the Amalekites. Why did he have to employ two men in order to hold up his hands? What is in man’s hands that Moses knew and used accordingly?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously Moses knew the magic secrets of how he could use his palms’ energy centers as spiritual transmitters, for blessing or cursing. This originally neutral energy could become positive or negative, depending on the desire of the sender. So Moses concentrated his will power and transmitted a great spiritual energy from a distance in favor of the Israelites, who thus won in the battle against the Amalekites.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us’. So Moses prayed for the people.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Num. 21: 6-9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did the Lord ask Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole? I doubt it. Couldn’t God answer Moses’ prayer and remove the snakes, since the Israelites had repented of their sins? Surely the Almighty could do it, if he wanted, i.e. if by doing so he wouldn’t violate any of his sovereign laws that brought about the snakes in the first place. But apparently God didn’t remove the snakes. So Moses devised a magic short cut to solve the problem. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next question is why a serpent of all other creatures? If God supposedly cursed the serpent because it deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, why should Moses choose it to affect healing from the biting of real snakes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had Moses received some secret knowledge regarding snakes since the time he held the magical rod that became a snake, when he cast it on the ground in front of Pharaoh? Most probably, he had. Besides, serpents were very popular in the myths of most eastern religions and this couldn’t have been incidental.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is believed that serpents represent the dynamic nature of life. We also know that a stick, with a snake curled around it, is the rod of Asklepios (Aesculapious), the ancient Greek demigod of medicine. Indeed to this day the staff of Asklepios is widely used as symbol of medicine. All this may have something to do with Moses’ bronze snake that put up on a pole. In any case, this is one more occasion where Moses uses magic in order to overcome a problem. I have often wondered if the dispute between the archangel Michael and Satan over the body of Moses when he died (Jude 9) was due to such magical practices by the prophet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Then the people of Israel set out, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. (…) And Moab was in great dread of the people (of Israel), because they were many; (…). So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of the Moabites at that time, sent messengers to Balaam (…), saying, ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse the people for me, since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Num. 22: 1, 3a, 4b, 5, 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Balaam was known as having great psychic powers. Balak, the King of the Moabites, had heard of him and he asked him to curse the Israelites, so that he would be able to defeat them. He knew that whomever Balaam blessed would be blessed and whomever he cursed would be cursed. As the story goes, Balaam did not curse the Israelites because he discerned that God had blessed them.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People with magic powers, whether they are aware of them or not, have the potential to do good as well as evil. Such people could, in effect, use their powers in black magic or in white magic, for blessing or cursing, for healing or killing. Unless such a person is totally devoted to doing good, is very dangerous to be around. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We could be protected from someone’s negative energy by faith in God and in ourselves, building a strong, virtuous and loving character. Then we are safely shielded and nobody’s curses can harm us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.”</span></span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Ex. 22: 18) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was one of the judgments that Moses set before the Israelites, in the name of God. According to the scripture (Ex. 21:1), God commanded him to do so. Women who practiced magic should be exterminated. Moses knew very well that they were very dangerous if left to practice their black arts among the people. They could harm them spiritually as well as physically.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You shall not practice augury or witchcraft.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Lev. 19: 26b)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the instructions God gave to Moses, the Israelites should not get entangled in divination or witchcraft, for these were pagan practices and they involved the invocation of evil spirits. That’s why they were an abomination to the Lord. God wanted the children of Israel to be holy (Lev.19: 1-2). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Lev.19: 28)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cutting one’s flesh on account of the dead was another heathen custom practiced in funerals. The idolaters believed that by doing this they pacified the infernal deities and rendered them propitious to their deceased friends. The people of God should not practice these things, nor should they make tattoo marks upon their bodies. All these customs were akin to witchcraft and were forbidden by Jehovah.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You shall keep my statutes. (…) Do not turn to those who have familiar spirits, neither seek after sorcerers, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Lev. 19: 19, 31)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s mandate is very clear regarding all black arts. The children of God should not follow those who claim to know the future, supposedly having spirits (demons) under their command. Neither should they seek help from witches and wizards who allege to have magic powers. If they did this, they would defile themselves.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, (…) And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, playing the harlot after them, I will set my face against that soul and will cut him off from among his people.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Lev. 20: 1-2a, 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As in the case of idolatry, Moses is very persistent against all magic practices. He repeats the same things over and over, warning people about God’s severe judgments on the disobedient.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned; their blood shall be upon them.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Lev. 20: 27)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heavy is the punishment for mediums and wizards! They should be stoned to death.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one who makes his son or his daughter to pass through fire, any one who practices divination, an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Deut. 18: 9-12a) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here Moses gives a full list of the abominable black ‘arts’. The borderlines between them are not distinct. One could put all of them under the umbrella of magic by which man is trying to obtain the favor of spirits (demons) in order to acquire supernatural powers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord slew him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Chr. 10: 13-14)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very often during his kingship, Saul, the first king of Israel, was disobedient and unfaithful to Jehovah’s directions through his prophet Samuel. It is noticeable here that, of all Saul’s sins, only his seeking guidance from a medium is particularly listed. Such was the severity of this sin! So Saul died in his transgression, falling upon his own sword, after being sorely wounded by his enemies, the Philistines. And, as if this humiliation wasn’t enough, the Philistines, when they found Saul’s corpse, cut off his head and stripped off his armor, which afterwards exhibited in the temple of their idols (1 Sam. 31).</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. (…) And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his sons as an offering in the valley of Ben Hinnom, and practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and dealt with mediums and wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. (…) </span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they gave no heed. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who caught Manasseh among the bushes and bound him with fetters of bronze and carried him to Babylon.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (2 Chr.33: 1-2, 5-6, 10-11)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Manasseh was the longest reigning king of Judah and, for some part of his life, the most wicked one. He became a fanatic idolater, bringing in Judah all the abominable idolatrous and magic customs of Assyria and Babylon, in spite of the prophets’ warnings. However, as the following verses testify, while in Babylon, Manasseh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><em>"besought the Lord and humbled</em> <i>himself greatly before</i> <i>the God of his fathers</i>. And God <i>heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom"</i>,</span> where he tried to reestablish the worship of the true God (verses 12-20). It is comforting to know that God forgives even the most severe sins of those who truly repent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And when they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the wizards, who whisper and mutter’, reply: ‘should not a people enquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?’ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light in them.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 8: 19-20)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isaiah is trying to bring the backslidden people to their common sense: Why should people consult the dead, through mediums and wizards, instead of enquiring of the Lord? This doesn’t make sense. Such people live in spiritual darkness, having no light in them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from these things that shall come upon you. Surely they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 47: 13-14) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When a true prophet of God brings judgments upon those who turned to magicians for help, none of those magicians can save them. In fact, the magicians cannot even save themselves from the wrath of God activated through the word of his prophets.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jer. 10: 2) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeremiah exhorts Israel to learn not the ways of the heathen and be not frightened of the signs, i.e. the eclipses of the sun and the moon, and all the unusual phenomena of the stars. They should not be dismayed at them for God is in control.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EL; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, (…)’.”</span></em></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EL; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"> </span>(Dan. 2: 27-28a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wisdom given by the true God is far higher than that of the wise men, enchanters, magicians and astrologers. Only God can reveal mysteries, said Daniel to king Nebuchadnezzar. And, sure enough, Daniel received divine revelation to interpret the king’s dreams.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mark 6: 10-11) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a magic custom of heathen origin. Shaking one’s dust on someone is a way to bring judgment against him/her. It is surprising that Jesus should give such instruction to his disciples when, elsewhere, he exhorts them to bless and not curse, since God shines his sun on the just and the unjust.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near’. I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 10: 10-12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke records the same instruction of Jesus (?) in more details, i.e. a manner of curse on those who wouldn’t accept the message of his disciples. No wonder where the Christian Church derived its boldness to bring <i>anathemas</i> and curses against its enemies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Acts 19: 11-12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we have an incident of magic that serves as an excuse to Christian idolatry even today. That’s why in the beginning of this chapter I said that the borderline between magic and unadulterated faith is not always very distinct. We need to ask God for discernment, lest we defile our heart with magic and idolatry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.’ Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Acts 13: 8-12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">St. Paul’s miraculous powers were greater than those of Elymas the magician. So, when the latter obstructed Paul in his mission, the Apostle didn’t hesitate to pronounce a curse against him and leave him blind! Seeing the ‘miracle’, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, believed in Paul’s message…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are we allowed to curse people, even if they are enemies of all righteousness? Do we have any right to inflict diseases upon them in order to teach them a lesson? Is this the best way to bring about God’s kingdom on earth? I don’t believe so. Love and mercy are God’s ways. Any other way that harms another human being, temporarily or permanently, has severe negative consequences on the soul of those who pronounced the judgment. Sooner or later they themselves will be called to pay for it. That’s why I don’t consider the entire Bible as God inspired, neither all the actions of God’s prophets and apostles recorded there as godly.</span></span></div>
Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-88699515247304711222010-11-14T10:45:00.000-08:002014-01-10T04:33:05.676-08:00"Salvation" according to the Bible<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><strong><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">What is <i>salvation</i>? What does it mean for a human being to <i>be saved</i>? In the Bible the word <i>salvation</i> is used first in reference to this life, meaning forgiveness and deliverance from guilt, sickness, pain, grief, loss, calamity, etc. It is also used in reference to the life of the soul hereafter, meaning its acquittal from damnation and the acquisition of a state of eternal bliss.</span></strong></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mic. 6: 6-8)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">There were times in Israel’s life when the people felt convicted of their transgressions and wanted to make peace with God. At such times they wondered how...</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> they should approach the Almighty in order to be accepted by Him and pardoned. Should they go before Him with burnt offerings, as the Mosaic Law had established? Would the Lord be pleased with the sacrifice of baby-calves, or with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? In cases their soul had sinned gravely, should they rather offer God the fruit of their body, even their first-born children, as the heathen did? Not-at-all! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The prophet Micah was convinced that God did not need such abominations in order to be appeased. This was an erroneous perception of the past, which Israel ought to abandon. In fact, the Lord had already shown Israel what was good for their soul and what they should do in order to make peace with him. The same requirements apply to us today: Man’s actions should be just and full of love for all God’s creatures. At the same time, man should walk with God in humility, seeking wisdom and strength in order to comply with his sovereign laws and grow spiritually, which is the very purpose of human life and the essence of salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">If, then, God did not require the blood of sacrifices, human or animal, in the O.T., (<i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and he-goats.”</span> </i>Isa. 1: 11b),<i> </i>why should He require the blood of his Son in the N.T., in order to save sinners? Even Paul based his doctrine of <i>atonement</i> through the blood of Jesus in the validity of the O.T. sacrifices (Heb. 9: 13-14).</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">He who has ears, let him hear…</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(1 Peter 3: 10-11)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here Peter gives some golden rules for man to enjoy good days, i.e. to have salvation. First he must guard his tongue and lips, avoiding speaking evil or deceitful words. Next he must turn away from iniquity and do good works. It is not enough for someone to avoid doing evil in order to be saved. He should also devote his life to doing good. Many people consider themselves righteous on the basis of not hurting anyone. But passive goodness is not sufficient to secure one’s salvation. One should be engaged in works of love and in seeking and promoting peace and justice among people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Therefore, my beloved, (…) work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Phil. 2: 12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul makes it clear that <i>salvation</i> is something that man has to work out for himself. Nobody else can do it for him. Although elsewhere in his epistles Paul claims that salvation is a <i>free gift</i> and promotes the doctrine of <i>justification by faith</i> in Jesus Christ, here he urges the Philippian Christians to work out their own salvation with fear of God and even with trembling! Such an awesome thing salvation is! Apparently no one can <i>pay</i> for somebody else’s sins, according to this verse.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret; but worldly grief produces death.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (2 Cor. 7: 10)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way to <i>salvation</i> passes through <b>repentance</b>. And true repentance is to feel deep sorrow for one’s actions and resolve not to continue with the wrongdoing. Grief over one’s sins is a godly grief. The tears of repentance draw the grace of God upon the contrite spirit. They are redemptive, as they wash away the dirt from one’s heart and mind, and bring joy and peace upon the penitent. On the contrary, worldly grief, e.g. undue grief over the loss of money or position, despair over bereavement or the breaking of a relationship, produces sickness that leads to death.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake; but he who endures to the end will be saved.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 10: 22)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People will hate every person who resolves to follow the teaching of Christ, which was from God. The way of righteousness is not covered with roses. Those who stand for truth, love, justice and peace cannot be popular among people. On the contrary, such people will be hated by men. A godly person, who is the embodiment of light, by his/her mere presence exposes and condemns the wickedness of the ungodly and thus stirs up their hostile feelings. Disappointment, isolation and persecution follows and there is always the chance that even the godly person may give up the narrow path and conform to the world. Such a person loses his <i>salvation</i>, says Jesus. Only those who <i>endure to the end</i> of their lives, persevering in the way of righteousness, will be saved. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ (…) And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to each other, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mark 10: 23, 26-27)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rich people stand fewer chances to enter the kingdom of God than the poor. They face more temptations to indulge in carnal living and tend to be contented with the splendor and the comfort of their material wealth. As a consequence, it is extremely difficult for them to seek spiritual enlightenment and follow the path of righteousness. However, with God all things are possible, said Jesus. God’s grace could reach even the rich people, if they seek Him diligently with a contrite spirit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ But when Jesus heard that, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (…) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 9: 11-12, 13b) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Jesus was a spiritual physician who came to the world to call sinners to repentance and heal their wounded soul as well as their body. This is a clear answer to those who believe that Jesus came to <i>atone</i> for the so-called <i>original sin</i>. One may argue that all people are sinners to some degree, for we all fall short of God’s standards of righteousness. This is true, but some are worse sinners than others, and these suffer more from the consequences of their transgressions. And Jesus was primarily concerned with those people, such as tax collectors and prostitutes. He often associated with sinners, showing them compassion, for he knew that they were sin-sick people, needing his healing touch, blessing and instructions more than others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven; for I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 5: 19-20)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">One should observe all God’s commandments, even the least of those, and teach others to do the same, in order to be called great in the spiritual kingdom.<i> </i>Jesus never misled his disciples that entering the kingdom of heaven would be an easy matter. Neither confession of faith in him nor external conformity to the law was enough to enable someone to enter God’s spiritual kingdom. The disciple’s righteousness should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, who were very punctual in observing the ceremonial appointments of the Mosaic Law, fasted, gave alms and prayed publicly. Those had all the external signs of piousness, but still could not enter the kingdom of heaven! Why? Because their heart was not pure, and hence all the <i>woes</i> that Jesus had pronounced against them. They were hypocrites.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping all the rituals of one’s religion, or professing faith in Christ and his redemptive work on the cross does not make a person godly. If one’s heart is full of pride, envy, hatred, lust, greed and other evil traits, he/she cannot enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of God.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">“(…)‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, (…) You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mark 10: 17b, 18a, 19-22)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time Jesus was asked how one could inherit eternal life, he gave a different answer, depending on the spiritual state of the inquirer. It seems that there are different classes or stages in the process of spiritual development. The first stage is for one to keep the Ten Commandments. In this case the inquirer admitted that he was keeping them. So Jesus went further asking the man to give up his material wealth in favor of the poor and follow him. This way he could accumulate spiritual treasure in heaven. On hearing Jesus’ answer, the inquirer’s countenance fell and he went away sorrowful! His attachment to material wealth made it impossible for him to follow Jesus all the way…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appears, then, that the spiritual treasure one secures in heaven is proportionate to the material comforts one gives up on earth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 19: 8-10)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Zacchaeus’ repentance was genuine and deep. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been motivated to give half of his goods to the poor and restore to others<i> fourfold</i> of what he had taken from them by fraud! The attachment to one’s riches is very strong and it takes the grace of the Holy Spirit to break the chains of the prisoner of Mammon. Zacchaeus’ soul was lost in the pursuit of money. However, his heart was touched and liberated by Jesus, who came to seek the lost and lead them to repentance and <i>salvation</i> with his anointed teaching. The <i>salvation</i> of Zacchaeus opened the way for the <i>salvation</i> of his household.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (…) You are my friends if you do what I command you. (…) This I command you, that you love one another.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(John 15: 10, 14, 17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prerequisite for someone to abide in God’s love is for the same to keep the Lord’s commandments. That’s how Jesus also abided in God’s love. There is no other way for someone to become a friend of Jesus. And Jesus’ commandments are stricter than the Ten Commandments. Unconditional love of one’s neighbor is the greatest of them. Indeed love is the alpha and the omega of salvation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 8: 51)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If one keeps the word of Jesus, the same will not suffer the death of his/her soul. There is no short cut about it. No confession of Biblical verses, no partaking in sacraments, no belief in the blood of Jesus, as some popular Christian doctrines advocate, can save a person. Only compliance to his word will do this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 13: 23-24)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many are those who will be saved? This is the question put to Jesus, which also creeps in everybody’s mind, as one takes a look at oneself and the world about us. If we want to be sincere with ourselves, we will answer: ‘nobody’. For we all fall short of Jesus’ standards. But Jesus was more optimistic and his answer was rather diplomatic: <i>“Strive to enter the narrow gate.”</i> Apparently, the gate through which one enters the kingdom of God is not wide but very narrow. So narrow that although many want to enter it, very few will be able to succeed. It takes a great deal of self-denial for someone to squeeze through the narrow gate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Strive for peace with all men, and for holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Heb.12: 14)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again we have Paul, the very disciple who founded the doctrine of <i>salvation by faith </i>in Jesus’ blood, talking about holiness. Without holiness no man shall see God! There is no salvation of one’s soul without sanctity. So, one should strive to be holy, and also to have peace with all men, in order to <i>see</i>, i.e. to experience the presence of the Lord. For, as we learn from other scriptures, no one can ever see the infinite God, who is Spirit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name? And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Matt. 7: 21-23)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus makes it clear that confessing his name is not enough to secure entrance into the kingdom of heaven. So, those who rest assured in the popular Pauline doctrine, <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”,</span></i> will be in for a shocking surprise. On the <i>Day of Judgment</i>, unless they had been doing the will of God while on earth, Jesus will say to them: <i>“I never knew you”.</i> Likewise, prophesying and casting out demons in Jesus’ name does not guarantee entrance into the kingdom of heaven. One could have received some spiritual gifts but this on itself doesn’t make one fit for the kingdom of heaven.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 16: 24-25)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone wants to be Jesus’ disciple he/she must do exactly what Jesus did. Things are not going to be easier for the disciple, not even on the assumption that <i>‘Jesus died for his</i> <i>sins’</i>. If Jesus denied himself, the same must the disciple do, taking up his/her own cross and following him. Saving one’s life (soul) for eternity, means <i>losing</i> it here on earth. It means giving up ordinary worldly pleasures and comforts for the sake of others and denying the gratification of one’s senses.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (…) Command and teach these things. (…) Take heed to yourself and to the teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you shall save both yourself and your hearers.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Tim. 4: 7b-8, 11, 16)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul exalts the importance of training oneself in godliness. This is useful in every way, not only for the life to come but also for the life in the here and now. Through godliness one experiences joy, peace and health, i.e. one enjoys abundant life. So one must take heed of the messages of the New Testament on godliness, and also preach them to others, for they are of great value.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jam. 2: 24)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appears that the doctrine of justification by faith alone had taken root very early in the Christian Church and James was opposing it. In the above verse he stresses that faith alone is not enough for someone to be saved. The believer also needs to do godly works. In fact, good works will be the natural outcome of a healthy faith in God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And Peter opened his mouth and said, ‘Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Acts 10: 34-35)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who is acceptable to God? Is, peradventure, the person who believes that Christ is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who was incarnated 2000 years ago to shed his blood on the cross in order to redeem mankind from the grips of Satan? Not at all! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Peter makes it very clear: acceptable to God is everyone, from every race, who fears the Almighty and does what is right. This is it then! There is no ground left here for far-fetched blood doctrines that have their roots in pagan beliefs and practices and have given rise to pride, fanaticism, fragmentations and many religious wars throughout the last twenty centuries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“He who overcomes will be dressed in white, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rev. 3: 5-6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">This is a figurative message of Christ to the Church of Sardis. It is obvious that salvation is not a permanent state of a believer. One could have approached God with sincerity and repentance, and for a while his/her name might have appeared in the <i>book of life</i>. Yet, if the same backslides, his/her name will be erased from that book. But it takes discernment <i>(an <b>ear</b>)</i> for someone to understand what the Spirit says to the Churches… </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Blessed are those who keep his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, (…).”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rev. 22: 14a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">These words are written in the last chapter of Revelation, which is the last book of the New Testament. So we are entitled to believe that they are final and decisive for the salvation of a person. Who, then, has right to the tree of life, i.e. to eternal life? The answer is very clear: the person who keeps God’s Commandments.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (…)‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can this be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know these things?’ ”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 3: 1-3, 6-10)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The above Biblical story is very popular and the most publicized one during the last century. The slogan “<i>born again</i>” served as a powerful magnet that drew millions of people into the arms of Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches all over the world. Many Christians experience this new birth, i.e. undergo a dramatic change in their lives, after a sincere repentance and willingness to conform to God’s commandments. Others, who had never had an inner conviction of their sinfulness, label themselves as <i>born again</i> simply because they recited some words of faith which their pastor or the itinerant evangelist dictated them. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The question to which we are called to answer is if there are certain rules for one to follow in order to initiate this <i>new birth </i>or regeneration of his/her soul. Jesus did not give such recipe to Nicodemus. On the contrary, he said that the Spirit of God is like the wind, which <i>blows where it wills</i> and nobody knows <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>whence it comes and wither it goes</i>.</span> As we understand, then, this <i>new birth</i> takes two to come about, just like the physical birth does. For the spiritual birth of a man there must be an interaction between the Spirit of God and the spirit of man. Now, which one takes the first step is a mystery. Does the Spirit of God <i>call</i> the spirit of man first, or does the spirit of man first cry to God, <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">‘Abba Father’</span>?</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">In any case, this new birth is not a privilege of those who believe in Christ, nor is it the result of the work of Jesus on the cross, as the evangelical Christians believe. If it were, Jesus would have not told Nicodemus that, as a teacher of Israel, he ought to know ‘<i>how this can be’. </i>Apparently even the Jews of the Old Testament could experience this <i>new birth</i>, and surely many did, just as the followers of every other religion can and do. Thousands of people of every religious persuasion have been blessed by a revival of their spirit and can witness to a great change in their lives, i.e. to a <i>new birth. </i>Obviously<i> </i>the<i> born again </i>experience has to do with the condition of a person’s heart and not with the doctrines one adheres to with his/her mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot sin because he is born of God.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 John 3: 9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A genuine new birth results in sinlessness, according to St. John. The person who is born of God, cannot sin, says this verse. Is it possible for a human being, who is living in an <i>earthen vessel</i> and is given a free will, not to sin? In my opinion, even one who is born of God can fall into temptation and sin, with the only difference that the smallest transgression makes him so miserable that he/she does not want to deliberately sin. In any case, a person who cannot sin has no need to continue living on this earth, which is a school for spiritual perfection.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“My little children, for whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Gal. 4: 19)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians believe that, from the moment they <i>accepted Jesus as their</i> <i>personal Savior</i>, Christ lives in them. Many of them even believe that those who have not “received” Christ have the devil living in them! However, in the above verse Paul says different things. Christ cannot be “received” as one takes a pill. Christ’s teaching and example must be followed by those who profess that he is their Lord and Savior, in order for the <i>Christ principle</i> to be formed in them. Once formed, the <i>Christ principle</i> must grow so that the life of the believer may become like that of Jesus. In the case of Galatian Christians, it seems that some had backslidden and so Paul was again in laborious prayer (<i>travail</i>) so that the Christ principle should be formed again in their inner man.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But thanks be to God, that you, who were once servants of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching which was delivered to you; and being made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness. (…)</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">But now that you have been set free from sin and have become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end eternal life.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rom. 6: 17-18, 22)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">When one becomes willingly (<i>from the heart</i>) obedient to the standard of teaching of the saints, he/she is gradually set free from sin and becomes servant of God, i.e. servant of righteousness. Then the fruit of one’s spirit will be holiness and the end eternal life. This then is the process of one’s salvation.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son</i>; <i>the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”</i></span> (Ezek. 18: 20)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Jesus said he did not come to abolish the Old Testament law and the prophets but to fulfill them. Ezekiel, one of the major prophets of the O.T., says that no one should be punished for the sins of another. The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon themselves. Why then God would have Jesus take upon himself the sins of the world, as the Christians believe? Why should an innocent become accursed? (Gal. 3:13). Is this divine justice? And how was the curse of the law, which was supposedly put on Jesus upon the cross, removed?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">These are questions to which the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians must answer, if their faith should be founded on stable foundation.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I believe the scriptures which I have quoted above are enough to prove that the Bible itself makes the popular doctrine of easy salvation by faith in Jesus blood obsolete.</span></div>
Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-31230772802821301892010-11-14T07:34:00.000-08:002014-01-10T04:37:56.195-08:00How does prayer work and who answers?<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;">
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<strong><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3d85c6; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the Bible we identify four different kinds of prayer, depending on the circumstances, the disposition of the person who prays and the aim of one’s prayer. This does not mean that a particular prayer cannot contain elements that fall into more than one category, or to all four of them. With the Bible’s help, in this chapter I will try to unfold the secrets of prayer, analyze the philosophy of it and explain how it works. </span></strong><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I: <b>Thanksgiving</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (1 Thes.5: 16-18)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The highest form of prayer and the most uplifting one is thanksgiving. Paul instructs Thessalonians to pray constantly, rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord under all circumstances. This is the will of God, as He knows that such prayer serves our highest good. It is for our own benefit in the here and now. So we should endeavor to thank God, regardless of our circumstances!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> It is easy to thank the Almighty when things go well with us. But who can rejoice and be thankful amidst calamities? How easy is it to...</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> thank God when, e.g., one has suddenly lost a beloved person? Yet, this is exactly what we must do: be thankful even when we suffer bereavement. Otherwise, i.e. if we nurture bitterness in our heart, our pain will become worse as we would have closed the door to the great Comforter, even the Spirit of God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, and bless his name! For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 100: 4-5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> When we enter the “gates” of God, either alone, reaching into the <i>holy of holies</i> inside our heart, or with fellow believers in the church, we must be full of praise and thanksgiving. Surely the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting and his truth endures forever. That’s why we should always bless his holy name and give thanks to him. Being pleasant and cheerful under all circumstances glorifies God. Being thankful to God at all times is sanctifying us and renews our strength. It is also a light shining in the spiritual darkness, pointing the way to God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Phil. 4: 6)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Worrying oneself about how to meet one’s needs doesn’t help. It eats up one’s energy and undermines his/her health. It is also unpleasant to those around us and makes one unpopular. We should not be anxious about anything. On the contrary, we should trust God and present our requests to him with thanksgiving in our heart. Then we will have inner peace and the answers to our prayers will be on the way.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Col. 4: 2)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> There are times when the answers to our prayers seem to tarry. Then we should not be disheartened; but we should continue steadfastly in prayer, even remaining awake during the night, with thanksgiving in our heart.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (1 Tim.4: 4-5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Here Paul refers to the believers who still adhered to ceremonial laws and taught people to abstain from certain meats. If we receive our food with thanksgiving in our heart, nothing is to be rejected as unclean. When we consciously apply the word of God and prayer over our food, then all food is blessed and sanctified.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Especially in our days, when most foods are contaminated with chemicals and hormones, one way or another, we need to <i>purify</i> them through prayer and the word of faith so that our health shouldn’t be harmed.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Eph.5: 20) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are to give thanks to God, our Heavenly Father, always and for all things. We should thank him under all circumstances: when things turn up the way we want and when they don’t; when we are happy and when we are sorrowful.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom; and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Col. 3: 15b-17)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Paul admonishes Colossians to be thankful towards God the Father. He exhorts them to sing hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in their heart. They should also be thankful in every word they said and every deed they accomplished.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> How beautiful our world would be if we were doing our daily duties, even the most humble works, with thanksgiving in our heart! Of course I am not talking about such “duties” as harming or killing one’s fellow human beings in the name of God and for the sake of any profit… I am not talking about terrorists’ acts, “holy” wars and the like…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">II: <b>Supplication</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Supplication is the kind of prayer all humans, even the atheists, have used at some time of their life. It is only natural, in times of danger or distress, that man seeks the help of a superior being. We are all doing it instinctively, even if it is not expressed by words but it is simply the desire of our heart. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let us see what the Bible has to say on this kind of prayer.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 34: 4)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> David, although an anointed king, had all the characteristics and the weaknesses of an ordinary man. When he sinned before the Lord, he was seized by fear. Fear is a crippling and torturing feeling and David would not sit idle resigning himself to its torment. He was a man of faith and prayer, and he earnestly sought the Lord to deliver him from all his fears. And sure enough, God answered his prayers and set him free from the devastating spirit of fear.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened unto you. For every one who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (…)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Matt. 7: 7-8, 11)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> These are some of the instructions on prayer that Jesus gave to <i>the multitudes</i> during his famous <i>Sermon on the Mount: </i>‘<b>Ask</b>’ and ‘<b>seek</b>’ and ‘<b>knock</b>’<b>… </b>What is the reason behind this? Is God deaf or blind and we have to be loud and persistent in our requests so that He could eventually take notice of us and answer our prayers? Of course not! Is he unwilling to give us good gifts and so we need to be persevering in our prayers in order to convince him to change his mind and eventually grant us what we have asked for? Not–at-all! If a good human father knows in advance what his children need and does not expect them to beg him on their knees but gives them freely what they want, before they even ask for it, how much more will our heavenly Father give us what we need without asking!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Why, then, Jesus gave such instructions? In order to answer this question we must understand how prayer works. Furthermore, we must clarify in our minds whether we deal with a personal God or just with his sovereign impersonal laws that govern our nature and our relationship with others and the Deity. In my search for the truth on this matter, I have reached the conclusion that we rather deal with the Deity’s sovereign laws.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The answers to our prayers do not fall down from heaven, but we draw them to ourselves in proportion to our faith and persistency. The power to get those answers is released by our own spirit, which is God’s presence within us, i.e. the inherent divine element where God does become personal. The closest definition I could give to prayer is this: <b>prayer is the means of generating and releasing spiritual energy from within in order to effect the</b> <b>fulfillment of one’s</b> <b>wants.</b> The invocation of the name of God in our prayers quickens our spirit, while faith increases the quantity and quality of the energy produced therein. The more we <i>ask</i> and <i>seek</i> and <i>knock</i>, the more will be <i>given</i> to us, the more we shall <i>find</i>, the more <i>doors will</i> <i>be opened!</i> That’s why we should be very cautious what to ask for in prayer lest we violate God’s divine principles and bring judgment on ourselves.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Through the following verses, the above definition of prayer will be further verified.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, <b>according to the power that is working in us</b>, unto Him be the glory (…).”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Eph. 3: 20-21a)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Surely God is able to do <i>exceeding abundantly</i> above all we ask in our prayers or even think of. But He is limited in what he does by <i>the power that is working in us</i>, i.e. by our faith and the energy it produces in our spirit. In other words, it is our <i>inner man</i>, even our spirit that <i>answers </i>our prayers. If we believed this, we would never complain to God when our prayers are not <i>answered</i>. Nor would we ever hold bitterness in our heart against the Almighty, when things don’t turn up as we anticipated.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Prov. 28: 9)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> If we do not adhere to the law of God, even our prayer is a repulsive act. When we disregard God’s precepts and violate his sovereign laws, then whatever we ask for in prayer will be detestable. The things we may receive as <i>answers</i> to such prayers could be detrimental to us. Only if our heart and mind are fixed in God can we have the wisdom and the discernment to ask for wholesome things in our prayer.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(Matt. 21: 22)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Faith is <b><i>the substance of things hoped for</i></b>. (Heb. 11: 1) This <i>substance</i> is absolutely essential in order to have our prayers <i>answered;</i> it is the seed we sow in our spirit to create the necessary energy for the materialization of our requests.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you hold anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Mark 11: 24-25) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So strong must be the faith vested in prayer that we should believe that we have already received what we ask for! Note the present perfect tense of the verb: believe that you <b>have received. </b>So firm one’s faith must be, in order for his/her prayer to be effective!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And when we stand in prayer, we must have forgiven all those who have wronged us. Unforgiveness undermines one’s faith and weakens one’s spiritual energy. When we hold in our heart anything against others we don’t have boldness before God. Besides, forgiving others is the prerequisite for our own trespasses to be forgiven by God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Jam. 5: 16b)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The prayer of the righteous man, when it is fervent, has great value. Why should one’s prayer be fervent? For this way, it produces more spiritual energy. It appears that faith should be vested with enthusiasm, intensity and emotion in order to be more effective. Prayers that are read from books, as one reads a poem, are not effective.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. (…) When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 34:15,17)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Is there any divine intervention, beside the person’s own spiritual energy, in answering one’s prayers? Most probably there is. We are not alone in the Universe. There are the angels, God’s ministering spirits – the <i>eyes</i> and the <i>ears</i> of the Lord – and probably the spirits of the deceased saints, which are drawn to the help of the righteous when they cry out to God for deliverance from a difficult situation. However, as the Bible advises us, we should not deliberately enter into communication with such agents lest evil spirits deceive us. We should only pray to God. This is what Jesus said.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 34: 22)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The servants of God, i.e. the servants of righteousness, who take refuge in him through prayer, will be delivered and none of them will be condemned.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 66: 18)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> David knows from experience that when he was guilty of sin he didn’t have boldness in his prayers. His faith in God was weak and he didn’t expect his supplications to be answered.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (1 John 3: 21-22)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> John also verifies that in order to have confidence before God our hearts should not condemn us of sin. When we keep God’s commandments and do what is pleasing to him, we receive whatever we ask for in prayer, John said. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Does this mean that a righteous person will never have a prayer unanswered? This is a difficult question! Quite often life proves the opposite…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (John 15: 7) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">These are the words of Jesus: if we abide in his teaching, i.e. if we live a godly life, then we will have our prayers “answered”.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I would very much like to believe this…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, that you may consume it upon your lusts.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (James 4: 3)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> If we pray for things to indulge upon, we will not receive. This is a wrong prayer. People who pray for superfluous things, in order to gratify their lusts, will not have enough faith and boldness to support their prayer. Their spirit will not cooperate to produce the necessary energy for it. Consequently their prayers won’t be “answered”, says James. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with strong cries and tears, unto Him who was able to save him from death, (…).”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Heb. 5: 7) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jesus himself, during his life and ministry on earth, offered up to God prayers and supplications with strong <b><i>cries and tears</i></b>. Jesus knew the power of fervent prayer and he prayed earnestly to God, who was able to save him from death. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours be done’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Luke 22: 41-42)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In his prayers, Jesus submitted his will to the will of God, setting up an example of how we should pray.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our infirmities; because we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that cannot be uttered. And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Rom. 8: 26-27)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Here we have arrived into deeper spiritual waters. One cannot be taught this kind of prayer nor can one cause it to happen by an act of will. Moreover, one cannot easily explain the origin of the <i>groans that cannot be uttered</i>. Is it born in the Spirit of God, as the Apostle Paul affirms, or is it unction caused by deep emotion? In any case, it manifests in those who pray fervently, while in great need, or intercede earnestly for others in distress, and it has powerful effects.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he <b>groaned in the spirit</b> and was troubled; and he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jesus wept. (…) Then Jesus, again <b>groaning</b> in himself, came to the grave; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. (…) So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me’.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, (…).”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (John 11: 33-35, 38, 41-44a)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In this story we see Jesus being troubled and groaning in his spirit when he saw Mary crying for Lazarus, her dead brother. Jesus was greatly moved, for he loved Lazarus and his sister dearly. The miraculous result of his intercession with groaning was the resurrection of Lazarus!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat nor about your body, what you will wear. (…) Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (…)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! (…) Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be given to you as well’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Luke 12: 22, 24, 27-28, 31) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the above verses Jesus suggests that we shouldn’t worry about our physical needs! Instead, we should pray for the kingdom of God, i.e. for our spiritual enlightenment and that of our fellow human beings. Then all the necessary things shall be added to us! Indeed, if we take a look in nature around us we will marvel at how God takes care of all living creatures. How much more, then, will he take care of human beings created in his own image and likeness! Therefore we should have faith in our Maker and not worry too much about our body’s needs. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (…)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is how you should pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Matt. 6: 5-7, 9-13)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the above verses, Jesus gives us some golden rules for effective prayer. First of all, one should pray alone in some place of privacy. Thus one will be able to concentrate on God and pour out his/her heart before him without being distracted. This way one’s prayer will be genuine, fervent and effective. On the contrary, if we pray loudly in the midst of a congregation, we may experience either timidity or hesitation to freely express our thoughts. On the other hand, if we are aware that we pray piously and eloquently, we might be puffed up. Both of these attitudes undermine the effectiveness of prayer. So, then, it is preferable for one to pray in secret.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Secondly, one should not use many words and vain repetitions. Idle babbling in prayer is useless and is characteristic of pagans. Unfortunately, it is also characteristic of Christians who rehearse the same words again and again in the Sunday Services of main line Denominations. Intelligent believers should not endorse this kind of prayer. The effectiveness of prayer does not depend on the multitude of words but on the clarity of expression, the purity of heart, the intensity of emotions, and the faith of the person who prays.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How should one pray? Jesus gave us a model for this: <b><i>“The Lord’s Prayer”</i></b>. This is the first thing Christians of every denomination learn and recite in their prayers. It is an address to our Father who is in heaven, i.e. in the spiritual realm. God, who is Spirit, is the Father of all men and so we can be sure that he loves us. Consequently we can approach him both with reverence and boldness, as a child approaches his/her father, knowing that he cares for us. Apparently, there is no need for mediators – angels, saints, or even Christ – in order to speak to our heavenly Father. Otherwise Jesus would have said so.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before we submit our petitions to God, we must give him glory, offering our adoration to him: </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Hallowed be thy name”</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> If we expect to receive mercy and grace from him, we must first praise and honor him for his greatness. Is this a request from our heavenly Father? I don’t believe so. This instruction of Jesus is for our own good, for the preparation of our own heart. To approach God with an attitude of worship is beneficial to us. Besides, if we have the right relationship with God, we have the natural tendency to express our feelings of praise and adoration to him before we submit our petitions.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Thy kingdom come”</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">– This is the first and noblest petition that Jesus suggested to submit to God when we pray. It is not a request for limited personal benefit but it concerns all mankind. We ask for the kingdom of God, which is spiritual, to come in the hearts of all people. God’s first concern is the spiritual well being of human beings.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">–<b><i> </i></b>What is the will of God for the earth? It is not difficult to guess: Peace and love among people, righteousness and justice, health, joy and prosperity. Thus the earth will be more like heaven.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Give us this day our daily bread”</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> –<b><i> </i></b>Man has a physical body that has material needs in order to function properly. However, we must only pray for our <i>daily bread</i>, not for tomorrow’s needs. We must ask God for today’s bare necessities and shouldn’t worry about the future. Jesus leaves no room for greed here. If we have what our body needs today, we should be satisfied and trust God for tomorrow.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors”</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> – What kind of debts should we ask God to forgive us? Surely Jesus is talking about our sins, i.e. the violations of divine principles that might have hurt others and have negative effects on our well-being. We need to acknowledge these debts and, where possible, to make amends to those we have harmed. However, if we expect our sins to be forgiven by God, we must also forgive our debtors. Of course God wants to forgive us, but if we nurture unforgiveness and bitterness in our heart against others, we obstruct God’s mercy and grace on us. Forgiving one’s debtors includes our own selves. God won’t forgive us if we cannot forgive ourselves.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> – Does God lead us into temptation? The answer to this is not easy, moreover since in another verse of the N.T. James tells us: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(Jam. 1:13) However, the Bible (Matt. 4) also tells us that the Spirit of God led Jesus himself into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil! If, then, testing is a necessary process in one’s spiritual growth, can we convince God through our prayers to absolve us from this? To this question every one of us has to seek the answer for each particular instance he/she faces “trial”.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In any case, we should ask God to give us wisdom and discernment to recognize the origin of our “temptation”. We should also be careful to avoid the snares that cause “temptation” to us, i.e. evil people, elusory things, foolish actions, etc. If however we are caught up into temptation, we must surely ask God to deliver us from every evil, while showing us the spiritual lessons we are to be taught from it. We shouldn’t have the slightest doubt that it is His will to deliver us from evil!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.”</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> –</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <i>The Lord’s Prayer</i> closes with an acknowledgment on our behalf that everything belongs to God. It is a form of praise to the greatness and faithfulness of the Almighty. It is the overflow of a heart full of awe and gratitude towards God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Amen”!</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">– This is the summary of our prayer. Let it be so.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> III: <b>Intercession</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like foxes in the deserts, O Israel. You have not gone up into the gaps, neither built up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Ez. 13: 3-5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The prophets and all God’s representatives on earth, i.e. all devout believers of every faith, have the responsibility to intercede for individuals and nations. Unfortunately, the prophets of Israel used to deliver curses against the “stiff-necked” Jews, instead of building a <i>hedge</i> around them by their intercessions, so that the house of Israel might have stood in <i>the day of the Lord, </i>i.e.<i> </i>the day of judgment.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> God does not want anyone to perish. However, in spite of his love for mankind, his sovereign laws work out the destruction of the disobedient. Judgment comes as a consequence of one’s transgressions and not as a direct punishment from God. Otherwise God would not need the prayers of the prophets to stop himself (i.e. the Law) from punishing the transgressors. It is only by the fervent intercessory prayers of the holy prophets of God that the results of such judgments may not be devastating. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And I sought for a man among them, who would build up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Ezek. 22: 30)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Once again, the Spirit of Jehovah, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, complains that there were no intercessors in Israel who would </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">stand in the gap</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> God had sought for a man to</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <b><i>build up the hedge</i></b></span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">and stand in the gap between him and the land so that he wouldn’t destroy it in the day of judgment<b>. </b>But he had found none! Not even Ezekiel! It is surprising that Ezekiel, who spoke this on behalf of Jehovah, did not offer up himself to be the intercessor God was looking for! Presumably his love for the people and his understanding of God’s heart versus his sovereign laws had not been perfected.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. (…)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I desire therefore that men should pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without anger or doubting.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (1 Tim. 2: 1-2, 8)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The believers should not pray only for themselves and their own families. It is their duty to intercede for the whole society, lifting up holy hands with faith and love for all people. Especially the intercessors should pray for those in authority that they might receive wisdom and govern soberly, creating the right conditions for a peaceful and decent life for every citizen.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“You also, like living stones, be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (1 Peter 2: 5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Peter exhorts Christians to be built into a <i>spiritual house</i>, like living stones, so that they may become a united holy priesthood. As the priests in the Old Testament offered animal sacrifices on behalf of all people, so should Christians offer their intercessions for the world as spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. The same rule applies to the devotees of every other faith. If they are holy and united, their prayers are acceptable to God, i.e. effective.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">IV: <b>Spiritual Warfare</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage a carnal war; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We cast down arguments and every pretension that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (2 Cor. 10: 3-5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The true believer or the servant of righteousness is someone whose main purpose in life is to advance the spiritual kingdom of God on earth. Such a person is a divine “soldier”, as he/she continuously wages war against the spiritual strongholds that oppose divine principles from being established in society. The righteous man fights against the interests of evil spiritual agents that promote destruction, corruption and the gratification of man’s passions in this world.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In this non-carnal war, man is not left without proper weapons. Through the word of God, the soldier of righteousness can cast down every argument that opposes the knowledge of the Truth, and can bring into captivity every evil thought, so that it may not come to fruition.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore, put on the full armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand firm then, having girded your loins with truth; and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To this end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all saints.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Eph. 6: 10-18)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is a vicious war going on in the spiritual realm that affects primarily the children of light, i.e. God’s representatives on earth.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the above verses Paul affirms that the believers wrestle not against carnal forces but against spiritual powers of wickedness in high places. These are the instigators and rulers of the moral darkness in the world. Paul exhorts the believers to make use of all the weapons that are available. He describes in detail the spiritual armor that each believer should always “wear”, in order to stand against the wiles of the devil.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The <b>first</b> and more important piece of our spiritual armor must be </span><strong><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">the girdle of truth.</span></i></strong><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Truth is like a girdle that one must fasten around his loins, as the soldier is girded around with his belt. To gird up one’s loins is to prepare for action, in this case for spiritual warfare. Truth then is our girdle. We must be sincere in our relationship with God, truthful towards our <i>inner man</i>, i.e. our conscience, and towards our fellow human beings. Lies form holes in our girdle and make us vulnerable to the attacks of the wicked powers.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Second</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> in importance piece of one’s spiritual armor is the </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">breastplate of righteousness</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Righteousness includes all virtues, but primarily justice and love, and is likened to the breastplate of a soldier. The breastplate protects one’s heart from the attacks of his/her enemies. So does righteousness. It fortifies one’s heart so that it shouldn’t fall into the temptations of evil.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Third</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> piece of one’s military armor is proper shoes. A soldier’s shoes of brass defend his feet against the gall-traps and all kinds of sharp objects so that he can march unobstructed against the enemy. Likewise, the believer must be well prepared to take the message of peace and love to all men, marching ahead without being endangered. Readiness to move for such a high mission means wearing the right </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">spiritual shoes</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Thus the believer will protect his/her feet from being hurt by poisonous <i>thorns</i> such as persecutions, provocations and temptations. Enthusiasm, love, wisdom and patience are the best material for such shoes.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fourth</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> and very important piece of armor for a soldier is the shield. Likewise, the soldier of righteousness needs to hold firmly his spiritual shield, which is faith. By turning the </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">shield of faith</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> in every possible direction, the believer is able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked, and render them ineffective. In the hour of temptation, faith in God and his love for us, like a mighty shield, will protect us from being hurt and enable us to stand firm and triumph over evil.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fifth</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is the helmet, another crucial piece of armor for the warrior. It protects his head. So the helmet of the spiritual warrior will protect his mind from deception, confusion and despair. With the </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">helmet of salvation</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">i.e. confidence of one’s standing with God<b><i>,</i></b> in place, one gains confidence and boldness in his/her conflicts with negative spiritual agents.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">but not least among the warrior’s equipment is the sword. It is the only offensive piece of armor. All the previous ones are defensive. With his/her sword the warrior attacks the enemy in a body-to-body battle. For the spiritual warrior his/her </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">sword is the word of God</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, i.e. the inspired scriptures. Even Jesus repelled Satan’s temptations in the wilderness with the word of God. The scriptures tell us that </span><em><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword.</span></em><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The use of the word of God presupposes that one knows the inspired scriptures well so that in each occasion one can answer with the appropriate: <i>“it is written…”</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Having all the spiritual armor in place, the believer <b><i>must constantly pray</i></b>. One should be in an attitude of prayer always, attaching it to all other parts of his/her spiritual weapons. Thus one is imploring the assistance of God in every instance of his/her spiritual battle. The spiritual warrior must use all kinds of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, supplication, groaning (if it comes naturally), and other tongues (1 Cor. 14: 15). Confession of one’s sins (to God) should also be an integral part of prayer, as we saw in the example Jesus gave to us.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> All prayers, however, must be offered to God <em>in the Spirit.</em> Unless we approach God with the </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">inner man</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> i.e. our spirit, connection with him cannot be established. Words and emotions are not sufficient to connect us to God unless our spirit is involved. The scriptures give us no specific technique of how one could pray in the Spirit. However, with practice, one would know in his heart whether his prayer is <i>in the Spirit</i> or just a hypocritical lip service.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> On the top of all this, one should pray for the needs of all other spiritual warriors (saints) with perseverance. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Next I shall quote some scriptures that one could memorize in order to use them, as a spiritual <i>sword,</i> when one feels attacked by evil. Personally I have often consciously recited them, believing that these are God’s words addressed to me, and have experienced great relief and uplifting of my spirit. Reciting them, mentally or verbally, generates strength and peace in my soul helping me to overcome evil in the hour of temptation.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is blameless toward Him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (2 Chr. 16: 9a)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall render ineffective. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, says the Lord.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Isa. 54: 17)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Isa. 59: 19b)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked; and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 34: 19-21)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“You shall be protected from the lash of the tongue; and you shall not fear the coming destruction.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Job 5: 21)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, these comfort me.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 23: 4)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Do not be afraid of sudden panic, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes; for the Lord shall be your confidence and shall keep your foot from being caught.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Prov. 3: 25-26)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘You are my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust’. For he will deliver you from the fowlers’ snare and from the deadly pestilence. He shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings you shall be safe; his truth shall be your armor and shield.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You shall not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness; nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall on your left side, ten thousand on your right, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, and no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">‘Because he loves me’, says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will set him on high, because he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and I will honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Psa. 91)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Isa. 40: 31)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Prov. 26: 2)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The essence of all the above scriptures is that patience, unwavering faith, righteousness and love of God and men form a protective shield around us that enables us to live a more safe, peaceful and happy life.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-33391953071473061292010-11-13T07:12:00.000-08:002014-01-10T07:39:43.079-08:00What the Bible says about Satan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzLzEb6g-wR5il0lVMNAgHD9CyrCFtRWhSSz1JfcKgRnm3eLAebqxlhDb1fybXnaeYjX4mRBLWD1eL4s6wzo7EMeFA8yO2k0L65IYADmDpJhbrdnB2CpJyjTJL-4SN6210uUksEwvihc/s1600/images+(37).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzLzEb6g-wR5il0lVMNAgHD9CyrCFtRWhSSz1JfcKgRnm3eLAebqxlhDb1fybXnaeYjX4mRBLWD1eL4s6wzo7EMeFA8yO2k0L65IYADmDpJhbrdnB2CpJyjTJL-4SN6210uUksEwvihc/s1600/images+(37).jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzLzEb6g-wR5il0lVMNAgHD9CyrCFtRWhSSz1JfcKgRnm3eLAebqxlhDb1fybXnaeYjX4mRBLWD1eL4s6wzo7EMeFA8yO2k0L65IYADmDpJhbrdnB2CpJyjTJL-4SN6210uUksEwvihc/s1600/images+(37).jpg" height="172" width="200" /></a><strong style="color: #3d85c6; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;"></strong></div>
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<strong style="color: #3d85c6; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzLzEb6g-wR5il0lVMNAgHD9CyrCFtRWhSSz1JfcKgRnm3eLAebqxlhDb1fybXnaeYjX4mRBLWD1eL4s6wzo7EMeFA8yO2k0L65IYADmDpJhbrdnB2CpJyjTJL-4SN6210uUksEwvihc/s1600/images+(37).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left; text-indent: 30pt;"><strong style="color: #3d85c6; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;">According to Christian Theology, Satan is the number one enemy of God and man. We all know the story of man’s <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">fall</span></i> in Genesis. However, there are other scriptures in the Bible that confuse the issue. For instance, once Jesus called Peter, <em><span style="color: #0b5394;">'</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Satan'</span></em>, by saying <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><em><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“</span></span>Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not thinking God's thoughts but human thoughts!”</em><span style="font-size: small;"> (Matt. 16:23) Did he mean that Peter was Satan, or that Satan was speaking through Peter? Jesus was speaking metaphorically, of course. Anyway, <em><span style="color: #0b5394;">satan</span></em> is <span style="color: #3d85c6;">one who opposes, obstructs, or acts as an adversary.</span></span></span></strong></a></strong></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Let us examine some scriptures on this subject:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.’ So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Job 1: 6-12)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">In this story Satan appears to be one of the <i>sons of God</i>, who regularly present themselves before the Lord giving report about...</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> what is happening on the earth. Satan seems to have a task to try the righteous men, like Job, in order to test their faith. Before doing this, Satan needs permission from God. He cannot decide on his own whom to try and how far to go in testing. In the above case, God gave Satan the permission to strike everything Job had, save his own life. And, as we know from the rest of the story, Satan did exactly this. But in spite of the calamities that befell upon Job, he didn’t lose faith in God, nor did he curse the Lord, as Satan anticipated.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Yet in like manner these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise authority, and blaspheme celestial beings. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Jude: 8-9)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, Satan (the devil) is a celestial being who has authority given to him by God. As such, he must be respected by men and not be slandered! Not even Michael, the archangel, dared to accuse him, when they were contending about the body of Moses. Regarding the ground of the dispute, the scriptures don’t give us other details. It is up to the reader, who knows the life of Moses, to guess why the great prophet stood on the borderline between Michael’s jurisdiction and that of Satan.<b></b></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 4: 1) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Even Jesus had to be tempted by the devil! However, it was the Spirit, i.e. God himself, who led Jesus into the wilderness. As in the case of Job and every other saint, God gave permission to the devil to put Jesus to trial regarding his identity and his mission.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 4: 2-4) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Satan proceeded very methodically and wisely into his task. First he tempted Jesus on his physical need. Jesus, after forty days’ fast, was desperately hungry. Would he use his miraculous powers to fill his stomach? This is a test which every man and woman of God undergoes and where many fail. But Jesus did not! Of course, filling the stomach extends to pursuing material riches, something to which most of the miracle workers succumb.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 4: 5-7)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his second temptation, Satan enticed Jesus to put God, and indeed the scriptures, to the test. Could or would God save Jesus from death if he exposed himself to danger? But Jesus answered back to Satan with another scripture! We are not to put the Lord to the test. Yes, God is able and willing to save his servants from dangers, but not from purposely created ones in order to test the Almighty! We are the ones to be tested, not God.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 4: 8-11)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of his first two failures, the devil did not give up. He had kept a last ace up his sleeve. Being the prince of the material world, he offered its kingdoms to Jesus, if he only worshipped him. But Jesus did not bow down before Satan. He was not interested to be a temporary worldly Messiah, to rule over the kingdoms of the earth. He had chosen to be an eternal spiritual king instead. His kingdom wasn’t of this world but it was spiritual and, as such, it was invisible. Yet its splendor could not compare with that of all the worldly kingdoms together. Jesus was sure about what he wanted. He longed to be one with the Father, who is Spirit, and become the light of the world.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Failing for a third time, the devil left Jesus. He had no permission from God to go any further. Then the angels of God took charge and ministered to Jesus! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Happy is the servant of God who, after passing all the tests, stands and is ministered to by the angels of God.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt.6: 13)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a verse from the <i>‘The Lord’s Prayer’</i> to which we shall refer in detail in the relevant chapter. We are to pray to God not to lead us into temptation! Once again it is verified by scriptures that it is God himself and not Satan who leads us into temptation. Satan cannot do anything against us unless he takes permission from God. It is comforting to be aware of this. So we don’t have to fear Satan, for he is under God’s restrictions.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“I am the Lord and there is no other; I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 45: 6b-7) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">This verse, and other similar ones found in the scriptures, is for many Bible students a stumbling block. How could the Holy God be also the creator evil? Yet this makes more sense than to believe that there are two creators in the Universe: God, who creates only good, and Satan who creates only evil!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally believe that there is only one Creator, and everything visible and invisible is under His control, i.e. under the control of God’s sovereign laws!</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rev. 2: 10) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here we see the spirit of Christ informing the believers in advance about Satan’s plan. Some Christians from the Church of Smyrna would be put into prison in order to be tested. Christ wanted to warn and encourage those people to stand fast in their faith so that they could win the crown of eternal life.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Eph. 4: 26-27)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this verse we have another aspect of how a trial comes about. Paul says that we ourselves open the way to the devil when we give Satan a foothold by our thoughts, words or actions. Let the student of the spiritual kingdom be aware of this.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Eph. 6: 11)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul warns us to always wear the full armor of God that we may stand the snares of the devil in the day of temptation. He is talking, of course, about a spiritual armor, the details of which we shall see in the chapter of Prayer. </span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jam. 4: 7)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All we have to do is to submit totally to God while resisting the devil. Then Satan will flee from us.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills. You will say to me then, ‘ Why does God still blame us? For who can resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rom. 9: 18-21)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we have a very hard scripture. It is difficult for the believer to accept that God himself, and not the devil, hardens the heart of whoever he wills. Could Paul, who elsewhere has admitted that <i>‘We know in part’</i>, be wrong in this scripture? Are, then, some people made for <i>common use</i> while others are made for <i>noble purposes</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course there are many things we see in the world that we cannot explain. However, who of us can judge God? It is enough for us humans to stand in awe before the Almighty and acclaim: <span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>‘Praise you Lord, forin wisdom you have made everything' </i>!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>The Bible is full of references to the Spirit of the Lord, i.e. God Himself, to the spirit of man and to other spirits. In the first two chapters I have quoted and analyzed scriptures that refer to the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit and to the spirit of man. In this chapter we shall examine the other <i>“spirits”.</i> </strong></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>What are they?</strong> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">First the word <i>spirit</i> is used in reference to the surviving soul of a dead person, which, under certain circumstances, is drawn to the earth and can “communicate” with the living. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">A second category of <i>spirits</i> could be entities of another dimension, benevolent or malevolent, which sometimes are released by <i>prophets</i> for a <i>mission</i> among humans. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">In a third category fall the spirits of nations <i>(principalities).</i> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Lastly, in a fourth category I would put...</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <i>spirits</i> which appear to be the crystallization of virtues or vices formed by the feelings (emotions), mind or lips of men. All four categories of <i>spirits</i> are found in the Bible, although the differences among them are not always distinct. Especially the second and fourth categories could both concern man-created <i>spirits.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Regarding the Angels, the Bible seems to differentiate them from ordinary <i>spirits</i> and hence I shall refer to them in another chapter. In yet another chapter I shall deal with <i>demons</i>. Again, some of those <i>demons</i> might be man-made and fall into the aforementioned fourth category. In any case, the invisible world seems to be full of inhabitants strange to us, some friendly to humans, some very hostile and dangerous, of which even the writers of the Bible appear to know rather little. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Before I go any further, I must state here that the discernment of spirits is not an easy task and even the Bible is not very clear on this subject. So I shall proceed very cautiously and I invite the reader to do the same. None of my thoughts on this matter (or any other) are to be taken unquestionably as a doctrine. It is the individual’s highest responsibility, in his/her quest for spiritual Truth, to constantly seek personal revelation from God through prayer and meditation. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">I: <b>Spirits of the Dead</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">I will start by quoting verses in which the writers of the Bible express a very pessimistic point of view regarding the spirits of the dead: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hatred and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens</i> <i>under the sun.”</i> </span>(Ecc. 9: 5-6)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Here Ecclesiastes affirms that the dead know nothing! According to this verse, the soul after death retains no consciousness and doesn’t play any part in the Universe. Whatever comprised man’s personality, i.e. intelligence, love, hatred, jealousy etc., vanish after death. There is no surviving part of the soul when it leaves the body of man! Some Bible critics suppose that king Solomon delivered Ecclesiastes in the latter part of his life, during his apostasy from God, and this explains his pessimism. However, as we have already quoted in the previous chapter, in the same book Solomon has also expressed an opposite view on the spirit, namely that it survives death and returns to God. (Ecc. 12: 7)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">David also shares this view, with underlying bitterness, in the following verses: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Will you show your wonders to the dead? Or shall the dead arise and praise you?”</span> </i>(Psa.<i> </i>88: 10) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">According to this verse, the dead cannot see God’s wonders any longer, nor can they praise Him from another mode of existence. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Further down the psalmist repeats: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The dead will not praise the Lord, neither those who go down into silence.” </span></i>(Psa<i>.</i> 115: 17) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">So then, total silence follows those who die, according to these Biblical verses. Should we accept that these verses are God inspired? Personally I don’t think so. On the contrary, I believe that the soul survives death and this view is supported by numerous other verses in the Bible. Here are some of them:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The Egyptians (…) will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa.19: 3)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> This verse implies that the spirit of man not only survives death but also can be contacted by the living through mediums and spiritists. Here the word <i>spirit</i> is rather used for denoting <i>soul</i> and <i>spirit</i> together, since the final separation of them results in the death of the soul, i.e. in what is described in the Bible as <i>second death.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Another Biblical case where someone contacts the dead is that of King Saul. In his desperation to seek advice concerning the war of the Philistines against Israel, Saul resorted to contacting the dead. He did this because “<i>the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets”,</i> and despite the fact that he himself had previously forbidden this practice and <i>“cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land”. </i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here is the relevant account:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Saul then said to his attendants, ‘Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go and enquire of her’. ‘There is one in Endor’, they said.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. ‘Consult a spirit for me’, he said, ‘and bring up for me the one I name’. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Then the woman asked ‘Whom shall I bring up?’ ‘Bring up Samuel’, he said. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Samuel said to Saul ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ ”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Samuel 28: 7-15)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The above Biblical verses affirm not only that the soul survives death but also that it retains consciousness and can communicate with the living. However, the soul doesn’t like the latter because it gets disturbed! Quite possibly, after death, the soul enters into a process of purification at the end of which, if reincarnation doesn’t take place, it will either gain eternal bliss or will undergo the <i>second death</i> and vanish. That’s why no one has the right to disturb a soul’s “sleep”. The Bible tells us that Saul was punished for this<i>: <span style="color: #cc0000;">“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord slew him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”</span></i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(1 Chr. 10: 13-14)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> In the Bible we also find an account where the spirit of someone who departed from this life is <i>inherited</i> by another:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you’. And Elisha said, ‘I pray you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him over against them, they said, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha’. And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.” </span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(2 Kings 2: 9,15)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">If we attempt to literally explain the above verses, we assume that a prerequisite for someone to <i>inherit</i> the spirit of a dead person is to ask for it. In other words, the spirit of a dead person cannot enter the body of the living without “invitation”. It is only when someone gets involved in mediumship and opens up to the spirit world that can be possessed by the spirit of a dead person. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Most probably, however, the meaning of the above verses is metaphorical. Perhaps Elisha asked that his own gift of prophecy might become twice as strong as that of Elijah.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Let us now see what the spirits of the righteous are doing in <i>heaven</i>:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, <b>to the spirits</b> <b>of righteous men made perfect</b>, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Heb. 12: 22-24)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Apparently, the spirits of men that have attained perfection are praising the Lord in a joyful assembly with the angels! Now, whether this is a fact, or a wishful thinking of the writer of Hebrews, is another matter. Each one of us must make his/her own conclusions by seeking personal revelation from God on what happens after death. After all, in matters of faith nobody can take responsibility for another one. Besides, in things that cannot be proven, as it is with what happens after death, one should not be dogmatic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Regarding the fate of the souls of <i>evil</i> persons after death, well, there are several references in the Bible, mainly in the New Testament, but I wouldn’t like to quote any of them here. Personally, I don’t believe in a God who has prepared a <b><i>Hell</i></b> with a <b><i>lake of fire</i></b> for creatures made in His own image. For who among humans can claim that he/she is perfect?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Those who believe that the entire Bible is the “Word of God” can keep such a vindictive god for themselves. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">There is yet another premise in the Bible regarding the fate of the soul after death. We find a brief reference to reincarnation by Jesus himself, although he didn’t expand on it. On the contrary, he seemed to address only <i>those who have ears to hear</i>. He obviously considered this to be a concealed truth, something not for public discussion. On the other hand, perhaps Jesus had said more on the subject but it has not been passed down to us, since Christianity doesn’t believe in reincarnation. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> In any case, here is what the Bible says on this: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; (…) and if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to</i> </span><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">come. He who has ears let him hear.”</span> </i>(Matt. 11: 11a, 14-15)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">According to these words of Jesus, if we have spiritual ears to “hear” and if we are willing to accept it, there is reincarnation… We find more references to this in the New Testament:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 16: 13-14)</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“The disciples asked him, ‘Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands’. Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Matt. 17: 10-13)<i></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">In the Gospel of Mark we find similar references to John the Baptist being the reincarnation of Elijah.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">II: <b>Spirits released by prophets</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The Bible maintains that God intervenes in the affairs of the world through his representatives, the prophets. They are the ones who speak on behalf of the Almighty and release his blessing or judgment upon individuals, nations or mankind as a whole. Here is a relevant account:<i> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.”</span> </i>(Zech. 7:12)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> According to Zechariah,<b><i> </i></b>the<b><i> spirit of wrath</i></b> was released against Judah and Israel, because they had rejected the word of the Lord delivered to them by the former prophets. As a result, their pleasant land became desolate, while they were scattered among the nations.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The major Old Testament prophets often judged Zion in the name of God:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Isa. 4: 4)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Isaiah, just as all the prophets of the O.T., believed that sin must be washed away by <b><i>the spirit of judgment</i></b> and <b><i>the spirit of burning</i></b>. The <i>wages</i> of sin is pain and suffering that leads to death. And judgment can come through the word of a prophet <b>much earlier</b> and <b>more fiercely</b> than the natural process of recompense of the law of retribution. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Personally, I believe that cursing in the name of God, apart from being a grave, backfiring sin, is not an effective way of turning an individual or a nation back to the right path. In the case of Israel, the spirits of judgment, which its prophets often released against the Israelites, failed to bring the expected results, i.e. to make them a holy nation. Obviously, this method, being a direct violation to the sovereign law of love, doesn’t work.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Unfortunately, many zealous “Christians” have inherited this <i>spirit of judgment</i> from the O.T. and they are very dangerous to be around to. They use the name of the Lord to pass judgments on others, saying, e.g., <i>“God will punish this person”</i> etc., thinking that they are doing service to God. And when something bad happens to their victim, they rub their hands with satisfaction, saying, <i>“See, the Lord punished him, just as I said he would!” </i>But it was them that punished the sinner with their uncircumcised lips and not God. And no one is authorized to do so. (<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Bless and not curse</i>,</span> said Jesus).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication (…).”</span></i> (Zech. 12:10a)</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The spirit of grace</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> can also be released through the intervention of a prophet, which helps people to repent of their sins and turn to God. I am sure this is what God expects his prophets and all believers to do, for indeed God does not want anyone to perish. The following scripture confirms this: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord; so turn and</i> <i>live.”</i></span> (Ez. 18: 32)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Yet some O.T. prophets were not always ready to forgive repentant people. Here is one such case: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord’. And Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel’. (…)</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(1 Sam. 15: 24-26, 35a, and 16:14)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">There are more cases where God’s representative, the prophet, chooses not to forgive the sins of a person, although the person has repented of his sins. As we saw in the above case, Samuel did not forgive King Saul and rejected him from being king over Israel. I believe it would have been different, if Saul had turned directly to God for forgiveness. But Israel and its kings considered the prophets as the sole mediators to God. Consequently they had totally submitted themselves to their authority, expecting God to act only through the prophets’ word.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Sechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech; that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brothers.”</span> </i>(Judg. 9: 22-24)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Here we have an instance of an <b><i>evil spirit</i></b>, supposedly sent by God, to stir up conflict between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, in order for both to be punished for the blood of the seventy sons of Jerubbaal (i.e. Gideon). In this case Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, who had escaped the ruin of his family, had acted as a prophet. He said: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the house of Millo and devour</i> <i>Abimelech.”</i></span> (Judg. 9: 20) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">This is exactly what happened when Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Is, peradventure, God personally involved in the fulfillment of this and other curses pronounced by men? In my humble opinion He is not. Only His sovereign laws are automatically put into operation by the word of a prophet. It would, then, take the word of a greater prophet to negate the manifestation of a previous curse or <b><i>judgment</i></b>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Another question to which we have to answer is this: Is that <b><i>evil spirit</i></b> an actual spiritual entity already existing in Universe, or is it simply the negative energy released from the soul of the prophet? If the latter is true, perhaps the negative energy brings into existence an <i>evil spirit</i>, just as the positive spiritual energy creates a <i>benevolent spirit</i>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">We shall expand more on this in the chapter of Prophecy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Next I shall quote a good portion from the story of Ahab, king of Israel, who, according to the scriptures (1 Kings 21: 20), had sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">“For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. But in the third year Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah came down to (Ahab) the king of Israel. And the King of Israel said to his servants, ‘Do you know that Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?’ And he said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses’.</span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">And Jehoshaphat said to the King of Israel, ‘Inquire first for the word of the Lord’. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, ‘Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-Gilead, or shall I forbear?’ And they said, ‘Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king’.</span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?’ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil’. And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say so.’ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, ‘Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah’. (…)</span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?’ And he answered him, ‘Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king’. But the king said to him, ‘how many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?’ And he said, ‘I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace’. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good concerning me,</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i>but evil?’</i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">And Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.</span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him’. And the Lord said to him, ‘By all means?’ And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i>in the mouth of all his prophets’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go forth and do so’.</i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"> Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has spoken evil concerning you’. (…)</span></i></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">And the king of Israel said, ‘Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, “Thus says the king, ‘ Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with scant fare of bread and water, until I come in peace’.” And Micaiah said, ‘If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me’. And he said, ‘hear, all you peoples!’”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Kings 22: 1-9, 15-23, 26-28).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Let us try to analyze this account: God is Light, Love, and Truth. In my thinking, it is impossible that God would open conversation with a <i>lying spirit</i> and accept its suggestion to deceive all the king’s prophets. It was rather the prophet Micaiah who conceived this plan in his imagination and consequently released a <b><i>lying spirit</i></b> to speak through the mouths of Ahab’s four hundred prophets. This way Ahab would be enticed to go to battle against the Syrians in order to recover Ramoth-Gilead. However, the time had arrived for Ahab to be punished for his evil deeds. Indeed, as the story goes, Ahab was killed in the battle, and the dogs licked up his blood, according to the word that Elijah had spoken (1 Kings 21: 19).</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here is another similar account: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight every man against his brother and every man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; (…) The Lord has mingled within her (Egypt) a spirit of confusion; and they (the leaders of her tribes) have made Egypt stagger in all her doings as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.”</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Isa. 19: 1-2, 14) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">As we see, the prophet Isaiah, speaking, as he believes, on behalf of God, releases the evil spirits of division, enmity, civil war and<b><i> </i></b>confusion against the Egyptians, as a judgment for their idols. Again, I do not think God had anything to do with this oracle. How could the God of life, love and mercy stir up man against his brother and his neighbor, thus causing bloodshed and death? And what joy would the God of wisdom have by sowing confusion among the Egyptians? Would confusion lead them to repentance? Impossible! That’s why I believe that prophecies like this are simply curses, in which the prophet abuses the name of the Lord, taking it in vain. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The Bible tells us that the “eyes” and the “heads” of a nation are his prophets. However, if these <i>eyes </i>are closed and the<i> heads</i> are covered, the spirit of people falls asleep. Here is a verse to meditate upon: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers.”</i> (Isa. 29: 10) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Isaiah believes that it was God who stopped the prophets and the seers from warning and advising Israel; it was the Lord who poured upon the chosen people <b><i>a spirit of deep sleep</i></b>, i.e. a spirit of spiritual dullness. In my opinion, this is another misconception of Isaiah, for God does not want anyone to perish and does not promote the spiritual death of men, no matter how sinful they might be. On the contrary, God looks out for prophets and seers, in order to awaken people from their spiritual sleep. This will be verified in the chapter of Prophecy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">III: <b>Spirits of Nations</b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></b><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, ‘O man greatly beloved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.’ And when he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’ Then he said, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I am through with him, lo, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Dan. 10:18-21)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">From these verses it appears that each nation has its own spiritual <i>prince</i>, an angel or archangel that serves its interests. We are told that the <i>prince</i> of Israel was Michael. Whether these <i>princes</i> are real angelic beings, assigned over the nations by Divine Providence in the beginning of time, or man–created <b><i>ghosts </i></b>formed over the millennia by the solidification of the collective subconscious of people with the same language, religion and traditions, is a difficult philosophical question that only a true mystic could answer. Indeed such man-made ghosts could be all the local “gods” that are worshipped in shrines.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. (…) God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ (…) And he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;">(Ex. 3: 2, 4b, 6)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"> Here we have the introduction of <b><i>the angel of the Lord</i></b>. This <i>angel of the Lord</i> introduced himself as God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Who was he? Was he Michael, the <i>prince</i> of Israel? It is impossible for me to believe that the mighty Creator of the Universe would enter into any conversation with humans and reduce himself to a national deity of the Jewish patriarchs. This would mean to limit the Unlimited. </span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-AU">“But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"> (2 Samuel 7: 4-6)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"> If these words did not originate in Nathan’s imagination, then they must belong to a spiritual entity that claimed to be <i>the god of Israel.</i> Perhaps it was <i>the prince of Israel</i>. For the Creator of the Universe, who is God of all peoples, does not need man-made houses to dwell in. Indeed, as Paul said to the Athenians, <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The God, who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by man.”</span> </i>(Acts 17: 24) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;">God Almighty is omnipresent, while national <i>deities</i> need shrines…</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“For I bent Judah for myself as bow; I strongly bent Ephraim, and I raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; and I have made you as a warrior’s sword.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Zech. 9: 13)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Once again, the words quoted here cannot be words of the Holy Creator of the Universe. The heavenly Father of all people is not in the business of inciting one nation against another, nor does He have favorites among peoples. If the above words didn’t come out of the empathy of the prophet, they must have been the words of the same national spiritual entity, the <i>principality</i> called <i>‘prince of Israel’</i>.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> (</span>Rom. 8: 38-39).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">In the above verses, by the word <i>principality</i> the apostle Paul is most probably referring to spirits or celestial <i>princes</i> of nations. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The following verses confirm that these principalities over nations are not of flesh and blood, but they are <i>spiritual hosts</i> in heavenly places.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Eph. 6: 10- 12)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">IV: <b>Spirits of virtues or vices </b></span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you’.”</span></i><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Gen. 41: 38-39)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> So then, a man in whom the spirit of God is present will manifest discernment and wisdom. In other words, he will be filled with the spirit of discernment and the spirit of wisdom. The fact that virtues and talents are considered to be <i>spirits</i> is also evident in the next verses:<b></b></span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel (…), and I have filled him with divine spirit of wisdom and prudence and science and all manner of fine arts’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Ex. 31: 1-3) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">According to this verse, all virtues and talents are <i>spirits</i>. Are these <i>spirits or talents</i> man-made, inherited, cultivated in previous lives (if reincarnation is a fact) or are they separate entities existing in the Universe, “gifts” bestowed on man as God chooses? The answer to this is not a simple one. In my opinion, some virtues (spirits) could have been formed by man’s efforts, in this or previous lives, others could have been inherited and others still could be the gifts of the Spirit of God.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with you.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take of the spirit which is upon you, and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it alone. (…)’</span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Num. 11: 16-17, 24-25)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">From the above verses we understand that there is yet another way of obtaining a spiritual gift. This is by transference from someone who already possesses it. In this case Moses gave some of his spirit of prophecy to seventy elders of Israel by covering them with a cloud of spiritual energy that he had projected onto the air. In other cases of the O.T. this transference takes place by the anointing with sacred oil (Ex. 30: 30). In the N.T. the transference of spiritual gifts from one to another takes place with the laying on of hands.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> However, the above scriptures say that the elders prophesied only at that moment. They did not do so again. Apparently, the gifts of the Spirit that one receives by transference from another stay only temporarily. In order to keep them permanently, one has to acquire certain spiritual qualities by devotion to God. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here is another instance of spirit transference:<i> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; cause him to stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.”</span> </i>(Num. 27: 18-19)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> So Joshua, who already had <i>the spirit, </i>received some more spiritual gifts from Moses, when the latter laid his hands upon him.<i> </i>The next scripture confirms this: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><i style="color: #cc0000;">hands upon him;”</i> (Deut. 34: 9a)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> God makes a man wise by giving him of his good spirit: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“You gave them your good spirit to make them wise; and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water for their thirst.”</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Neh. 9: 20)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> If the above verse is literally true, then the question naturally arises: why doesn’t God give wisdom to all men? Why do most people are lacking in wisdom and create chaos in society? I don’t have the answer, but anyway we can always ask for wisdom in prayer and we may get a share of it.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> k</span><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">nowledge and of the fear of the Lord;”</span> </i>(Isa. 11: 2) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Once again the scriptures confirm that all good qualities in man are <i>spirits</i> given by God.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The following verse tells us that<i> </i>to be wise in heart is to be filled with the spirit of wisdom:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“And you shall speak unto all that are wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><i style="color: #cc0000;">of wisdom (…).”</i> (Ex. 28: 3)</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Build in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Psa. 51: 10-11)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> David asks God to “build” a clean heart in him and renew his spirit. He understands that virtues are something one has to work on, and prays for God’s help. He also believes that the <i>‘holy spirit’</i> could be taken away, if a man proves unworthy of it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> On the other hand, Isaiah believes that unless the Spirit of God is poured upon men from on high, people cannot produce spiritual fruit, i.e. virtues and values in their lives. Until then, thorns and briers grow in the land: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“Thorns and briers shall grow upon the land of my people; (…) until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, (…).”</i> (Isa. 32: 13a, 15a)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">But if this is true, what stops the Almighty from pouring <i>the spirit</i> upon us <i>from on high?</i> The answer must be: our hearts. We have free will and we must want and seek the presence of God’s spirit in our lives. Otherwise, our lives won’t be fruitful and will be like a wilderness.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here are some more scriptures on spirits of <i>virtues</i> and <i>vices</i> in man:</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“A talebearer reveals secrets; but he that is of a faithful spirit conceals the matter.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Prov. 11: 13) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Faithfulness is a good spirit, like every other virtue.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <i>proud.”</i> (Prov. 16: 19) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Humility is a gracious spirit, while pride is an evil spirit.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“The longsuffering in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Ecc. 7: 8b)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Bearing provocation patiently is a spiritual virtue. Pride is a vice.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“A man’s pride brings him low, but he who is of a lowly spirit will obtain honor.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Prov. 29:23) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">A man of a humble spirit will eventually be honored! But a man with a spirit of pride someday will be put to shame. Furthermore, as the next scripture confirms, the haughty spirit will work out man’s destruction:<i> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”</span></i> (Prov. 16: 18)</span></div>
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<i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And Hannah answered and said, ‘No my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Sam. 1: 15) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Here we are told that sorrow, too, is a <i>spirit</i>. If the spirit of sorrow brings man to repentance, then it is a good spirit. But if sorrow causes self-destructive thoughts, then it is an evil spirit and we must, by an act of will, cast it out, inviting in the spirit of joy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">This has been a brief analysis of the different categories of <i>spirits</i> found in the Bible. The subject of spirits is, of course, vast and the difficulty in fully grasping its various dimensions partly arises from our inability to accurately define what is a spirit and where from and how it originates. True knowledge of the spiritual world and how it interacts with man, presupposes true knowledge of our spiritual nature and the purpose of Creation. It is up to the reader to expand more on this subject, seeking perhaps more information from other sources. However, let us have no illusions that in this life it is possible to find all the answers to spiritual and metaphysical issues. In my opinion, those who claim to know all the answers are themselves deceived and they are dangerous of misguiding others. As long as we live, we must be open and seek more revelation on this subject, as indeed we must do with all spiritual matters.</span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-77646127277427565112010-11-12T10:53:00.000-08:002014-01-10T07:50:51.629-08:00The Biblical view of Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">The path to real progress, whether personal, social, national or global, passes through man’s self-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">realization</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">. The better we know the truth about ourselves, our spiritual nature, our potential for excellence and the higher purpose of this life, the closer will we be to experience inner peace, true love and blissfulness. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></strong></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Who are we? We all pretend to know; but how true is our knowledge? <i>“Know thyself”</i> said the ancient Greek sages; but how can we know ourselves? How does one go about it?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Since this book has the Bible as its only source and basis, we will endeavor to collect information about man from there. As with every other subject, we will search for relevant pieces of truth scattered throughout the scriptures. Indeed, the way the “<i>word of the Lord”</i> has been given to us is </span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <i>upon line, line upon</i> <i>line; here a little, and there a little;”</i></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Isa. 28:13a) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">This, of course, is not because, for some reason, God did not want to reveal all his truths to us at once, but because men, even the great prophets, grasped it little by little, and passed it down to us line upon line. Let us, then, see what the Bible says about man. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">I: <b>Man’s spiritual nature</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Man is divine and the most important “art” that he must learn in this life is </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">the art of...</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"> awakening and developing the inherent spiritual principle. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Let us see what the Bible tells us on this. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">First of all, the Bible states that God created man in his own image and likeness.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Gen. 2: 7)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The material by which God made man is soil, <i>“the dust of the ground.”</i> However, this body contains a living soul, the result of the breath God breathed into our nostrils. It follows, then, that we have a particle of God inborn in us, even His breath! A preceding verse confirms this: <i>“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” </i>(Gen 1: 27)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> According to the Bible, then, human beings, both males and females, are made in the image of God. Further down there is yet another verse that confirms this<i>: “In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; male and female created he them.” </i>(Gen. 5: 1b-2a)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">From the above verses, we can safely conclude that there is a basic element in man that is like God. Which is this? It is our spirit! The following verse clarifies it: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Thus says God, the Lord, (…). He who gives breath to the people upon it (the earth) and spirit to those who walk in it.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Isa. 42: 5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">So, man is a spiritual being, who lives in a physical body. The Bible also tells us that man is a little lower than the angels<i>: </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Heb. 2: 7)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> The fact that God put all the other creatures under man’s feet is also confirmed through the following two Biblical verses<i>. </i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Gen. 1: 28) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Psa. 8: 6)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> It is established, then, that man’s body is made of soil, yet he is a spiritual being, a little lower than the angels, and has been given dominion over all the other creatures. If man is superior to every other creature, it means that he is the only one made in the image and likeness of God, i.e. the only creature that has a moral conscience. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Bible goes even further:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“I say: <b>‘you are gods</b>; you are all sons of the Most High. However, you die as men and fall like every ruler’. ”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Psa. 82: 6-7)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Unfortunately, man is unaware of his divine nature, and thus he dies accordingly…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> What else does the spirit of man do?<i> </i>The following verse gives us a clue: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching everything that is in the innermost parts of the heart.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Prov. 20: 27) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Apparently, our spirit seems to do the work of what we call <i>‘conscience’.</i> We assume, then, that our conscience is a manifestation of our spirit, which is </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“the candle of the Lord”,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> a ray of God’s Spirit. The question now arises: is our <i>candle</i> always illuminated or do we have to set it alight ourselves in order to activate it? The answer to this will be more palpable if we liken our <i>candle</i> to an oil-lamp. When such “lamp” runs out of “oil”, then its light diminishes until eventually it goes totally off. Then we are talking about men with a sleepy or a <i>sheared</i> conscience.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The following scripture clarifies the issue further: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Surely there is a spirit in man; however, the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Job 32: 8) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“inspiration of the Almighty”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> is the <i>oil</i> that our <i>lamp</i> needs in order to shine and search effectively our innermost being. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">A bright spirit not only searches our heart and shows us the right way, but it also strengthens us. </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“The spirit of man sustains his infirmity; but a broken spirit who can bear?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Prov.18: 14)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">This is good news! If our spirit is strong, then it can sustain the whole man. It can heal our body and liberate our soul from bondages.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Let us now see what the New Testament says about the spirit of man:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The <b>spirit</b> of man is the entity that gives life to the body, for </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“<i>the body</i> </span><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">without the spirit is dead.”</span> </i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(James 2: 26a)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The spirit is nothing less than God’s principle, the </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“kingdom of God”,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> within man: <i>“Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”</i></span> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Luke 17: 21b)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Indeed, man’s body is the temple of God’s spirit. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, asked them: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (1 Cor. 3: 16) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Continuing on the same subject, in his second epistle to the Corinthians, Paul writes: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (2 Cor. 4: 7) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> What a great spiritual treasure we carry in our body, in this <i>earthen vessel</i>!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> The spirit, however, needs nourishment and its “food” comes from the word of God: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Matt. 4: 4)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Many people identify the spirit with the mind. However, the next scripture makes it clear that these are two distinct entities: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of man which is in him?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(1 Cor. 2: 11a) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">So then, the spirit of man is the <b>knower</b> while the mind with its products – the thoughts – is the object of knowing. Our spirit constantly examines our thoughts, and with a </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“still, small voice”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> whispers to us, indicating whether we are in the right path or not. How many of us and how often understand and take heed of its subtle warnings? It is my firm belief that the most important issue in human spirituality, and the most difficult one, is to be able to hear our <i>inner voice</i> clearly. This of course presupposes that our spirit, i.e. the </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">inner man</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">,</span> is strong. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">How, then, could one have a strong spirit? Mainly, by adhering to God’s principles.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Communication with God, through prayer and meditation, is another means of strengthening our spirit. Here is what Paul says: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“That he (God) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Eph.3: 16) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Unlike our body, this <i>inner man</i> doesn’t grow old. On the contrary, through faith in God and obedience to his precepts, it is renewed daily: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is wasting away, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (2 Cor. 4: 16)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> This is excellent news! Our spirit does not get wrinkled with age.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">II: <b>Man’s soul</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> There is yet another element in man that we must examine. Man has also a <b><i>soul</i></b><i>. </i>In the Bible, and especially in the Old Testament, the words <b><i>soul</i></b> and <b><i>heart</i></b> are sometimes used instead of the word <b><i>spirit,</i></b> and thus it becomes difficult to distinguish the difference between them. For example, in the verse, </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Prov. 17: 22), one assumes that <i>heart</i> and <i>spirit</i> are the same thing. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Likewise, in the verse, </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Psa. 42: 2), David refers rather to his spirit; for it is our spirit that longs to be united with the Spirit of God. Indeed it is our spirit that cries out </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Abba! Father!”</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Yes, it is our spirit that craves for the presence of God, while the soul rather pulls man to the opposite direction, yielding to the satisfaction of the senses and the desires of the flesh.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> What, then, is our <b>soul</b>? From what the Bible tells us, we conclude that the soul is the instrument through which man relates to the material world; it is the essence of our personality, which expresses itself through the will, the emotions and the mind, although the mind, to some degree, is also related to the spirit. This is an area where the borderline between spirit and soul is not easily discernable, and one needs the revelation of the Spirit of God and <i>the word of God</i> in order to distinguish between them. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Let us meditate on what Paul said about this matter: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Heb. 4: 12)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Presumably, to rightly divide between <i>spirit</i> and <i>soul</i> we need the help of the word of God, just as we need it to discern the quality of our thoughts and the intentions of our <i>heart</i>.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The New Testament is very clear about the tripartite nature of man. Here is the most definite verse on this subject: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you wholly; and may your <b>spirit</b>, <b>soul</b> and <b>body</b> be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (1 Thess. 5: 23)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Bible also tells us that the soul of man needs <i>salvation and rest</i>, and this state can be found only in fellowship with God. Let us see what David says:<i> </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“For truly my <b>soul</b> finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. (…) For you, O my <b>soul</b>, find rest in God alone; for my expectation is from Him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Psa. 62: 1, 5) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">In the following Psalm, we read: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Thus will I bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My <b>soul</b> will be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Psa. 63: 4-5)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> David had experienced that in God’s praise his soul found nourishment and fulfillment. Praise, then, is the best <i>food</i> for the soul. However, adhering to God’s will and decrees is even better. Furthermore, if our soul clings to God, then God will support us: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“My soul clings to you; your right hand supports me.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Psa. 63: 8)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">The soul, however, does not seem to be eternal. Jesus talked about it<i>: </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Matt. 10: 28) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">It appears, then, that the <i>soul</i> is mortal. In Revelation, there is mention of the <b>“second death”</b>: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: he who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Rev. 2: 11) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Most probably, this <i>second death</i> concerns the <i>soul</i> of man. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Regarding the death of the soul and how it can escape it, we shall examine more verses in the chapter of Salvation. Here I must stress that occasionally I may have to quote a verse from the Bible more than once. This is because many subjects overlap each other, just as some of the functions of man’s spirit overlap those of the soul.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">III: <b>Man’s body</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Man’s body is<b> mortal</b>. This is something we all very well know and don’t need the scriptures to confirm it to us. Anyway, let me quote some verses on this: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“All (men) go unto one place; all are of dust, and all turn to dust again.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">(Eccl. 3: 20) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">However, in the next verse, Ecclesiastes wonders what happens to the spirit of man: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Eccl. 3: 21) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> In yet another chapter, Ecclesiastes seems to be certain of what happens to the spirit after death:<i> </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Eccl. 12: 7) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">In conclusion, while our body is mortal, our spirit is immortal! It couldn’t have been otherwise, since our spirit is a part of God’s Spirit that is eternal, i.e. without beginning and without end. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Paul also confirms that our visible body is <b>temporary</b>, while the unseen (<i>inner</i> <i>man</i> or spirit) is eternal: <i> </i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (2 Cor. 4: 18)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">Yet, we do have to fix our eyes on our temporary body too, and take good care of it, because it is our precious vehicle to realize God and fulfill our divine purpose in this life. As the scripture tells us, this <i>earthen vessel</i> is the temple of God!</span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-70468105061749817332010-09-30T01:55:00.000-07:002014-01-10T07:56:00.199-08:00The man Jesus Christ in the Bible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="color: #3d85c6; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US">What does <i>‘Christ’</i> mean? The word comes from the Greek <i>‘Christos’</i></span><i><span lang="EN-AU">,</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> which means <i>anointed</i>. There is no doubt that Jesus was <i>anointed</i> by the Holy Spirit to do the works of God. Now, whether this anointing took place upon his baptism in the river Jordan or at the end of his forty-days’ fasting in the wilderness, where he overcame all <i>temptations</i>, we cannot be sure. We know, however, that if someone is anointed by God, he has been vested with power to do <i>miracles</i>. And there is no doubt that Jesus was anointed, i.e. baptized<i> “with the Holy Spirit and with fire”.</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us now examine what the Scriptures say about the characteristics and the offices that Christians attribute to Jesus.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I:<b> Born of a virgin </b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is an article of the Christian Creed that Jesus was born of Virgin Mary and that his Father was the Holy Spirit! Some people argue that believing or not in this doctrine would be irrelevant to one’s spiritual walk. In my opinion, this doctrine is not completely harmless. Indeed it has some negative...</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> side effects. The primary one is the presumption that since the rest of us are born of human fathers and not of the Holy Spirit, we cannot be like Jesus and we cannot do the works He did! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But is this doctrine true? Let us contemplate on the following scriptures:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 1:18)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> So, Joseph’s blood had nothing to do with Jesus. Yet, in order to support the prophecy that Jesus was a descendant of David, Matthew gives Joseph’s genealogy! And this is so important that he starts his Gospel with this:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <i>“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.</i></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;(…) and Matthan begat Jacob;</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Matt. 1: 1-16)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The credibility of these scriptures is in much want. Jesus is either the natural son of Joseph or he was born of the Holy Spirit and he is not the <i>son of David</i>. He couldn’t have it both ways. But Jesus, of course, was not responsible for what was written about him long after his crucifixion…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To make things even worse, Luke referring to Jesus’ genealogy does not agree with Matthew. The discrepancy starts even with the father of Joseph! Here is the relevant scripture: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.”</i> (Luke 3: 23)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another instance that shows that even Mary had ‘forgotten’ the message of the angel Gabriel that she, by the Holy Spirit, would bear a son who would be called <i style="color: #cc0000;">“the Son of the most High”</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>is the following:</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. </span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Every one who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">‘Why were you searching for me?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he was saying to them.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 2: 41-50)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mary and Joseph did not understand what Jesus was saying to them! Was it so difficult to guess which Father was Jesus talking about? After all, Jesus was conceived ‘miraculously’… Had they forgotten such a great event?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us look at more scriptures on the subject:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">“<span style="color: #cc0000;">Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 1: 4</span><span style="color: black;">6</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Philip could have told Nathaniel that he had found Jesus, the son of Virgin Mary, but he didn’t. Apparently he had no idea about it and it wasn’t necessary for Jesus to be born of a Virgin!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven’. They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 6: 41-42)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Jews knew that Joseph was the father of Jesus. It is impossible to believe that Joseph pretended to be the father of Jesus, if he knew that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Even if, for various reasons, he had to keep it secret when Jesus was a child, he should disclose the great truth now, when Jesus had launched his mission and was trying so hard to convince the Jews of his divine authority. It is amazing that the miraculous conception of Christ that the Jews didn’t know during Jesus’ lifetime was disclosed to the Greeks and Romans some three centuries later!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they were offended in him. (…)”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 13: 53-57a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From these verses we learn that Jesus was not only Joseph’s son! He also had brothers and sisters! In other words, his mother Mary gave birth to other children beside him. Consequently she didn’t remain virgin, as the Christians believe.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For those who suggest that Joseph never made any intercourse with Mary, not even after the birth of Jesus, and that he was a widower, his other children being half-brothers and half-sisters of Jesus, I shall quote the following verses:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:</i></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">And knew her not </span><b style="color: #cc0000;">till</b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> she had brought forth her firstborn son; and he called his name JESUS.” </span>(Matt.1: 24-25)</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The last verse implies that Joseph, after the birth of Jesus, <b><i>knew</i></b> his wife, i.e. he slept with her, and naturally Mary gave birth to her other children.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">II:<b> Son of God</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The main line Christian Denominations believe that Christ is the <i>only begotten Son of</i> <i>God.</i> In fact this is a basic article of the Christian Creed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first time we find the term <b><i>Son of</i></b> <b><i>God</i></b> in the New Testament is in the Gospel of Luke, chapter <b>1 </b>and verse <b>35: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And the angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy (child) which will be born of you shall be called <b>son of God.</b>”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">I have translated this verse directly from the original Greek version where, unlike the English versions, the article ‘<b>the</b>’ before ‘<b>son of God’</b> does not exist. Also, the word ‘<b>son</b>’ is not written with capital ‘S’. This verse is, in my opinion, the most important for the student of Christianity. </span><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We must also take notice of the verb <i>‘call’</i>. The child <b>shall be called </b><i>‘son of God’</i>. The scripture doesn’t say, ‘the child <b>will be</b> the Son of God’. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us now examine other scriptures to see if the term <i>‘son of God’</i> were common in the Bible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my first-born son, and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me; (…)’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Ex.4: 22-23a). </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here Israel is called not just ‘<i>son’ </i>but ‘<i>first-born son’. </i>And what does God expect from a son? According to this scripture, He expects service.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“You are the sons of the Lord your God; (…).”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Deut. 14: 1a) Apparently, all Israel are called ‘<i>sons of God’.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">“<span style="color: #cc0000;">But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord, (…) I will raise up your offspring after you, (…) He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. (…)’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (2 Sam. 7: 4-5a, 12b, 13-14a) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is a reference to Solomon, David’s son, who was to build a <i>house</i> for the Lord. As a result, he would become God’s<i> son.</i> It was common in Old Testament times for those who cared about the worship of Jehovah to be called <i>sons of God</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“He (the Lord) said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (1 Chr.28: 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> According to the writer, God actually chooses whom to <i>adopt!</i> In the spiritual sense, God is not the Father of everybody, but only of those who are special to Him, i.e. those whose heart is after God! As to who makes the first step, whether it is man of his own free will who first decides to be spiritually adopted by God, or if God predestines some to be the spiritually elect, I do not have the answer. To me, this is a mystery.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not deal falsely’; and he became their Savior. (…) You, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from old is your name.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 63: 8, 16b)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Here Isaiah puts words in the mouth of God calling all Israel <i>sons</i>. The prophet believes that God is the <i>Father</i> and <i>Redeemer</i> of all Israel. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“I myself said, ‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">”</span> (Jer.3: 19) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jeremiah, speaking on behalf of God, says that He (God) would like to treat the Israelites as <i>sons</i> and give them a <i>desirable land</i> so that they would follow Him and call Him <i>Father.</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jer. 31:9b)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Here is one more verse in which God claims to be <i>a father to Israel</i>. Moreover, He considers the tribe of Ephraim as his <i>first-born</i>, since Jacob (whom the angel renamed ‘Israel’) had blessed him with his right hand, putting him ahead of Manasseh. (Gen. 48)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Hos. 1: 10)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Hosea prophesies that the people of Israel will be called <i>‘sons of the living God’, </i>although it was said to them before,<i> ‘you are not my people’. </i>In other words, divine adoption is not a permanent state. One could lose his status as <i>son of God</i> if he rejects the Lord’s commandments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Hos. 11: 1)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once again God, supposedly speaking through Hosea, calls Israel, ‘<i>my son’</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All the verses I quoted above reveal the passion of Jewish prophets to make Israel <i>sons of God. </i>They longed for God to be Israel’s<i> Father. </i>We also saw certain anointed kings being called <i>sons of God</i>. It was natural then for Jesus Christ to be called <i>Son of God, </i>more so<i> </i>since he often referred to God as his Father.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is yet another verse in the Old Testament where all the people of Israel are called not just sons of God but even gods:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <i style="color: #cc0000;">“I said, ‘You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you die as men, and fall like one of the princes’.”</i> (Psa. 82: 6-7)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Naturally, if <b>all</b> men are <i>sons of the Most High,</i> they must partake in His divine nature, i.e. they must be potentially <i>gods,</i> although they don’t know it.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">– Let us now see what the New Testament says about divine sonship, and particularly what Jesus said about himself and his heavenly Father. Did he claim to be the unique, the only begotten <i>Son of God</i>?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (…) And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Matt. 4: 1,3) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the beginning of Jesus’ mission, the devil, having taken the permission of the Holy Spirit, tempted Jesus in what he had claimed to be, i.e. <i>Son of God</i>. If Jesus considered himself to be <i>the Second Person of the Holy Trinity</i> and <i>equal to God</i>, as Christians believe, the tempter would challenge him on this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so violent that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, saying: What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before our time?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 8: 28-29)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Here we have the demons, speaking through the demoniacs of Gergesenes, addressing Jesus, whom they had not seen before, as <i>Son of</i> <i>God</i>, acknowledging that he had power over them. Notice that they didn’t address him as God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “Blessed be the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt.5: 9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus said that all peacemakers shall be called <i>sons of God</i>. Peace is so important for the welfare of mankind that those who endeavor to establish it among men shall be called <i>sons of God.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 5: 44-45) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another sure way to become sons and daughters of our heavenly Father and manifest some of His qualities is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blaspheme; because you, being a man, make yourself God.’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, you are gods?” If he called them gods to whom the word of God came – and the scripture cannot be broke – do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God?” If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 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 am in the Father’.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 10: 31-39) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Through the above verses we see that Jesus, trying to defend himself before the Jews, who accused him of blasphemy, did not assert that he was the <i>only begotten</i> Son of God. On the contrary, he reminded them the verse from the Old Testament where God said to all Israel, <i>‘you</i> <i>are gods’</i>. Then he went on to say that he was consecrated by the Father to come to the world with a mission and in this capacity he was the Son of God. It remains for us to discern if Jesus was <b><u>the</u></b> Son of God or <b><u>a</u></b> Son of God. The following scriptures will help us to answer this question.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mark 3: 34-35) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus calls all those who do the will of God, <i>brothers and sisters</i>. In other words, whosoever does the will of God is a <i>son of God,</i> just as Jesus was.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “Jesus said to her, ‘Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my <b>brothers</b> and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(John 20: 17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> By these words Jesus asserts, once again, that God, his Father, is also God and Father of his disciples. Apparently, he does not claim to be anything different from his disciples.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rom. 8: 13-14)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In this verse Paul is absolutely clear on this matter. Who are the sons of God? The answer is: those who are led by the Spirit of God. If we want to become sons and daughters of God, we must think, speak and act as the Spirit of God leads us. We all have the potential to become God’s <i>sons;</i> but how many of us are prepared to deny ourselves and totally surrender our will to the Holy Spirit as Jesus did? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified together.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rom.8: 16-17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus is an heir of God. If he were God himself he couldn’t become an heir. Someone who owns a property cannot inherit it. He already possesses it. And all those for whom the Spirit of God bears witness that they are <i>children of God</i> are <b><i>joint-heirs</i></b> with Christ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the </span><b style="color: #cc0000;">sons of God</b><span style="color: #cc0000;">.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Rom. 8: 19)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The whole creation longs for the revealing of the <i>sons of God</i>. St. Paul is talking about those who live sacred lives, going about their Father’s business; those who lay down their lives for the benefit of humanity; those who uphold the principles and values of God; the peacemakers; the embodiments of love, truth and power; the light of the world. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">III:<b> Redeemer</b></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. </span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples, a light to enlighten the gentiles and for glory of your people Israel’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 2: 25-32)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Simeon, a righteous and devout man, had read the scriptures and waited for the long-promised Messiah, someone who would be sent by God for<b><i> the consolation of Israel.</i></b> Indeed Israel, now more than ever, was miserably harassed and oppressed by the Romans and hence in need of an anointed leader, a Messiah. Of course, as we all know, this kind of ‘Messiah’ is still expected today by the Orthodox Jews…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is interesting to notice in the above verses that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon. Yet, he failed to discern that this baby, “<i>the Lord’s Christ”</i>, wouldn’t be <i>“for the glory of your</i> <i>people Israel”</i>, since the Jews would reject him as Messiah. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">“<span style="color: #cc0000;">And there was a prophetess, Anna, (…); she was of a great age, (…). She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him (the child Jesus) to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Luke 2: 36-38)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here we have another eyewitness, Anna, a prophetess, a woman who worshipped and prayed in the temple day and night. As the rest of the Jews, she, too, was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. This prophetess recognized the redeemer of Jerusalem in the face of the child Jesus. However, as we all know, Jerusalem, instead of being redeemed, was totally ruined during the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in 66-70 A.D.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Isa. 52: 9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In this, as well as in most prophecies of the Old Testament, it is clear that Isaiah expected the Lord to redeem Jerusalem. The Jews never expected a Messiah who, </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">by his death, </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">would ‘<i>pay for the sins of the whole world’.</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The Christians believe that the following verses speak of Jesus Christ and his redemptive work on the cross. Let us study them carefully.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“(The) Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But you shall be named Priests of the Lord; men shall call you ministers of our God; you shall eat the riches of the gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast yourselves. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord has blessed.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 61: 1-2, 4-6, 9) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once again, Isaiah speaks of someone who would redeem Israel, a Messiah, who would proclaim liberty to the captives. If we assume that the scripture refers to <i>captives</i> of sin then it would be difficult to explain the verses that speak of the <i>repair of waste</i> <i>cities</i>, of <i>strangers </i>who will serve the Jews and of Jews who will <i>eat the riches of the Gentiles.</i> In my opinion, these scriptures speak of the restoration of Israel, something that we have seen happening in our days.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Behold, my servant, whom I upheld; my elect, in whom my soul found delight; I have put my spirit upon him; he will announce judgment to the nations.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Isa. 42: 1) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The prophet here speaks of a <b><i>servant</i></b> who will announce judgment <b><i>to the nations</i></b>. In Biblical language, <b><i>nations</i></b> are the Gentiles, i.e. all peoples except of the Jews. If the scripture spoke of a redeemer of mankind from the so-called <i>original sin,</i> then the Jews should have been included in this prophecy.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us now see what the New Testament says about the Messiah and especially what Jesus himself said about his mission.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 5: 17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Here Jesus affirms that he came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, and had no intension of abolishing the law. The question is how he interpreted those prophecies. Did he believe himself to be the redeemer of all mankind or just of the Jews? The following verses answer this question.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.’ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’ He answered, <b>‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel</b>.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ And he answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 15: 22-28) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The words of Jesus leave no room for misunderstanding. He claimed that he was sent <b>only to the lost sheep of Israel</b>. These only were the children of God! The others, i.e. the Gentiles, were <i>dogs</i>! How diminishing for the nations! Because of this verse, the enemies of Christianity attribute to Jesus a chauvinistic spirit. Jesus, of course, meant that the idolatrous Gentiles were no different to animals in their understanding of spiritual things. In any case, no matter how hard the Christian theologians have tried to justify this scripture, the truth is obvious: Jesus did not think of himself as a universal Savior, a Redeemer of mankind from the <i>“original sin”.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US">“And when his family heard about this, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’.</span></i><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">And the teachers of the law, who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;">(Mark 3: 21-22) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Part of Jesus’ mission had to do with delivering the lost sheep of Israel from demons. Yet, because of this, his family thought he was out of his mind. Worse still, the teachers of the law said that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebub, and that by his power he was driving out demons! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And what did Jesus say to them? In the next two verses he answers to their accusations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="color: black;"> </span></i><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 12: 27-28) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So then, even the sons of the Jews were able to cast out demons! And, of course, they did this not by Beelzebub but by the Spirit of God, just as Jesus himself was doing. Moreover Jesus said that the casting out of demons was also the verification that the kingdom of God had come upon them! Here it is explained which is the nature of God’s kingdom! Jesus believed the <i>kingdom of God</i> to be spiritual, manifesting in the heart of man when the Spirit of God expels the evil spirits from there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 5: 30-31) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These verses verify that Jesus did not believe that he had come as a universal Savior of mankind from some <i>original sin</i> that had poisoned all humans. If he did, he would have confessed so. He came only for the sick, the sinners, the demon-possessed, and all those who couldn’t make it in life. Such people needed a <i>doctor</i>!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Acts 10: 38) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In this verse Luke confirms which was Jesus’ mission and by whose power he fulfilled it. His mission was to do good, to heal the sick and deliver those who were oppressed by the devil. And Jesus did all these things because God was with him, and not because he was God, the second person of the <i>Holy Trinity</i>. The same works did the Apostles and all men of God throughout history.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, (…).</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">‘Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works, wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, (…)”.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Acts 2: 14a, 22)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Here is one more verse that verifies that Jesus was only an instrument of God. Through Jesus, God did signs and wonders!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 14: 1-2)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Where did Jesus go after his death? Did he go to take his place on the right hand of the Father and govern the Universe with Him and the Holy Spirit? No! According to his words, he went to prepare a place, another <b><i>mansion,</i></b> for his followers! If this is true, then in the spiritual realm <b><i>there are many mansions</i></b>, many departments, where probably each Master gathers the souls of his followers! This is what we understand from the words of Jesus, although personally I believe that the many spiritual mansions refer rather to different stages of spirituality.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">IV: <b>One with the Father</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“I and the Father are one.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 10:30)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Perhaps there is no other scripture in the Bible more misunderstood than this one. What did Jesus actually mean? Did he mean that he was God himself, as Christians believe? The following verses will help us clarify the issue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“Do you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 14: 10-11)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus admitted that he did not speak on his own authority. He spoke on behalf of his Father who dwelt in him. It was also the Father who did the miraculous works of Jesus. Who was that Father? It was the Spirit of God! The next verse verifies it:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”</span> </i>(Matt. 12: 28)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">So then, being in the Father means being in the Spirit. But this wasn’t a unique situation for Jesus only. We all have the potential to be one with the Father. How?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 15: 10)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus abided in God’s love because he kept God’s commandments. We can do the same. Primarily, as the following scripture confirms, if we love one another then God abides in us. In other words, by loving one another <b>we are</b> <b>in</b> <b>the Father</b> and <b>the Father is in us</b>, i.e. we are <b>one with God</b>, who is Love!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> “Beloved let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. (…). No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, </span><b style="color: #cc0000;">God abides in us</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">and his love is perfected in us. (…) God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(1 John 4: 7, 12, 16b)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The recipe, then, is simple and straightforward: to abide in God we must abide in love! Then we will be <b>one with Jesus</b> and <b>one with the Father.</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">V:<b> Inferior to the Father</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 14: 28b)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The verse is very clear on this: the Father is greater than the Son. So, Jesus does not support the doctrine of equality of three persons in the <i>Holy Trinity</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“My sheep listen to my voice; (…) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 10: 27a, 29)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once again Jesus declares that the Father is greater than all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 24: 36)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If the three persons of the <i>Holy Trinity</i> were equal and inseparable, as the Christians believe, then there couldn’t be any secrets among them. Whatever the Father knew the other two persons would also know. But the above verse leaves no doubts on this. There are things that only the Father knows!</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Jews answered him, ‘Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">‘I am not possessed by a demon’ said Jesus, ‘but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 8: 40a, 48-50)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The truth that Jesus came to tell the world was not his own! He <b>heard</b> it from his Father! And Jesus was not seeking glory for himself. Let them who praise and glorify Jesus contemplate on these scriptures...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Mark 10: 17-18)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus even denies that he is good! He says that <b>God alone is good</b>! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What more evidence do we need that Jesus did not believe himself to be God?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Then Jesus said unto them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority; but <b>I speak just what the</b> <b>Father has taught me</b>. And He who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone; for I always do what is pleasing to Him’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 8: 28-29)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, it was the Father who taught Jesus the truth! And Jesus did nothing on his own authority. We have already seen a similar affirmation of Jesus in John 14:10. By these words Jesus confirms that the Father is greater than he, and he implies that if he didn’t do what was pleasing to God, the Almighty would abandon him!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“In that day you will ask nothing of me. (…) And I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(John 16: 23a, 26b, 27-28)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> This scripture answers clearly to those who believe that we cannot approach directly the Father in prayer but only through the name of Jesus, as mediator. Here Jesus instructed his followers not to pray to him when he leaves this world.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (...) Why are you trying to kill me?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">‘You are demon-possessed’, the crowd answered. ‘Who is trying to kill you?’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">Jesus said to them, (…) Why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 7: 16-17, 19b, 20, 21a, 23b, 24)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If one chooses to do God’s will, i.e. to follow the guidance of the <i>inner man</i>, or the spirit within, then the same will know that Jesus’ teaching was not his own; it wasn’t human teaching but divine. The spirit of man, being a ray of God’s Spirit, confirms to us which teaching is of God. However, only those who are prepared to do the will of God discern this. The others, who look for easy solutions without effort and pain, will follow every wind of doctrine that serves their selfish interests, deceiving and being deceived.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">VI:<b> Prophet</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jesus considered himself a prophet. His disciples and the crowds, who followed him during his ministry believing his message, also considered him a prophet. The following scriptures testify to this:</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for surely <b>no prophet</b> can die outside Jerusalem!</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 13: 33-34)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As a prophet whom God sent to the Jews, Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem’s children together and guide them to the right path. However, they were not willing. Worse still, they planned to kill him in Jerusalem, as they had done to many other prophets before him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“For Jesus himself testified that a <b>prophet</b> has no honor in his own country.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(John 4: 44)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US"> “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said to them, ‘<b>A prophet</b> is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house’. And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Matt. 13: 57-58) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the previous two verses Jesus leaves no doubt to us that he considered himself a prophet and nothing more. That’s why he was not surprised that he could not do many miracles in Nazareth, his hometown. His family as well as his compatriots did not take him seriously. Some might have been jealous of him. This was usual for a prophet and it is verified throughout the ages. It is almost an axiom. Other prophets, before Jesus, had not been accepted by their own people. He couldn’t be an exception.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“When the people saw the sign which he (Jesus) had done, they said, ‘this is indeed the <b>prophet</b> who is to come into the world!’”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(John 6:14)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The sign was the feeding of the multitudes with five barley loaves and two fish. Indeed the Jews expected a prophet to come to the world, and some recognized him in Jesus.</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, <b>the prophet</b> from Nazareth in Galilee’.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 21: 1-11) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Apparently, the crowds that believed and followed Jesus who was riding on a donkey, in his triumphant entrance to Jerusalem, considered Jesus a prophet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, <b>who was a prophet</b> mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Luke 24: 19- 20)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These are the words of two of Jesus’ disciples on their way to a village called <i>Emmaus</i>, after his crucifixion. Even his disciples considered Jesus as a mighty prophet and nothing more!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">VII:<b> Son of man</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jesus frequently referred to himself as <b><i>Son of man</i></b><i>.</i> He obviously wanted to emphasize that he was born as man. The title is also used in the Old Testament. In the vision of Ezekiel, the prophet is addressed as <b><i>son of man</i></b><i> </i>many<i> </i>times. I shall quote only one such case:</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><i style="color: #cc0000;">“And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me’.”</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Ezek.3: 16-17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are many instances in the life of Jesus recorded in the Bible where he appears to have all the characteristics and the weaknesses of a <i>son of man</i>. I shall quote here a few of them, leaving the analysis and comments to the reader.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine’. And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come’.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(John 2: 1-4)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Immediately after this conversation with his mother, Jesus performed his first miracle, i.e. he turned the water into wine, although he had said that his hour had not yet come!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ And he answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs’.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 15: 25-26)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he (Jesus) was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’. And the disciples heard it.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(Mark 11: 12-14)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Matt. 23: 27)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 7: 44-46)</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. (…)</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>(John 11:2, 12: 1-3)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’ ”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (John 21: 20)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">“He said to them, ‘But now, let him who has no purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. (…) And they said, ‘Look, Lord, here are two swords’. And he said to them, ‘It is enough’.” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Luke 22:36, 38)</span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When some of those standing there heard this, they said, ‘He’s calling Elijah.’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. But the rest said, ‘Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.’</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;"><span lang="EN-US">And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Matt. 27: 45-50)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As I close the chapter on Christ, I would like to stress one more time that my intention to make this blog was not to disturb other peoples’ faith, nor to offend the Christians’ dearest name of Jesus. My aim is to serve the Truth. I believe that humanity is caught up in a spiritual warfare, in a perpetual war between truth and lies, between light and darkness. This war is taking place first and foremost in the spiritual realm and is transferred on this earth through the various contending religions and philosophies.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This spiritual warfare is not going to stop until the Truth prevails. Never mind what efforts the World Council of Churches and other religious and philosophical organizations make, in order to establish peace and understanding among the nations, they will always fail. Religious deception, i.e. lies, can never form a sound foundation for peace in the world. Lies covering up each other and presented as truths cannot become the light of the world. Truth cannot coexist peacefully with lies. That’s why Jesus said<i>: <span style="color: #cc0000;">“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword”.</span></i> (Matt. 10: 34) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The unfortunate thing is that all the wars that were waged in Jesus’ name had nothing to do with the propagation of the truth he had spoken. They originated in deception around his name, nature and mission, and that’s why they had been disastrous for humankind.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last I want to quote a statement, supposedly made by Jesus, which terrifies any Christian who would attempt to break the chains of deception and embrace the truth: <i style="color: #cc0000;">“I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me”.</i> (John 14: 6) Now, if this were true, then God would be unjust and should answer to countless human beings who lived before, during the lifetime and after the death of Jesus, but never heard of him</span>!</span></span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-78672246871856510902010-09-29T13:34:00.000-07:002014-01-10T08:00:54.040-08:00God is One in the Bible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US">To rightly describe God, the Ultimate Reality, the Absolute Light, the basis of all existence, requires divine wisdom, communion and perfect union with the Almighty. It requires entering into the very Essence of God! This, of course, presupposes absolute purity of one’s heart and mind, something that can be attained by freeing ourselves of everything that is </span><span lang="EN-GB">born of ignorance.</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Being aware of my personal limitations, I proceed to the first chapter of this blog with awe. Anyway, I am convinced that nobody can really know God through the description of others – even if those were some of the Bible writers – although all this admittedly helps. We can enter into the true knowledge of God only when we transcend the ego-consciousness,...</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> stop identifying ourselves with the body and become conscious of our own essential divine nature. This should be the Goal of our life, if we are to experience constant bliss, regardless of the circumstances we are facing.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From the beginning of time, man sought to know and communicate with his maker and the maker of all visible creation. He took it for granted that God existed. His assumption was reasonable. Everything that exists, even a tiny pin, has its maker and a purpose. So, beholding the majesty, the order and the wisdom of Creation, we would be fools to assume that the Universe was formed by chance, by nobody. Such an assumption would defile common sense. For sure, then, there must exist a Creator, a Supreme Being that conceived and laid out the wonders of this Universe. We cannot prove it, but it makes sense; it satisfies our logic far more than the opposite.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us now see what the Bible says about God. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I:<b> Creator</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God”,</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> said St. Paul<i> </i>(Heb. 11: 3a).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> By faith, then, we understand that someone created the Universe, someone who <b>was from the beginning</b>, a self-existent Supreme Mind, Spiritual Energy with intelligence, a Spirit without beginning or end! Every other assumption is illogical and leads to absurdities and confusion. The Greek word for God is “Theos” and derives from the past tense of the ancient verb “tithimi”, which means: to decide, define, place. So, God is the One who <b>decided</b> the creation of the Universe, <b>defined</b> the sovereign laws by which it would be governed and <b>placed</b> the world in its place!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And how did God create the world? By His word, says the Bible. God “spoke” and the world came to pass. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Man’s mind, of course, stops when the question of who was the maker of God arises in his heart. He cannot take it any further. He cannot comprehend that there could be someone without beginning. This is too much for the capacity of his finite mind. The Bible does not attempt to give an answer to this question, nor does it argue about the existence of God. It takes it for granted that God <b>IS</b>. This is indisputable. He is the great <b>“I AM”.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (…) Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’;”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Gen. 1: 1, 26a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Creation was God’s good pleasure and, some say, His need. The Self-realization comes when one starts creating something. Moreover, in creating man in His own image, God might have wanted to make, out of a universal and impersonal Spirit, human beings with the potential to become personal gods. Could the secret of God’s creation of man lie somewhere here? In Revelation (19: 7) there is mention of a mystical marriage between Christ (the <i>Lamb</i>) and the <i>Bride</i>, which is believed to be the Church. Could the esoteric meaning of this be the <i>marriage</i>, i.e. the perfect union, between the personal soul and the impersonal spirit (the embodiment of divine law) in man? I leave the answer to this most important question to each one of the readers, as we all need divine revelation on this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> seas <i>and all that is in them. You give</i> <i>life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”</i></span> (Neh. 9: 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Nehemiah, just as all the prophets of the Old Testament, believes that God is the Creator of everything that exists: the highest heavens, the heavens, their starry host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them! The prophet also sees that the multitudes of heaven worship God. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I wish we could say the same about human beings…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ecclesiastes asserts that God is the maker of all things and he admits that it is only natural that man cannot understand the works of God, since he doesn’t even know how his bones were formed in his mother’s womb: <span style="color: #cc0000;">“<i>As you do not know what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones are formed into a mother’s womb, so you cannot</i> <i>understand the work of God, the maker of all things.”</i> </span>(Eccl. 11: 5)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Psa. 19:1) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">David seems to run out of words beholding the grandeur of the heavens and the skies, which but declare the glory of God! Elsewhere the psalmist repeats what was a common belief for the people of the Old Testament: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (…) For he spoke, and it came to</i> <i>be; he commanded, and it stood forth.”</i></span> (Psa. 33: 6, 9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> God’s Word is creative. He “speaks” and things come into existence. Apparently, the psalmist assumes that God is a person and that He speaks as we do. (In my humble opinion, we need revelation on this, since the belief in a personal God leaves many questions unanswered.)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In other places the Bible states that God creates by his Spirit: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“When you</i> <i>send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”</i></span> (Psa. 104: 30). </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To try to describe how God creates, if He speaks, just thinks, or if He simply desires and it comes to be, is to try the impossible. We simply project to God our own characteristics and our own limitations. Our mental faculties don’t have the capability to conceive and our language doesn’t have the vocabulary to describe God’s ways of creating. It is enough for us to believe that behind all visible and invisible universes there is one Creator, a Master Mind, an infinite Intelligence that created everything in love and wisdom.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Job does not even attempt to explain how God creates; he stands in awe and only describes quite eloquently what he sees, admitting that he doesn’t understand God’s tremendous power: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“He spreads out</i> <i>the northern (skies) over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. (…) And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” </i></span>(Job 26: 7-11,14).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Indeed, we can only faintly hear the whisper of God! And we can only vaguely conceive his power… All we can understand is that He can do everything He pleases; there is nobody and nothing to restrict him apart, perhaps, from his own decrees, the sovereign laws that He has established from the beginning, when he created the universes. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The psalmist also admits this: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“The Lord does</i> <i>whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and all their depths.”</i></span> (Psa. 135: 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> We, his creatures, are not to judge God for the way He made things. We are not to complain and grudge about anything. On the contrary, we must praise the Lord for everything, under any circumstances. This is for our own good, it serves the best of our interests, and it brings us inner peace and joy. Here is how the psalmist exhorts us: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He established them for ever and ever;</i> <i>he gave a decree that will never pass away.”</i> </span>(Psa. 148: 5-6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <i>“<span style="color: #cc0000;">Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!”</span> </i>(Psa. 103: 1)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Amos, one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament, writes: <i>“<span style="color: #cc0000;">For lo, he who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness and treads on the heights of the earth, the LORD God Almighty is his name.”</span> </i>(Amos 4: 13)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The deep and genuine adoration of Amos towards God is obvious in these words. God not only creates everything but He also reveals his thoughts to men, especially to his prophets!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Another minor prophet of the O.T., Zechariah, writes: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth and who forms the spirit of man within him.”</span> </i>(Zech. 12: 1) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As the prophet understands it, God, as Creator, is constantly working. Among all the other great things that He creates and sustains, the Lord <b><i>forms</i></b> the spirit of each person within him/her. It is worth reflecting on this verse. It appears to me that the prophet here does not leave much room for the belief in re-incarnation. Each human spirit is new and is <b>formed</b> within man by God.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is not a single writer in the Bible who does not declare the glory of God in his Creation, and not just once. It couldn’t have been otherwise. If their writings were considered worthy to be included in what has come down to us as <i>Holy Scriptures</i>, it is because they had been blessed not only to believe in the existence of the Almighty God, the sole Creator of Universe, but also to love and adore him. Hence, when they were inspired by God’s Spirit, they uttered beautiful words of wisdom that are invaluable for the spiritual growth of man.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">II:<b> God is Spirit</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Regarding the nature of God, there are many references to him as Spirit. <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the face of the abyss, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”</span> </i>(Gen. 1:2)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> So, the Spirit of God existed from the beginning, when there was nothing else but abyss, a complete dark void.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us look at more Biblical references to God as Spirit: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”</span> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">(Job 33: 4)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Indeed, the Spirit of God is our Creator, i.e. God himself. He has made us, and by his “breath” he sustains our life! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The next scripture is even clearer that God’s nature is spiritual: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”</span> </i>(John 4:<i> </i>23-24)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> So then, God, who is our Father, is spirit. He is the Holy Spirit himself, and we can only worship Him in spirit and in Truth. It is by our spirit that we can communicate with God’s Spirit. Apparently we cannot connect with Him through hand made images and other visual aids.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Since God is Spirit, He is invisible. We cannot see Him. As Paul writes to Timothy, <em><span style="color: #cc0000;">“God, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see.”</span></em> (1 Tim. 6: 15b-16a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> John repeats the same thing: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“No man has ever seen God.”</span></i> (1 John 4: 12a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since God is invisible Spirit, i.e. formless, for man to try to visualize Him is fruitless.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Job was also desperate because he could not see God whom he so loved! <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“Behold, I go forward, but he is not</i> <i>there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand</i>, <i>but I cannot see him.”</i></span> (Job 23: 8-9)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> However, although we cannot see God, we are also told that He is not far really! In fact, He is very close to us. The psalmist knows it very well (Psa. 139: 7-13):</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"></span><span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Where can I go from your Spirit?</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Where can I flee from your presence?</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If I go up to the heavens, you are there!</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If I make my bed in the depths, you are there!</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If I rise on the wings of the dawn,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If I dwell on the far side of the sea,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Even there your hand will guide me,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Your right hand will hold me fast.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If I say, ‘Let only darkness cover me</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> And the light about me be night’</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Even the darkness is not dark to you,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The night is bright as the day,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> For darkness is a light to you.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> For you created my inmost being,</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">How beautiful, tender, truly God-inspired is David’s song to the awesome God! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Let us read it again and meditate upon it. It is so wonderful, so uplifting!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Paul confirmed the nearness of God while speaking to the Athenians: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Yet he is not far from each one of us. For <b>‘In him we live and move and have our being’</b>, as even some of your poets have said; for ‘We are indeed his offspring’.”</span> </i>(Acts 17: 27b-28) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">How gracefully the ancient Greek poets had described God! In Him we have our being! Since God is Spirit, He permeates every atom of our body, every particle of the air round about us; He lives in us, as He also lives in every creature of the earth, in every planet and star of the Universe! This element of God’s nature inherent in us is our spirit! We are his “offspring”! In other words, we are God’s body. Indeed, the entire Universe is God’s body.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">III: <b>God is one</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Bible stresses that God is <b>one</b>: <i>“<span style="color: #cc0000;">I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no</span></i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <i>God.”</i> </span>(Isa. 44: 6b) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The prophet Isaiah makes it absolutely clear: there is no other God!<i></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is GOD in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">other.”</span> </i>(Deut. 4: 39)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In this verse Moses, the giant prophet, emphasizes the same Truth: there is no other God in heaven or on the earth!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“Hear, O Israel:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <i>The Lord our God is <b>one</b> Lord.”</i></span> (Deut. 6: 4)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Moses had spoken very clearly to Israel. He stressed the oneness of God, the Creator, many times, since the Israelites had learnt the ways of the heathen in Egypt and were prone to worship their false gods.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“For the Lord your God is <b>God of gods and Lord of lords</b>, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who</i> <i>is not partial and accepts no bribes.”</i></span> (Deut. 10: 17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here Moses acknowledged the existence of lesser gods (spirits) but he made it clear that the true God was above them all. He was Lord over all gods! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The New Testament also has many references to the one God, the Creator. I shall quote some here: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“And when they heard this, they lifted their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them;’ ”</span> </i>(Acts 4: 24).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> This is a prayer of the first Christians in Jerusalem. It is obvious that they prayed to one God, the Sovereign Lord, the sole Creator of the Universe. There is no room for misunderstanding here. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> In another passage of the Acts, where the Apostle Paul was preaching to the Athenians, it is written:<i> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man; nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, because he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything.”</span> </i>(Acts<i> </i>17: 24-25)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Once again, it is clear that Paul believes in one God, the only Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, who gives life to all, and does not live in shrines made by men!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes it clear, once again, that he believes and preaches one God: <i><span style="color: #e06666;">“There is (…) one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.</span>”</i> (Eph. 4: 4a, 6)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What a uniting truth is included in so few words! There is only one God who is the Father of all! He is the Father of the “born again” and the not “born again”, the Father of the Evangelicals and Pentecostals, the Father of the Orthodox, the Catholics and the Protestants, the Father of the Jews, the Muslims and the believers of every other major or minor religion! Indeed, He is even the Father of the atheists, for He is <i>through all and</i> <i>in all!</i> He is also <i>over all. </i>There is none else above Him or next to him.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The following scriptures also confirm that God is one:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">“Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Phil. 4: 20)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All glory belongs forever to God, our Father! We should not glorify anybody else.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Do not be deceived, my brothers. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of change</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">.”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jam. 1: 16-17)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Everything originates in the Father of Lights! So we should accept whatever He brings to us with gratitude and thanksgiving!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“You believe that<b> God is one</b>; you do well.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> (Jam. 2: 19a)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It couldn’t have been clearer! <b>God is one</b>! To Him alone belongs the glory. And He is our Father, the Father of all creatures. There is no room left here for misunderstanding and complicated theological dogmas. <b>God, who is one,</b> is the only source of life! He is the Father of lights, above all, through all and in all. So to God alone belongs the glory. There shouldn’t be any doubts; <b>God alone </b>is the source of life. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finally, as we seek the truth about God, we should cry to the Lord even as David did: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in Your Truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.”</span> </i>(Psa. 25: 4-5)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">IV: <b>God is Wise</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;">“How many are your works, O</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <i>Lord! In <b>wisdom</b> you made them all;”</i></span> (Psa. 104: 24a) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When we observe the order, the beauty and the harmony in God’s creation, we cannot but join David in praising the Lord for his infinite wisdom.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">King Solomon also acknowledges God’s wisdom in his Proverbs: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“By <b>wisdom</b> the Lord</i> <i>laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place.”</i></span> (Prov. 3: 19) </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Even if we have questions unanswered, we must humbly admit our limitations and not doubt the wisdom of our Creator. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Jeremiah also declares the power and wisdom of God, as it is manifested in his works: <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“It is He who made the</i> <i>earth by his power, who established the world by His <b>wisdom</b>, and by His understanding</i> <i>stretched out the heavens.”</i></span> (Jer. 10: 12)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In this chapter, through Biblical verses, we have established that God, who created the Universe with infinite <b>wisdom</b>, is <b>one</b>, He is self-existent, without beginning or end; He is sovereign, his nature is spiritual, and He is omnipresent. There are also hundreds more passages in the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, which speak of the other holy characteristics of God. They assert that God is perfect, omnipotent, incomprehensible, immutable, omniscient, holy, loving, merciful, just, impartial, provider and more. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However, some writers of the Bible have attributed to God not only the highest qualities of character but also some of man’s weaknesses, such as anger, vindictiveness, jealousy etc. They assumed that God is partial and that He made blood <i>covenants</i> with men, getting <i>jealous</i> and angry when his “chosen” people worshipped other gods! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is beyond the scope of this blog to quote any scriptures on such imaginary negative characteristics that man projected to God. In any case, it would not help anyone spiritually to be acquainted with an imperfect Jehovah, made in man’s own image. </span></span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199342575184497413.post-17143832192712580052010-09-29T11:43:00.000-07:002014-01-10T08:03:57.318-08:00In quest of Biblical Truth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">When I seriously started searching for God, trying to find enlightenment, strength, meaning and purpose in my life, the Bible was the first book I turned to, with great awe and expectation. This was natural for me, a nominal Greek Orthodox up until that time, as in my school I had been taught that the Bible, both the Old and the New Testament, was the foundation of Christianity.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hungry for spiritual food as I was, I threw myself into studying <i>“the Word of God”</i> diligently. However, I was soon to realize that a systematic inquiry into the Bible wasn’t going to be an easy task. Particularly the study of the Old Testament proved rather difficult. Quite often I lost patience in the process, as I had to search through lengthy historical accounts and ceremonial descriptions before finding some spiritual “germs” here and there, which nourished my soul and lifted up my spirit. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There were even instances when I dared to murmur, <i>“NO! This cannot be the Word of God”,...</i></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> </i>only to repent of my ‘rebellion’ a few minutes later! At times I almost gave up reading the Old Testament. Nevertheless, in spite of the difficulties, I did force myself to thoroughly examine the entire Bible. I was determined to discover the Biblical roots of fundamental Christian doctrines – beliefs that had indeed bewildered my mind and had left so many of my theological questions unanswered… </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank God, it was through this systematic, unbiased and critical study of the Bible that my eyes were gradually opened to the Truth – the Truth that liberates the soul and unites people!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I must confess that at times my awakening was painful. Occasionally it was devastating…Sometimes I felt as if the ground was sinking under my feet. But NO! I didn’t want to go crazy trying to convince myself that the “bones” in the Bible were “meat”, that the “black” in there was “white”! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, eventually, after a period of almost a year, I came to terms with my new beliefs. I had concluded that the Great Teacher is inside us, and each one of us has the responsibility to seek and find God for himself/herself. The purpose of this blog is exactly this: first to encourage people to critically examine and evaluate what religious leaders would have them believe unquestionably, and second to encourage them to think and seek God for themselves.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Which, then, were my conclusions on the inspiration of the Bible? Well, eventually it became very clear to me that the Old Testament was simply the history of a people who, individually and collectively, longed to know the living God and His precepts and tried to involve Him in their daily life. What had impressed me mostly, however, was the deep soul agony, even the desperation, of the O.T. prophets and patriarchs as they endeavored to make the Jews behave as <i>God’s chosen people</i>, <i>a</i> <i>light to the Gentiles</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Quite often, I felt great sympathy towards the Israelites, who suffered as a result of the merciless curses delivered against them by their own prophets, in the name of Jehovah, whenever they fell short of the great standards they had set up before them, thereby breaking God’s <i>Covenant</i>! I didn’t understand this kind of prophets’ <i>love</i> nor was I ever convinced that it was God who inspired them to bring, through the word of their mouth, such calamities upon the <i>chosen people.</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I also found some messages there that were not simply man’s distorted ideas about good and evil, but also very harmful, if taken seriously. I am talking about instances where Jehovah supposedly instructed the <i>chosen people</i> to kill human beings belonging to other nations, causing them to violate one of His Ten Commandments! Nevertheless, while I couldn’t accept that the entire O.T. was God inspired, I had been greatly blessed by studying the many undoubtedly wholesome messages, visions and prayers of the great prophets therein. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As regards the New Testament, well, its God was so different to the O.T. Jehovah that made me wonder how He had suddenly changed so much! It took me quite a while to conclude that it was the people’s understanding of God that had improved and not the Almighty. Studying the N.T., I gradually realized that it, too, contained many discrepancies and contradictions that again forbade me to take all of it as God inspired. This explains why so many different Christian denominations, cults and sects have derived from the same Bible! It also explains why so much intolerance, divisions, fanaticism and bloodshed have, alas, been “inspired” by the Bible…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But God cannot be the author of confusion, divisions and hatred. Impossible! If a “holy” scripture can be interpreted in so many different and contradicting ways as to cause divisions and hatred among its believers, then it is not holy at all. It is as simple as that, and Christians must find the courage to admit it, if Christianity were to lead the world into a brighter future. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The shaking off of deeply embedded old religious deceptions is absolutely necessary, if humanity were to enter an era of love and reconciliation among all Christian denominations and even among other religions. The time has arrived that Christians should abandon infancy, gradually getting rid of their “toys”, and grow into adulthood, if they want to make a positive difference in the world.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I am not saying that such a change is easy. Not at all! As I said, I have personally gone through the pain and agony of uprooting comfortable old beliefs, doctrines and religious traditions deeply weaved in our collective subconscious, and I know that it could be absolutely excruciating. Traditions, sweet religious memories from our childhood, have become a second nature to us. It is like a drug to which we have long been addicted. This applies not just to Christianity, but also to all the other religions. Yet, it is for our own good and for the sake of the world’s spiritual evolution, peace and prosperity that we should set ourselves free from our deceptions, no matter how precious and how important to our emotions these are. Nobody else can do it for us! We must be our own saviors, responsible for our lives and the international affairs of our planet, so that we may build a peaceful and brighter future for the generations to come.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The aim of this blog is <b>not</b> to promote yet another religion. God forbid! There are too many already! Humanity cannot afford more religious fragmentations. My endeavor is to address controversial Christian issues by quoting and analyzing characteristic verses from the Bible – verses that liberate the soul, revive and feed the spirit, edify the personality, sustain the body and <b>unite </b>believers. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of course, the verses I shall quote here, in order to substantiate and support each issue may not be the only relevant ones in the Bible. However, for practical reasons, I must keep this study reasonably short. I want this work to be a kind of Biblical manual for busy people. Furthermore, since the Biblical truths that I shall unfold here are <b>truths that unite</b>, readers of different religious persuasion could also benefit from this blog without being threatened in their own faith. Especially the other <i>“Children of Abraham”,</i> Jews and Muslims, will feel at home while reading this work.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Regarding the Christian fundamentalists who might be offended by this book, since it challenges the basic doctrines of Christianity, I feel sorry, but I must say that it is not my fault that the Bible contains also verses that contradict their beliefs. Nor do I feel guilty for trying to present the universal spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, disregarding some dividing and questionable doctrines based on <i>“the letter that killeth”.</i> On the contrary, I am at peace trying to discharge my duty for the benefit of unprejudiced people of every faith. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Surely I do not claim to be the wisest person for undertaking such a high task, or to be infallible in my evaluation and analysis. As St. Paul said, I also admit that <i>“<b>I know in</b> <b>part</b>”.</i> However, I trust the Spirit of God to enlighten the mind of the reader and guide the sincere and devout seeker, so that he/she knows with certainty what is of the Truth.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I hope that this blog may become a humble instrument of blessing, reconciliation and understanding among people.</span></span></div>
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Maria Seferouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08608570733455033891noreply@blogger.com