Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....January 1, 2018
Aloha Family...Terry and I would like to wish each and every one of you a very blessed and Happy New Year:)
We took a break last week from our teaching series on the religions that claim Christianity as their foundation to talk about Christmas. So lets continue from where we left off...
When it comes to understanding what someone is trying to teach you about the Bible here is one rule you must ALWAYS adhere to.....Do not stray from what the Bible says to you.
1 John, 2:18-28, "Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
I received recently, in my email, a message from the Unification Church—the Moonies. It contained three video tapes and a copy of the Divine Principle and a message from Mr. Moon from prison dated 1985. They plead to be given a fair hearing.
The Message of Sun Moon
Here are some quotes taken from pages 122–144 of the message of Sun Moon from prison.
I am making a bold declaration. Jesus did not come to die. Jesus was murdered . . .The crucifixion of Jesus was a result of human faithlessness. The most egregious and destructive lack of faith was to be found in John [the Baptist]. This means that Jesus did not come to die on the cross.
If Jesus came to die on the cross, would he not need a man to deliver him up? You know that Judas Iscariot is the disciple who betrayed Jesus. If Jesus fulfilled God's will with his death on the cross, then Judas should be glorified as the man who made the crucifixion possible. Judas would have been aiding God's dispensation. But Jesus said of Judas, "The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!" . . . Furthermore, if God had wanted His Son to be crucified, He did not need 4,000 years to prepare the chosen people.
Many people may now ask, "What about the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the death of Jesus on the cross?" . . . We must know that there are dual lines of prophecy in the Bible. One group prophesies Jesus' rejection and death; the others, such as Isaiah, Chapters 9, 11, and 60 prophesy the glorious ministry of Jesus when the people accepted him as the Son of God.
Why then did God prophesy in two contradictory ways in the Bible? . . . God did not know how the people would respond to His providence, (protection), for the Messiah. He had no choice but to predict two contradictory results—dual prophecies, each possibility depending on human actions.
Once again we find in the Bible a dual prophecy concerning the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. Revelation 1:7 definitely prophesied the arrival of the Lord with the clouds. However,
1 Thessalonians 5:2 states: "For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." There are then two opposing prophecies.
I am just revealing what I know to be the truth . . . The Lord cannot appear in that kind of supernatural fashion . . . As a man he must come up from the bottom of human misery. He must come to the most miserable nation and lift the human status from the slave position, to the servant position, to the adopted child position and to the direct child position and by physically putting together the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That is the mission of Messiah.
God needs to find his perfected Adam, an Adam who instead of betraying God will become one with God. And then Adam must restore his bride in the position of Eve. Perfected Adam and perfected Eve, united together, will be able to overcome Satan and expel him from the world. In this way, the first righteous ancestors of humankind will begin a new history.
Now on the surface, someone that is not rooted in the Word, could easily begin believing this drivel....
How Easy It Is to Deceive
What strikes me as I read these forthright denials of historic biblical Christianity (the atoning death of Jesus for our sins, the omniscience and sovereignty of God, the second coming of the Lord in glory)—what strikes me is the ease with which many people are deceived. Two things account for this: a lack of grounding in the Word of God and a lack of life in the Holy Spirit. Or to put it another way, when people have no theological depth and no vital experience of the Holy Spirit they are sitting ducks for the deceiver and the antichrist.
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
1 John 2:18–27 is written to a situation like ours, and the two things John strives for is a deeper rooting in the Word of God and a deeper experience of the Spirit of God. The Word of God and the Spirit of God are our only hope for stability in a world filled with antichrists.
Three Assertions
Therefore of all the things that could be said from this text I think we should focus on three:
- We are in the last hour of deception.
- The Word of God and the Spirit of God protect us from deception and lead us into eternal life.
- Therefore we should let the Word abide in us and we should abide in the Spirit.
The Last Days
- Acts 2:16–17, "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.'"
- 1 Corinthians 10:11, "[The Old Testament stories] were written down for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come."
- Hebrews 1:1–2, "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son."
- Hebrews 9:26, "He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
- 1 Peter 1:20, "[Christ] was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."
The Increasing Activity of the Spirit of Antichrist
From these texts the main characteristic of the last hour is that the Son of God has come and the Holy Spirit is being poured out in a new measure. But John points out another characteristic of the last hour: "You have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour." The last hour is an hour in which the spirit of antichrist will be increasingly active.
He refers back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:5, 24. "For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray . . . For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." So John saw evidences of the last days not only in the victorious spread of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, but also in the multiplication of false Christs and false prophets and deceivers in the world. And if John saw that as a sign of the end, how much more should we be alert. That's why I say, we live in the last hour of deception.
John's view of the end-times seems to be that there is a singular antichrist coming but that the spirit of antichrist is already in the world and that it produces many preliminary lesser forms of the antichrist. The essence of the antichrist spirit is to deny that Jesus was the Christ or to deny that the Christ was fully incarnate in Jesus. The spirit of antichrist does whatever it can to diminish Christ and substitute other views or other persons for the true incarnate Son of God. Consider the following texts where John refers to the antichrist (these are the only places in the whole New Testament where the term antichrist occurs).
- 1 John 2:18, "You have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come."
- 1 John 4:3, "Every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already."
- 2 John 7, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist."
- 1 John 2:22, "Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son."
2. The Word of God and the Spirit of God protect us from deception and lead us into eternal life. Probably the most important thing to focus on in this fairly complex passage is how the Word and the Spirit work together to guard us from deception.
Knowing Truth Is a Gift of the Spirit
The first thing to notice is that to know the truth is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Verses 20–21: "You have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know (or you know all things). I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and know that no lie is of the truth."
The reason I say that to know the truth is a gift is because it depends on the anointing. Verse 20: "You have been anointed by the Holy One and you know." Or verse 27: "The anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you." Whatever this anointing is, it enables us to know the truth and, in some sense, removes the need for teachers.
The anointing probably refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit. And 1 John 4:13 says that God has given us of his Spirit. So the anointing referred to in verses 20 and 27 is probably the pouring of the Holy Spirit into our hearts when we are born again.
So we can go back and rephrase verse 20 like this: "You have the Holy Spirit from God in you and so you know the truth." And verse 27 would go like this: "The Holy Spirit which you received from God abides in you and so you have no need that any one should teach you." That is, you do not need these progressive prophets who claim to add new information about Christ beyond the truth you heard at the beginning."
What is plain from these two verses is that without the Holy Spirit we would not know the truth. Knowing the truth about Christ is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
How the Spirit Enables Us to Know the Truth
But now that raises the question how the Holy Spirit enables us to know the truth about Christ and so be protected from the deception of the antichrist. It is almost certain that the antichrists are claiming to have revelations from the Holy Spirit when they give their new revelation that Jesus is not really the Son of God come in the flesh.
That's why 4:1 warns the church not to believe every spirit, but to "test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." So the antichrists are saying, "Right on! Knowledge is a gift of the Spirit. And we have the Spirit and can tell you some crucial information that you have been missing about Christ."
That is what Sun Moon claims. It is what virtually every sect or cult does. It claims some special revelation beyond the original one of the apostles, or it claims to have specially inspired prophets who give the hidden interpretation of the Bible. So what does John mean? How does the anointing of the Spirit enable the saints to know the truth and protect them from deception?
Verse 24 is the key. What it shows is that the truth which the Holy Spirit enables us to know is a truth that is delivered in the preaching of the apostles. "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father."
Twice in that verse John stresses that the truth that should remain in them is truth that came to them through the ear at the beginning of their Christian walk: "what you heard from the beginning . . . what you heard from the beginning!" This was the preaching of the apostles.
So John is not saying that the anointing of the Spirit enables us to know the truth of Christ by giving additional information beyond what they heard from the beginning. On the contrary John is intent on telling them they have enough revelation in what they heard from the beginning. He does not want to set them off in pursuit of something new. Remember 2:7, "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard." In other words John makes effort to avoid the saying that what the church needs is new revelation.
It does not. It needs to let the original apostolic teaching about Christ abide in them.
The Word Tests the Spirit
2 John 9 warns about the danger of progressiveness and newness in the doctrine of Christ: "Any one who goes ahead [progresses] and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son."
Now watch this...So the opposite of abiding in what you have heard from the beginning is to "go ahead" to new revelations and secret knowledge offered by Mohammed and Charles Russell and Joseph Smith and Mary Baker Eddy and Jim Jones and Sun Moon and an ever larger stream of antichrists in this last hour of deception.
The Holy Spirit does not expand the apostolic teaching of Christ. On the contrary, the Word tests the Spirit. 1 John 4:2 says, "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is of God." The Spirit agrees with the apostolic doctrine or it is not the Spirit of God. This is why we reject the teaching of Mr. Moon. Not because we can boast of different revelations from the Spirit, but because his claim does not square with the faith once for all delivered to the saints in the teaching of the apostles.
So the work of the Holy Spirit is not to take us beyond the teaching of the apostles. It is to help us accept and abide in that teaching. It helps us grow in our understanding of that teaching. It strengthens our power to practice that teaching. It increases our confidence in the truth of that teaching. But it does not change the teaching. It does not expand on the teaching.
Which leads us to our concluding admonition and third main point:
3. Therefore we should let the Word abide in us and we should abide in the Spirit. In this long text there are only two imperatives. One is in verse 24: "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you." And the other is in verse 27 at the end: "As his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him." Let the Word abide in you!
Abide in the Spirit!
I can't help but recall a similar pair of admonitions in Paul's letters:
- Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you . . . sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
- Ephesians 5:18–19, "Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks."
"Be filled with the Spirit!" is like John's "Abide in the Spirit!"
This will be my prayer for all of you as we prepare for the "Understanding Denominations" Bible Study for the next eight weeks—that the Word abide in you and that you abide in the Spirit. That you love the Word, and continue to worship in the truth. That you be filled with the anointing of God and prepare to come Sunday, March 4th to study the differences between the various denominations that claim to be Christian.
Guard yourselves from the deceiver and the antichrist. Love the Word, live in the Word, pray the Word, memorize the Word. And before every sentence lay yourself wide open to whatever the Spirit wants to do with you by the Word.
"If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life." AMEN.
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
I was reading this article a few weeks ago and it struck me that we all must experience discomfort if we are to grow in life. I hope you enjoy it:
"Growth requires discomfort. If you stick with what is comfortable, you’re giving up any hope of surprising yourself, of finding greatness, of having the best experiences human life has to offer." — Thomas Oppong
One of the most cliché, but ever-so-true, statements that many personal evolution coaches seem to agree on is the fact that the magic starts to happen minute we step outside of our comfort zones. The second you decide that you are willing to go beyond what is safe and wander into uncharted territories, you will have planted a seed that, if watered daily, will blossom into something that you would have never expected to come to fruition.
For me, one of the most important things that we should always keep in mind is the fact that, under no circumstance, can growth and comfort coexist.
Personal development author Napoleon Hill once said:
"Whatever the mind can conceive, and believe, the mind can achieve. Regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past or how lofty your aims and hopes may be."
This statement is especially powerful because it reminds us that we are the only ones who can be responsible for how far we will go. Whatever we believe we can achieve, we will. However, to reach any personal objective, it usually requires that we shake things up a bit.
Following through is the key to real change.
Stepping outside of our comfort zone is probably the most important step to experiencing real change. However, consistency and continuing to move forward is equally as important as it is extremely easy to quickly slip back into old comfortable habits without realizing.
Five years ago, I decided to move overseas and I haven’t resided in the United States since. All throughout high school, I knew that, at some point, I wanted to live in a Latin American country and become fluent in Spanish through full cultural immersion. Obviously the chances of this happening while living in the states were slim to none so, halfway through my undergrad, I switched over to the online version of my degree and bought a one-way ticket to Argentina, where I finished the last two years of my degree before flying back home for graduation.
I currently still live here, and I can personally say that recognizing what I wanted years ago and taking the necessary steps to make it a reality was one of the most important things I could have done for myself. The discomfort that came along with the initial culture shock, using my second language on a daily basis and learning to live life differently from the way we do things in the U.S. has turned out to be an extremely enriching experience; it was my own way of investing in my personal growth and my future self.
This, of course, by no means at all applies to everyone, and I’m not implying we should all by one-way tickets to foreign countries, wing it and see what happens. But it’s important to know that we should recognize what we desire and see what areas of our current personal circumstances we can modify to bring those fantasies to life.
Make use of today instead of leaving it for tomorrow.
In his note titled Embrace Discomfort. Your Long-Term Personal Growth Depends on it, Thomas Oppong reminds the reader that “ Most of us live with the stubborn illusion that we will always have tomorrow to do today’s work.”
The comfort zone can be deceiving in the sense that it tricks us into believing that we have an abundant amount of time when, in reality, we all know that years can fly by in the blink of an eye without us having accomplished much of what we really wanted to do. So why wait? The last five years have come and gone so quickly for me, and, in retrospect, I’m thankful that I didn’t “patear la pelota”, or continue to put off my move until a later date because I would have missed out on a lot of amazing life lessons and experiences that have shaped me as a person.
Conclusion:
Our comfort zones can be very, very comfortable. This is obvious. It’s imperative, however, to keep in mind that, if we want to experience even a minimal amount of change, we will have to step outside of it. If you’re contemplating shaking things up in your daily routine and just the mere thought of it causes slight discomfort, it means you’ve set your sights on the right path towards whatever it may be that you’d like to acheive.
Remember, comfort and growth cannot coexist, and we won’t always have tomorrow to do what we could have done today. So embrace the discomfort and allow it to take you places. You never know what you could be missing out on by remaining complacent.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
As we wind down the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches:
Teaching About Divorce
19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
Let the Children Come to Me
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
The Rich Young Man
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Jesus in Judea
Towards Jerusalem
(19:1–20:34)
JESUS GOES SOUTH
Until now, Jesus has been in the northern area of Galilee. From here, he goes south to Judea and its capital Jerusalem (19:1–2). This brings him into conflict with the Jewish authorities, and eventually leads to his death.
THE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE
The Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce (19:3–12). Does he agree that a man can divorce his wife for the slightest reason?
Jesus takes the opposite view. He answers that marriage is a solemn and permanent commitment. God himself has given the bond of marriage, which unites a man and his wife as one person or self. Divorce is an undoing of the work of God.
The Pharisees ask a further question. If divorce is wrong, why did Moses allow men to give their wives certificates of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1)?
Jesus explains that divorce and its certificates arise because people persist in breaking their marriages. But this is not the way of life that God intended. A man who casually dismisses his wife and takes another is committing adultery.
Now the disciples have a question. Would it be better not to marry at all?
Jesus answers that it is sometimes better not to marry. Some people are naturally single, while others remain single because they have been damaged by the hurts of life. Some (like Jesus himself, perhaps) would normally marry, but choose to stay single in the service of God. Each person must do only what is right for them.
JESUS BLESSES THE CHILDREN
Some parents bring their little children to Jesus for his blessing (19:13–15). There is a Jewish custom of bringing children for blessing on the evening of the Day of Atonement—but this is the exception. Usually children are kept out of the way of adults.
Jesus is different. When he realizes his disciples are trying to keep the children away, he makes a special point of welcoming them. Children, in their weakness and simple trust, are his role models for all believers.
THE COST OF COMMITMENT AND ITS REWARDS
A man comes to Jesus. He is young and very rich. He asks Jesus what good thing he must do to get eternal life.
Jesus answers that only God is good. If we want to take part in God’s goodness, then we must keep his commandments (19:16–30).
The young man assures Jesus that he has always kept the commandments; but he knows he still lacks complete commitment.
Jesus challenges the young man to give away his great wealth and become his disciple. But this is the one thing the young man can’t do. His wealth is a prison. His possessions own him.
As Jesus watches the young man leave, he remarks that it is very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact it’s impossible—like a camel (a huge animal) trying to get through the eye of a needle (a tiny hole or gate).
This surprises the disciples. They are used to thinking that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing. Peter points out that at least they have left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus assures them that any sacrifice of relationships or possessions will be repaid a hundred times in the world to come. And they—the Twelve—will be the judges of Israel.
The kingdom of God brings surprises. Important people (like the rich young man) will be last and the unimportant (like the little children) will be first.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., pp. 427–428). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 427). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 19:27–30). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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