Results 5921 - 5940 of 6029
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Results from: Notes On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: DocTrinsograce Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
5921 | Put to the Test | Rev 2:2 | DocTrinsograce | 238233 | ||
"And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:14 NASB) | ||||||
5922 | Worldly Churches | Rev 2:4 | DocTrinsograce | 128494 | ||
"The Church which is married to the Spirit of the Age will be a widow in the next." --Dean Inge | ||||||
5923 | Where are the other churches | Rev 2:4 | DocTrinsograce | 209109 | ||
Hi, Kcabm14... I am told that the old Luther Bible is an excellent translation: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/luther/ In Him, Doc |
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5924 | Where are the other churches | Rev 2:4 | DocTrinsograce | 209173 | ||
Dear Kcabml4, In Martin Luther's time the Bible was primarily available in the original languages and in Latin. Luther sought to provide the words of Scripture to the people. Luther understood the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible (see post #195945). He also understood that God ministers grace to people through His Word (Romans 10:17). It was essential, therefore, to give the words of the Bible to the German people so that they themselves could read and understand God's self-revelation. This is an extremely important doctrine. It is why we carefully produce translations of Scripture to the peoples of the world in their own language. It is why we carefully educate them to be able to read, so that they are able to grapple with the the Word itself. Martin Luther wrote about the struggles of rendering the Bible into German: "'Let my soul be filled as with lard and fat, so that my mouth may make praise with joyful lips.' By 'lard and fat' the Hebrews mean joy, just as a healthy and fat animal is healthy and grows fat, and conversely, a sad animal loses weight and grows thin ... However since no German can understand this expression, we have relinquished the Hebrew words and rendered the passage in clear German like this, 'It would be my heart's joy and gladness, if I were to praise thee with joyful lips.'" Luther went on to say, "We do not have to inquire of the literal Latin, how we are to speak German... Rather we must inquire about this of the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common man in the marketplace. We must be guided by their language, the way they speak, and do our translating accordingly. That way they will understand it and recognize that we are speaking German to them." As Germans, you have a great and wonderful legacy from the Lord in Martin Luther. I wish that I could read his sermons in the language in which he spoke them. In Him, Doc |
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5925 | Christ's Remedy (Three R's) | Rev 2:5 | DocTrinsograce | 128996 | ||
Christ's remedy for fallen away believers: Remember how your life changed when He saved you Repent from your sin, confessing and submitting to Him Repeat the first works, walking just like you did as a new believer |
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5926 | Who are the nicholitan | Rev 2:6 | DocTrinsograce | 239535 | ||
Hi, Ed... I was also operating from memory. I had to go dig the particulars up from my library to provide the basis of that memory. Here is what I came up with: "...a sect mentioned in (Revelation 2:6, 15) whose deeds were strongly condemned. They may have been identical with those who held the doctrine of Balaam. They seem to have held that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication, in opposition to the decree of the Church rendered in Acts 15:20, 29. The teachers of the Church branded them with a name which expressed their true character. The men who did and taught such things were followers of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11). They, like the false prophet of Pethor [Numbers 22:5], united brave words with evil deeds. In a time of persecution, when the eating or not eating of things sacrificed to idols was more than ever a crucial test of faithfulness, they persuaded men more than ever that was a thing indifferent (Revelation 2:13, 14). This was bad enough, but there was a yet worse evil. Mingling themselves in the orgies of idolatrous feasts, they brought the impurities of those feasts into the meetings of the Christian Church. And all this was done, it must be remembered not simply as an indulgence of appetite: but as a part of a system, supported by a 'doctrine,' accompanied by the boast of a prophetic illumination (2 Peter 2:1). It confirms the view which has been taken of their character to find that stress is laid in the first instance on the 'deeds' of the Nicolaitans. To hate those deeds is a sign of life in a Church that otherwise is weak and faithless (Revelation 2:6). To tolerate them is well nigh to forfeit the glory of having been faithful under persecution (Revelation 2:14, 15)." --William Smith, from Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863) After reading that again, it sounds like the libertinism had some syncretism mixed in, too. I must confess, though, that I do not find support for my assertion that the founder of this heresy was a deacon from Jerusalem. I do not know where that memory might have originated. Possibly some paper that I read sometime or another. Yet the memory seems to be linked with something said by a patriarch or apologist in the primitive church. Regardless, I cannot vouch for something that lacks a referenceable basis. Thank you for asking. Going back and checking has been helpful. In Him, Doc |
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5927 | Who are the nicholitan | Rev 2:6 | DocTrinsograce | 239540 | ||
Dear EdB, Like your professor(s), John Gill makes the association with the Nicolas from Acts 6:5: http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/acts-6-5.html He goes into a little bit more detail here: http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/revelation-2-6.html So I poked around a bit more: Eusebius in his Church History connects Nicolas of Acts 6:5 with the heresy, which he says was libertinism. I also checked Clement, who says the heresy had to do with some kind of self inflicted abuse of the body. On the other hand, Irenaeus seems to think it was an early form of Gnosticism. Tertullian wrote of them as promulgating Christian-Pagan syncretism. Not a whole lot of help there. Robert Jamieson wrote, "The name, like other names, Egypt, Babylon, Sodom, is symbolic. Compare Revelation 2:14, 2:15, which shows the true sense of Nicolaitanes; they are not a sect, but professing Christians who, like Balaam of old. tried to introduce into the Church a false freedom, that is, licentiousness; this was a reaction in the opposite direction from Judaism, the first danger to the Church combated in the council of Jerusalem, and by Paul in the Epistle to Galatians. These symbolical Nicolaitanes, or followers of Balaam, abused Paul's doctrine of the grace of God into a plea for lasciviousness (2 Peter 2:15, 16, 19; Jude 1:4, 11, who both describe the same sort of seducers as followers of Balaam). The difficulty that they should appropriate a name branded with infamy in Scripture is met by Trench: The Antinomian Gnostics were so opposed to John as a Judaizing apostle that they would assume as a name of chiefest honor one which John branded with dishonor." Maybe what I remember is from something in all of that. It would be interesting if you could recall on what basis your professor(s) gave for the teaching itself. In Him, Doc |
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5928 | Opinions on Rev 2:8-11 | Rev 2:8 | DocTrinsograce | 129763 | ||
Aaron, some additional help (part 1)... from Matthew Henry (1662-1714): I. The preface or inscription in both parts. 1. The superscription, telling us to whom it was more expressly and immediately directed: To the angel of the church in Smyrna, a place well known at this day by our merchants, a city of great trade and wealth, perhaps the only city of all the seven that is still known by the same name, now however no longer distinguished for its Christian church being overrun by Mahomedism. 2. The subscription, containing another of the glorious titles of our Lord Jesus, the first and the last, he that was dead and is alive, taken out of Rev 1:17, 1:18. (1) Jesus Christ is the first and the last. It is but a little scantling of time that is allowed to us in this world, but our Redeemer is the first and the last. He is the first, for by him all things were made, and he was before all things with God and was God himself. he is the last, for all things are made for him, and he will be the Judge of all. This surely is the title of God, from everlasting and to everlasting, and it is the title of one that is an unchangeable Mediator between God and man, Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and for ever. He was the first, for by him the foundation of the church was laid in the patriarchal state; and he is the last, for by him the top-stone will be brought forth and laid in the end of time. (2) He was dead and is alive. He was dead, and died for our sins; he is alive, for he rose again for our justification, and he ever lives to make intercession for us. He was dead, and by dying purchased salvation for us; he is alive, and by his life applies this salvation to us. And if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled by his death, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. His death we commemorate every sacrament day; his resurrection and life every sabbath day. II. The subject-matter of this epistle to Smyrna, where, after the common declaration of Christ's omniscience, and the perfect cognizance he has of all the works of men and especially of his churches, he takes notice, 1. Of the improvement they had made in their spiritual state. This comes in in a short parentheses; yet it is very emphatic: But thou art rich (Rev 2:10), poor in temporals, but rich in spirituals - poor in spirit, and yet rich in grace. Their spiritual riches are set off by their outward poverty. Many who are rich in temporals are poor in spirituals. Thus it was with the church of Laodicea. Some who are poor outwardly are inwardly rich, rich in faith and in good works, rich in privileges, rich in bonds and deeds of gift, rich in hope, rich in reversion. Spiritual riches are usually the reward of great diligence; the diligent hand makes rich. Where there is spiritual plenty, outward poverty may be better borne; and when God's people are impoverished in temporals, for the sake of Christ and a good conscience, he makes all up to them in spiritual riches, which are much more satisfying and enduring. 2. Of their sufferings: I know thy tribulation and thy poverty - the persecution they underwent, even to the spoiling of their goods. Those who will be faithful to Christ must expect to go through many tribulations; but Jesus Christ takes particular notice of all their troubles. In all their afflictions, he is afflicted, and he will recompense tribulation to those who trouble them, but to those that are troubled rest with himself. 3. He knows the wickedness and the falsehood of their enemies: I know the blasphemy of those that say they are Jews, but are not; that is, of those who pretend to be the only peculiar covenant-people of God, as the Jews boasted themselves to be, even after God had rejected them; or of those who would be setting up the Jewish rites and ceremonies, which were now not only antiquated, but abrogated; these may say that they only are the church of God in the world, when indeed they are the synagogue of Satan. Observe, (1) As Christ has a church in the world, the spiritual Israel of God, so the devil has his synagogue. Those assemblies which are set up in opposition to the truths of the gospel, and which promote and propagate damnable errors, - those which are set up in opposition to the purity and spirituality of gospel worship, and which promote and propagate the vain inventions of men and rites and ceremonies which never entered into the thoughts of God, - these are all synagogues of Satan: he presides over them, he works in them, his interests are served by them, and he receives a horrid homage and honour from them. (2) For the synagogues of Satan to give themselves out to be the church or Israel of God is no less than blasphemy. God is greatly dishonoured when his name is made use of to promote and patronize the interests of Satan; and he has a high resentment of this blasphemy, and will take a just revenge on those who persist in it. (cont) |
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5929 | Opinions on Rev 2:8-11 | Rev 2:8 | DocTrinsograce | 129764 | ||
Aaron, some additional help (part 2)... Matthew Henry (1662-1714) (This is really good stuff!): 4. He foreknows the future trials of his people, and forewarns them of them, and fore-arms them against them. (1.) He forewarns them of future trials: The devil shall cast some of you into prison, and you shall have tribulation, Rev_2:10. The people of God must look for a series and succession of troubles in this world, and their troubles usually rise higher. They had been impoverished by their tribulations before; now they must be imprisoned. Observe, It is the devil that stirs up his instruments, wicked men, to persecute the people of God; tyrants and persecutors are the devil's tools, though they gratify their own sinful malignity, and know not that they are actuated by a diabolical malice. (2.) Christ fore-arms them against these approaching troubles, [1.] By his counsel: Fear none of these things. This is not only a word of command, but of efficacy, no, only forbidding slavish fear, but subduing it and furnishing the soul with strength and courage. [2.] By showing them how their sufferings would be alleviated and limited. First, They should not be universal. It would be some of them, not all, who should be cast into prison, those who were best able to bear it and might expect to be visited and comforted by the rest. Secondly, They were not to be perpetual, but for a set time, and a short time: Ten days. It should not be everlasting tribulation, the time should be shortened for the elect's sake. Thirdly, It should be to try them, not to destroy them, that their faith, and patience, and courage, might be proved and improved, and be found to honour and glory. [3.] By proposing and promising a glorious reward to their fidelity: Be thou faithful to death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Observe, First, The sureness of the reward: I will give thee. He has said it that is able to do it; and he has undertaken that he will do it. They shall have the reward from his own hand, and none of their enemies shall be able to wrest it out of his hand, or to pull it from their heads. Secondly, The suitableness of it. 1. A crown, to reward their poverty, their fidelity, and their conflict. 2. A crown of life, to reward those who are faithful even unto death, who are faithful till they die, and who part with life itself in fidelity to Christ. The life so worn out in his service, or laid down in his cause, shall be rewarded with another and a much better life that shall be eternal. III. The conclusion of this message, and that, as before, 1. With a call to universal attention, that all men, all the world, should hear what passes between Christ and his churches - how he commends them, how he comforts them, how he reproves their failures, how he rewards their fidelity. It concerns all the inhabitants of the world to observe God's dealings with his own people; all the world may learn instruction and wisdom thereby. 2. With a gracious promise to the conquering Christian: He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death, Rev_2:11. Observe, (1.) There is not only a first, but a second death, a death after the body is dead. (2.) This second death is unspeakably worse than the first death, both in the dying pangs and agonies of it (which are the agonies of the soul, without any mixture of support) and in the duration; it is eternal death, dying the death, to die and to be always dying. This is hurtful indeed, fatally hurtful, to all who fall under it. (3.) From this hurtful, this destructive death, Christ will save all his faithful servants; the second death shall have no power over those who are partakers of the first resurrection: the first death shall not hurt them, and the second death shall have no power over them. |
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5930 | Undoubtable Evidence of a Church | Rev 2:11 | DocTrinsograce | 242245 | ||
"Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments (baptism and Lord's Supper) administered according to God's institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists." --John Calvin |
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5931 | Loving the Return of our Lord | Rev 2:16 | DocTrinsograce | 242221 | ||
"He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms that it is far off, nor is it he who says it is near, but rather he who, whether it be far off or near, awaits it with sincere faith, steadfast hope, and fervent love." --Augustine of Hippo (354-430) |
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5932 | Christ Calls for Repentance | Rev 2:22 | DocTrinsograce | 243956 | ||
"Repentance is looked upon as a tedious thing, requiring great effort; but men are content with their dregs and do not care to stir. They would rather go sleeping to hell than weeping to heaven. 'A slothful man hides his hand in his vest' (Prov. 19.24); he will not strike his breast. Many would rather lose heaven than ply the oar and row on the waters of repentance. We cannot have the world citra pulverem (without labor and diligence); would we not rather have what is more excellent? Sloth is the cancer of the soul: 'Slothfulness tosses into a deep sleep' (Prov. 19.15). It was a witty fiction of the poets that when Mercury put Argus to sleep and closed his eyes with an enchanted flute, he then killed him. It is no fiction that when Satan has lulled men to sleep in sloth by his witcheries, he then destroys them. Some report that while the crocodile sleeps with its mouth open, the Indian rat gets into its belly and eats up its entrails. So too while men sleep in false security, they are devoured." --Thomas Watson (1620-1686) |
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5933 | Hearing and Heeding the Holy Spirit | Rev 2:29 | DocTrinsograce | 243514 | ||
"The Symbols of the orthodox Church of Christ are the matured fruits of the deepest devotion, experience and learning of its greatest and wisest members in its most trying ages; and as we may practically learn much from the biographies of the good, so we may learn much more from the Spirit-moved biography of the Church and the principles and testimonies which mark her life of faith. They are the sign-posts set up by the faithful along the King's highway of salvation to designate the places of danger to those who come after them, to warn and admonish us where we would otherwise be liable to err and miss the goal of our high calling in Christ Jesus. They are not laws to rule our faith, for the Word of God alone is such a Rule; but they are helps and tokens to enable us the more surely to find the true import [meaning] of the Rule, that we may be all the more thoroughly and sincerely conformed to that Rule. They are the human tracks which the best of the saints have left, by which we may the better detect the way which God has laid out and opened for the fallen and sinful children of men to travel, that they may fill their Christian vocation [divine calling] and come to everlasting life." --Joseph A. Seiss (1882) |
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5934 | Unmistakable Christianity | Rev 3:4 | DocTrinsograce | 234160 | ||
"I want your Christianity to be unmistakable. I want you all to really grow, and to do more than others. Let us all then remember Sardis and Laodicea -- let us resolve to be more holy and more bright. Let us bury our idols. Let us put away all strange gods. Let us cast out the old leaven. Let us lay aside every weight and besetting sin. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. Let us renew our covenant with our beloved Lord. Let us aim at the highest and best things. Let us resolve by God’s blessing to be more holy, and then I know, and am persuaded, we shall be more useful and more happy." --J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) | ||||||
5935 | Blotted Out If We Reject Him | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 171587 | ||
Dear Brother Tim, Of course God can blot out a name should He choose. Whether He ever does so or doesn't is entirely up to Him. This is what is meant by the attribute Sovereignty. He is not obligated to do anything, nor is He obligated by human arguments involving "may" and "can." Nor are we obligated to think that every occurrence of the word "blot" or "book" in Scripture is same metaphor. Scripture interprets Scripture. Basing whole theologies (if they can be dignified as such) on a single metaphorical statement without regard to the passage's genre, while ignoring the rest of Scripture and cultural Judaic practices, is exceedingly popular out there in a lot of churches. The sagacity of a hermeneutic principle, however, is not increased by popular concensus. Certainly no one in this thread subscribes to such an approach, regardless of the origins of their theology. Also we may rightly assume that good Christian charity would only ask hypothetical questions for good maieutic purposes, untainted by denominational divisiveness. In Him, Doc |
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5936 | Were all names once in the book of life? | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 206279 | ||
Hi, Bowler... Since the book of life is a metaphor, why not work on understanding the doctrine of election? Any metaphor has its limits. However, election is thoroughly taught from one end of the Scriptures to the other. Consequently, the metaphor will make better sense when studied in the clear light of the didactic teachings on election. Here's another A. W. Pink book that does an excellent job of explaining the doctrine: http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Election/election.htm In Him, Doc |
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5937 | Were all names once in the book of life? | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 206321 | ||
Dear Bowler, I commend you in your effort to literally interpret the Scriptures. There are many metaphors, similes, idioms, etc. in Scripture. We interpret Scripture in a literal sense by understanding the grammatical, historical, and cultural context. Sometimes the idioms are phenomenological. For example, when the Bible says that the "sun rose" (Jonah 4:8), we do not assume that the Bible is asserting that the sun orbits around the earth. We use the expression today in English, with the common understanding that it is a reflection of what we observe, not what is literally happening. The Scripture employees many analogies: The Kingdom of God is like a mustard tree (Matthew 13:31); the elect are like sheep (John 10:15); the sun is like a strong, running man (Psalm 19:5); the sound doctrine of Scripture is like armor (Ephesians 6:11); wisdom is like a hostess (Proverbs 9:1-5); God is like a strong tower (Psalm 61:3); etc. etc. We would not, of course, say that all these things are literal equivalences! :-) Now, the list goes on and on. I could talk about Biblical euphemisms, ironies, or hyperboles. They are all over the place. I had a Mormon tell me, once, that God was a man because the Bible spoke of His arm (Psalm 98:1), His hand (Exodus 9:3), His fingers (Psalm 8:3), His feet (1 Kings 5:3), His ears (1 Samuel 8:21), and His eyes (Genesis 6:8). I asked the young fellow if God's feathers and wings in Psalm 91:4 didn't indicate that God was really a chicken. The poor kid -- actually I think he called himself an "elder" -- had never been taught about anthropomorphisms. A student of Scripture will make an effort to understand these figures of speech, in order to render a sound exegesis of the Word. We want to interpret history as literal history, epistles as literal letters, poetry as literal poetry, etc. Okay, now, regarding the "book of life." It was the Hebraic practice to record the names of everyone born to the twelve tribes. That information was used to properly divide the land of promise, to provide for rightful inheritance, and allocate responsibilities. Probably of greatest divine importance was being able to identify the properly identify the lineage of the Lord Jesus. Ever wonder why no one challenged Mathew's genealogy, for example? It would have been an easy way to eliminate this claim of Christians that Jesus was Messiah? Because all anyone had to do was go to the temple and check out the names themselves. (Of course, all of those records were destroyed when the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.) Being blotted out of the book might take place when a descendant was disowned or ostracized for specific reasons. Handling this name blotting thing the way you are is pushing the analogy beyond its proper limits. It would certainly be an enormous error to build doctrine on the basis of a metaphor. I placed a number of "cliff notes" on Biblical interpretation in the thread #156916. I think you might find them handy. Nevertheless, you might want to pick up a copy of "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. In Him, Doc |
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5938 | Were all names once in the book of life? | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 206322 | ||
Okay. | ||||||
5939 | Were all names once in the book of life? | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 206442 | ||
Hi, Bowler... If you read Stuart and Fee, you will be way ahead of most. Besides which, it gives you greater degree of impunity when disagreeing with them. :-) Now, that written, I should think that rejecting the grammatico-historical hermeneutic based on how unfulfilled prophecy is handled sounds a bit shaky. The prophetic genre of Biblical literature is a relatively small percentage of Scripture as a whole. It would make more sense to stand firmly on the clear passages of the Word than to stand on the unclear and debatable. The doctrine of sola Scriptura is about all the "the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience." There's a lot more profit in spending effort on, for example, the clear message of the Olivet discourse, than trying to ferret out all the implications of number, color, figure, and symbol in the apocalyptic passages. (Well... I mean profit in growth in Christ-likeness... there is certainly a lot more monetary profit in prophecy mongering than exposition of the other 65 books.) Anyway, I'm glad you've got access to good resources, and that you're investing the effort to read them. God bless you in your efforts. In Him, Doc |
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5940 | Were all names once in the book of life? | Rev 3:5 | DocTrinsograce | 206443 | ||
Perish the thought, bowler. Offending me -- even if you had -- is of extremely little consequence. I'm nobody. | ||||||
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