Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 5:1 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; |
Subject: there's many denomination yet 1 spirit |
Bible Note: Well now you called me dishonest. You don't quit. Insults, defamation of character, as you are Christians.....I'm sorry, but I really do need to get back to studying and teaching Here --read some history... The Millenarian Revival - Part 1 As the advent of the nineteenth century drew near, there was a great revival of prophetic concern. With the French Revolution came a violent uprooting of European political and social institutions, leading many to the conclusion that the end of the world was near. These events seemed to almost all students of apocalyptic literature to be the fulfillment of the end of the predicted 1260 days (years). With the rise of Napoleon came the destruction of papal power in France, especially when, in 1798 the French troops under Berthier marched on Rome, set up a republic, and banished the pope. Apocalyptic interpreters were quick to see in this event the "deadly wound" received by the papacy explicitly described and dated in Revelation 13. Ernest Sandeen graphically portrays the result: The identification of the events of the 1790's with those prophesied in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 provided biblical commentators with a prophetic Rosetta stone. At last a key had been found with which to crack the code. There could now be general agreement upon one fixed point of correlation between prophecy and history. After 1799, in Egyptology as in prophecy, it seemed as though there were no limits to the possibility of discovery.10 None were so quick to make use of these events in prophetic interpretation as the premillennialists. As one examines the vast array of prophetic studies that were prompted by these events, one cannot escape the conclusion that a new and passionate interest in interpreting the prophetic Scriptures had burst upon the scene. These men were absolutely convinced that the return of Christ would certainly take place during the nineteenth century and that the millennium was about to appear. This prophetic revival was joined to a renewal of interest in the condition of the Jews. Instrumental in the cause to bring Christianity to the Jews was Lewis Way. His interest in this cause was aroused when, in about 1811 while visiting Devonshire, he was told of a grove of trees concerning which the owner had left a will stipulating that "these oaks shall remain standing, and the hand of man shall not be raised against them till Israel returns and is restored to the Land of Promise." This stimulated Way to an intense investigation of the ancient prophecies regarding the restoration of the Jews and a search for any agencies devoted to reaching the Jews. He soon discovered the existence of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews (L.S.P.C.J., founded in 1809). Financially strapped as they were, Way was soon greatly ingratiated to them when he settled the obligations of the society at a cost of over twelve thousand pounds11. In 1816 Way published his Letters, which stressed the connection between the return of the Jews to Palestine and their national conversion just prior to the return of Christ. Puritan postmillennialists had looked eagerly for the salvation of the Jews according to Romans 11, but here was something very different. This new stress on the Jews was accompanied by a far greater literalism in the interpretation of Old Testament prophecies. The most important element of this literalism was insistence that when the prophets spoke predictively of Israel, they meant Israel and not the church. Thus the footings were poured for what would become one of the great pillars of dispensationalism. This renewed interest in the conversion of the Jews is listed by Ian Rennie12 as one of the "signs" that premillennialists considered be an indication of the nearness of the second coming. Though conversions were not large in number, the mood of anticipation that was born as a result of the endeavors of the L.S.P.C.J. and of its publications was enough. A second sign was the preaching of the gospel throughout the world, especially with the emergence of the modern missionary movement. Third, there were increasing signs of apostasy in the church, not only in the apostasy of Rome, but also in the rationalism of leading Protestant thinkers in Europe. The Restorationist Movement, with its concern for the rediscovery of New Testament patterns of church life, was a fourth sign of the times. Primarily, this found expression in Plymouth Brethrenism and the charismatic Catholic Apostolic Church. Fifth, the sense of societal upheaval in the post-Napoleonic World, with the Peterloo massacre, the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, the never-ending eruptions in Ireland, and over in Europe the events leading to the Revolution of 1830 were more evidence to many that the "Lord was at the door."13 |