There is so much talk about the Apollo landings being so Stanley Kubrikesque and Elon Computers generating Imagery. Makes me doubt. But I want to believe!
Christian Zionism of the premilliennial dispensationalist variety tells a dramatic tale: the rapture of believers, the rise of the Antichrist, and Jesus’ violent, triumphant Second Coming. Within this dramatic narrative the return of the Jews to the Holy Land plays a pivotal role, and the modern State of Israel thus becomes of great theological signifi cance to Christian Zionists; in fact, some Christian Zionists have suggested Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on the U.S. for failing to support Israel as it pulled its settlers out of Gaza in an attempt to create what they see as an unbiblical peace. The following articles—originally published in the July-September MCC Peace Offi ce Newsletter—offer a critical analysis of Christian Zionist theology and readings of Scripture. For more information about the peace offi ce, visit www.mcc.org/respub/pon/index.html.
On a pleasant Sunday afternoon in July 2000, members and pastors belonging to local Palestinian evangelical congregations from the Palestinian territories gathered at the Bethlehem Hotel to celebrate the formation of their council. An American woman who was present at the meeting approached one of the pastors and asked if she could say a few words to the assembly. When the lady took the microphone, I couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth. She professed to the Palestinian evangelical Christians assembled there that she had a word from the Lord for them. “God,” she said, “wanted them all to leave Israel and go to other Arab countries.” She added that they must leave to make room for God’s chosen people, the Jews. She warned the pastors and the audience that if they did not listen to the instructions that God had given her, God would pour his wrath on them. When her agenda was recognized, one of the pastors came and whisked her away from the pulpit, but not before she had served the whole assembly a mouthful of what is known today as Christian Zionism.
What are the theological and eschatological (end time) beliefs of Christian Zionism?
• Jews have special favour with God, and neither time, history nor the religious conditions of Jews can affect or alter that favour.
• The Holy Land belongs to the Jews. It always has and it always will. Neither history, nor the passing of centuries, nor the religious or moral condition of Jews today, can alter this fact.
• Jews today are an extension of the Israelites in biblical times. Therefore, just as the nations during the Old Testament era were judged as to how they treated ancient Israel, the same is true today.
• Old Testament prophecies, although uttered thousands of years ago, are being fulfi lled in Israel today and have been since 1948, when the state was born.
• God’s “end time” plan is directly connected with modern Israel. Christians can speed up the coming of Christ as they help bring about the fulfillment of prophecies that pertain to Israel. Most adherents of Christian Zionism are not aware of the destructive theological, religious and political implications of these ideas. Theologically, Christian Zionism is a contradiction in terms. Zionism is a secular political movement that has clear political goals and has been nonreligious from its conception. Zionism deviates from the heart of the New Testament. New Testament Christianity proclaims, “For God so loved the world,” while Christian Zionism proclaims, “For God so loved modern Israel.” According to the Book of Acts, Jesus made clear to Peter in a vision that God no longer favours one nation over others: “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right’” Acts 10:34-35. In the epistle to the Galatians, Paul confronted a group in the churches of Asia Minor who wanted to drag the new believers back to Judaism: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” Galatians 3:26-29. Christian Zionism infl uences its followers to be indifferent to the biblical mandates on peace and justice. Hard-line Christian Zionists teach that peace between Israel and her neighbours could only be established by the Antichrist, the archenemy of Christ. Consequently, religious or political leaders or organizations that endeavour to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians, can be seen as a tool of the Antichrist. Thus the more turmoil and suffering that the nations of the Middle East undergo, the greater the evidence that God is carrying out his eschatological program. Eschatology for many Christian Zionists is far more important than Biblical teachings on peace and justice. Christian Zionism is adding fuel to the tension between Christians and Muslims. Many Christian Zionists, especially after Sept. 11, 2001, began to see Muslims as enemies of God. TV evangelists went on the air publicly denouncing Muslims and Islam. Christian Zionists continue to talk about reaching the world for Christ. How can they do so when they are alienating and building walls of mistrust between them and over a billion Muslims? Palestinian Christians havve existed in the Holy Land since the day of Pentecost and have kept the torch of Christianity burning faithfully for the past two thousand years. If the Christian Zionist agenda is carried out, it will mean the death of Christianity in the Holy Land. The erosion of Christianity in its birthplace is a loss for the Body of Christ everywhere. Unlike the prophets of the Old Testament, Christian Zionists have no prophetic words of rebuke for the State of Israel when the Jewish state indulges in oppression. Christian Zionists do not call for the State of Israel to do justice. Israel confiscates Palestinian land, demolishes the homes of the poor, destroys their agricultural land and siphons off their water resources, while many Christian Zionists continue to bless Israel and sing her praises. There are Israelis today, however, like the brave prophets of ancient Israel, who do not hesitate to call their compatriots to pursue justice. Jeremiah reflected that courage when he said: “O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fi re because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it” Jeremiah 21:12. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ calls all his followers to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). His teachings are often referred to as the good news. They are God’s good news for the entire human race. Can we intentionally proclaim his teachings as good news for some, but bad news for others? When the Bible is used to endorse the theft of countries and the suppression of nations, then the good news becomes bad news and the Bible is twisted into a manual for occupation. —Rev. Alex Awad
The author is pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church and professor at Bethlehem Bible College
Human and national rights for the Palestinians are totally disregarded in favour of socalled divine rights.
But Israel is Christian!” Bill exclaimed after I had spoken to a church group during an adult Bible study session. I paused, never having heard it stated that way before, but Bill, in those four words, had summarized western Christianity’s unconditional support of the State of Israel against the rightful claims of the Palestinian people. It is widely believed in western churches, and taught in theological seminaries, that the Bible provides the title deed for the establishment of the State of Israel. The displacement of the indigenous people—which from the beginning was the intention of Zionism—is not only overlooked but also justifi ed. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 is often interpreted by western Christians as fulfi llment of prophecy. This view clashed painfully with the reality of our experience as Palestinian Christians. We were totally disoriented by our physical dispossession and displacement, by the loss of home and property, of homeland and identity, and by the negation of our history and memory. Our spiritual grounding, which we groped to hold onto, was pulled from under our feet. We were left orphaned, physically and spiritually. We felt forsaken by heaven and earth. Many people abandoned their faith when they most needed it. Many wanted to throw away the Old Testament because it was being used as an instrument of oppression against them. Bishop Kenneth Cragg, in his book The Arab Christian, has expressed it perfectly: “Christians in the west can have the exploits of Samson, Samuel, Saul, David, and Jahu and the rest, in lectionary and psalm, as ancient sagas happening to strange ‘heathen’ far away. Arab Christians have to accommodate them—if at all—in the immediacy of their own dispossession and exile. The biblical victims are their own people, their predecessors in the land.” Luckily, some brave people laboured to discern what God intended for both Israel and the Palestinian people. A Palestinian theology of liberation was born, which helped Palestinian Christians to hold onto their faith, to resist oppression non-violently, and to work for justice and peace. Sadly, many others left the land of their ancestors to fi nd peace in other countries, but could not escape Christian Zionism that denied the authenticity of their narrative. While Palestinian Christians yearn for a peaceful solution to the confl ict and bravely stand up for the human and national rights of their people, resisting oppression nonviolently, Christian Zionists work hard to thwart every peace effort because it stands in the way of their theology of a violent end time vision. Human rights that they would fi ght for in their own countries are dismissed in Israel and Palestine because the “chosen people” have divine rights that allow—or even mandate—them to have no mercy for the people of the land. By demonizing Islam and idolizing the State of Israel, Christian Zionist leaders are putting Palestinian Christians—who are an integral part of the Arab nation and of the Christian world—on the defensive, instead of using their ideal placement to further peace and understanding. While the international community works to end the Israeli occupation and reconcile the two sides of the confl ict, Christian Zionists encourage Israel not to give back any part of occupied Palestinian land and encourage the building and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. In brief, Christian Zionists are changing the course of history in the direction of injustice and oppression. Human and national rights for the Palestinians are totally disregarded in favour of so-called divine rights. —Cedar Duaybis The author is a Palestinian
Reflections on a Christian Zionist reading of Romans
A sudden, happy insight tells Paul that the “stumbling” of Israel is, in fact, an integral piece of God’s cosmic plan for the salvation of all humankind, Jews and Gentiles alike.
Romans 9 to 11 is undoubtedly one of the most challenging passages in the New Testament. Here Paul wrestles passionately with questions that shake him to the core. These questions lead him to ponder the imponderable, as he struggles to understand the purposes of God in the world. How does Israel fi gure within God’s redemptive purposes, since Israel does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah whom God has sent for their salvation? What becomes of God’s covenant with Israel? “Has God rejected his people?” (11:1). “Have they stumbled so as to fall?” (11:11). Paul answers his own questions with utmost confi dence: “By no means!” (11:1, 11). A sudden, happy insight tells Paul that the “stumbling” of Israel is, in fact, an integral piece of God’s cosmic plan for the salvation of all humankind, Jews and Gentiles alike. In God’s “inscrutable ways” (11:33) the “stumbling” of Israel means that “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous” (11:1). And this “jealousy” will ultimately lead to Israel’s “full inclusion” (11:13) and the salvation of “all Israel” (11:25). For Paul, this matter is a theological conundrum that he simply entrusts to the infi nite wisdom of God. But in the post-1948 world, Paul’s words are as politically controversial as they are theologically challenging. Who is the “Israel” to whom Paul points? What relation does this “Israel” have to the modern State of Israel, founded in 1948? And what is meant by the “salvation” of “all Israel”? The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ), a prominent Christian Zionist organization, sees itself called “to declare the truth of God’s word that bequeaths to the people of Israel the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.” Accordingly, the ICEJ views the modern State of Israel as the prophetically grounded restoration of biblical Israel. And it is within this theo-political framework that the ICEJ appeals to Romans 9 through 11. Christian Zionists thus connect Paul’s words in Romans and the national aspirations
of the Jewish people. But is the picture this simple? Careful attention to Paul’s message in Romans 9 through 11 would suggest otherwise. This much is historically indisputable. In 1948, a new state came into being in the Middle East. This new state, intended as a homeland for Jews from around the world, was named “Israel.” But serious questions must be raised about the relationship of this new state to biblical “Israel,” in specific, to the “Israel” of which Paul speaks in Romans 9 through 11. Four observations come into focus.
1. The socio-political “Israel” of Paul’s day is not an autonomous nation, but a people living under military occupation.
2. The “Israel” of which Paul speaks is, rather, a people group, Paul’s own “kindred according to the flesh” (9:3). More to the point, it is a faith community. It is this people group and this faith community over which Paul anguishes as he considers the purposes of God.
3. Paul views the purposes of God in messianic fashion. Accordingly, Paul’s anguish in these chapters stems from Israel’s failure to recognize Jesus Christ as the central actor in God’s redemptive purposes. Paul’s words about the “salvation of Israel” point not to the national aspirations of an occupied people, but to their membership—”their full inclusion” (11:12)—in the messianic faith community through which God’s salvation purposes are being worked out.
4. Paul’s vision in Romans 9 through 11 includes both Jews and Gentiles as mutually essential actors in the drama of God’s redemptive purposes. {this IS THE NRE ISRAEL COMPOSED OF ALL WHO CALL ON JESUS} Israel’s present “hardening” (11:25) opens the door to salvation for the Gentiles (11:11, 12, 15, 25). And the incoming of the Gentiles into the messianic faith community creates a “jealousy” among the Jews that will ultimately lead them to “full inclusion” (11:12), “life from the dead” (11:15), and the salvation of “all Israel” (11:26). God’s redemptive purposes, in Paul’s view, have nothing to do with a “restored Jewish state.” As Paul sees it, God’s redemptive purposes seek to draw all humankind—Jews and Gentiles alike—into the inclusive and reconciling fellowship of the messianic community of Jesus Christ. —Dorothy Jean Weaver
When Israel and Judah are kingdoms and control territory, the biblical mandate is justice, not the promise of more territory.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” Genesis 12:1-3.
I have talked with many North American Christians who, when faced with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, will ask in puzzlement, “But didn’t God promise this land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their descendents? Didn’t God give this land to the Jews?” Christian Zionists assume that the answer to these questions is an unqualified yes and that the implications for foreign policy are obvious.
Christian Zionists are usually evangelicals who begin with a literal reading of the biblical text and a conviction that the Genesis promises are prophecies being fulfi lled in the modern State of Israel. The text quoted above doesn’t specifically mention land, but is generally linked to other Genesis passages that do promise land to Abraham’s descendents (Genesis 13:14-17, 15:18-21 and 17:4-8). Especially influential is Genesis 17:8, in which God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendents “for an everlasting possession.
” Since Abraham’s name means “the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5), one might assume that both Jews, as the descendents of Isaac, and Arabs, as the descendents of Ishmael, have a claim to the land. But when Christian Zionists read the Bible, they find a biblical mandate to endorse the politics of the State of Israel, established by the rightful descendents of Abraham. Such an interpretation frequently leads to a dismissal of Palestinian land rights and an inability to see injustice when Palestinian property is seized and ownership restricted, because “God’s will” privileges any Jewish possession of the land.
But the “land traditions from the ancients texts are open to a variety of readings and responses, some which make for war and not for peaceable habitation,” theologian Walter Brueggeman says. What are the readings of these Genesis texts that present more life-giving options for both Israelis and Palestinians? What follows are sketches of five recurrent themes:
1. God is the rightful owner of the land. Psalm 24:1 declares, “The earth is the Lord’s.” The “monotonous regularity” with which the Bible repeats the Torah phrase “the land which the Lord God will give you” makes it clear that God fi nally owns the land and it is a gift, not an entitlement. God’s ownership of the land relativizes all other land claims, and gives primacy to God’s directions about how to live on the land.
2. God’s gift of land is always linked to covenant responsibility. Leviticus 18:24-30 and Deuteronomy 8:17-19 make clear that those who ignore God’s commandments will not enjoy the land, but will “perish” or be “vomited out.” The promise of land is not unconditional, but depends on justice for all its inhabitants (Ezekiel 47:21-23).
3. God promises land to the landless and warns those who control territory to practise justice. The promise of land occurs in a specific context. When Israel and Judah are kingdoms and control territory, the biblical mandate is justice, not the promise of more territory.
4. Interpreting the promise of land is linked to our concept of God. Through the ministry of the prophets and the experience of exile, the people of the Old Testament come to see that God is not narrowly confined to a specific geography or land, but reigns over all nations and loves every land and its peoples. The God who promises land has the wellbeing of the world in mind.
5. God’s purpose in giving the land to Abraham’s descendents is to bless all nations. The land is not an end in itself, but should lead to a blessing of all the nations. These perspectives on the promise of land in Genesis present challenges to a Christian Zionist interpretation of the texts. Rather than an unqualifi ed endorsement of one side’s claim to the land, these themes suggest another conclusion. Says Mitri Raheb in I Am a Palestinian Christian, “The land happens to be the homeland of two peoples. Each of them should understand this land to be a gift of God to be shared with the other. Peace and the blessing on the land and on the two peoples will depend on this sharing. Only then will the biblical promises be fulfi lled.” —Patricia Shelly
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Suddenly. When God moves it is quick and powerful but according to His time.
A Sound. Echo in Greek. A sound a rumor a noise. It was a sound that they heard with their ears.
Wind is associated with spirit. IN Hebrew Ruach in Greek here Pnoe meaning Wind, air, breath, or spirit. Later the word for spirit n holy spirit is “pnuema” also meaning spirit or wind.
It like a rushing mighty wind. Rushing is like “being conveyed or being brough from heaven to men.
Mighty is translated from the Greek word for “violently or forcefully” Full of force, coming with great power
Wind was a familiar emblem of the Spirit ( Eze 37:9 Jhn 3:8 20:22 ). But this was not a rush of actual wind. It was only a sound “as of” it.
It was the breath or spirit of God that created the heavens and earth Gen 1:2 and brought light and revelation.
It was His sprit give to men. Holy Spirit because God is Spirit and He is Holy. Jhn 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
The voice of the Lord is in the breath or spirit Gen 3:8
It filled the house where they were sitting. They were probably not in an upper attic but in the Temple where God would meet all the travelers through Peters Sermon that day. The Temple is called the House of God.
First the wind or breath of God filled the “House” but the intention of God was never to live in a temple made by hands but by God Himself. So in Acts 2:4 the Spirit filled the Body of Christ as the home of the spirit. The new Body of Christ and the new Ekklesia.
Mar 14:58 “We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.: This is the resurrected Body of Christ.
The wind filled the house and the believer’s were filled by the Spirit of God. They were made complete and the promise was fulfilled!
It is only this spirit that can give Joy and Hope and love Romans 15:24
Eph 1:23 “Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” It is Christ.
Eph 3:16-17 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,” It is Christ Himself.
Eph 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” It is the fulness of God
Col 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
IN this house made by God not made by men we are saturated with Christ and therefore filled. Since Christ was saturated with God we too can be saturated or filled to overflowing with God. If we are full or something as infinite as God how can we not overflow and pour out love to others?
There is a relation with Genesis 11 where the languages of men were the same but divided due to disobedience. Now because of the obedience of Christ all nations and tongues are united in the Body of Christ.
This is the first real record of man forming his own religion. A temple made by hands to reach the heavens to reach God. It reminds me of NASA and all the dreams of men to reach other worlds and become gods of every planet. It will fall and burn.
Even Solomons temple was never an intersection from God. It was the Tablernacle of Moses that was inspired in detail. And in the book to the Hebrews we are not told the Temple was a type of the Body of Christ but the Tabernacle of Moses.
There has always been Gods giving us His household and then there is religion building temple to get to God. They are as opposite as oil and water and so do not mix. Or even as a replacement for Christ with another Christ that is counterfeit. Opposite as Christ and the spirit of Anti-Christ.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
“The creation accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 reveal a God who delights in, and values, both unity and diversity. God’s creational design is far from mass-produced uniformity. In the ‘melodious mélange’ of Genesis 1, the Creator seems to delight in making opposites (heaven and earth, day and night, male and female) – ‘but opposites that complement, not clash, opposites that harmonize not antagonize’”
In the intercultural church, this diversity is most evident in the differences between the sexes, ages and cultures to be found in the church. Yet we see that the unity or singularity that was there from creation,
Man cannot make unity by his own means. Only unity comes by the Spirit of God and is final in the Body of Christ not a tower of Babel.
We thus need to note that from the outset the human race is one. Each and every one of the diverse peoples of Earth belongs to one family. God’s singular act of creating male and female progenitors of all peoples is foundational to our theology (Gn 1-2) We are all of one blood. We are all His offspring and all men are created in His image. Acts 17:2ff
As his offspring by creation, every human being is our brother and sister. We are equally created by him and like him (the image of God). We are equal in his sight in worth and dignity and thus have an equal right to respect and justice.
God’s mission’ being his universal love of all humanity (Jn 3:16) and his particular love for individuals within all cultures. He observes (Van Engen 2004) that:
… three times in the first eleven chapters of Genesis we are told that God is the creator and judge of all peoples. All people are created in Adam and Eve; all people descend from Noah; all people have their languages confused and are then spread out over the entire earth after the Babel episode. In each case, there is a recognition of the particularity and difference of various peoples – as is signalled by the inclusion of the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – yet in each case this multiplicity of peoples are collectively and unitedly said to be the object of God’s concern. (p. 2)
God commanded humankind to fill the Earth (Gn 1:28, 9:1, 7), yet here the record shows that humankind rebelled against this command, by only migrating east and rather congregating together in one city, Babel. So, at Babel, God divides language into all the resulting tongues of the world, in the last judgment of primeval times.
Then we read of the “table of nations” and the diversity
Mathews (1996:429) warns: ‘Genesis 10-11 shows that a disproportionate consideration on “races”, as in our modern world, forfeits our inherent unity and may lead to a primitive tribalism that fosters war. But by Grace God has made us One in Christ!
Babel and division
Babylonians believed that Babel/Babylon meant ‘gate of god’, but the words sound rather like ‘confusion’ and are similar to the words for ‘folly’ and ‘flood’ (Wenham 1987:245).
The nearest source is probably babel [gate of God] from the Akkadian language. Thus, it was the gate by means of which humans sought to assault God. Babel was meant to be the high point of culture but has rather became the symbol of human defiance and failure.
When we consider the ‘tower’, the word used in the Hebrew text (מִגְדָּל) is generic and can be used for any sort of tower, like defence towers or watchtowers. Yet this was an early Mesopotamian city. The most prominent building in the early temple complex was the ziggurat. ‘Most interpreters, therefore, have identified the Tower of Babel as a ziggurat’ (Walton 2001:373).
Some interpreters have suggested that the sin God judged was not pride but disobedience to his command in Gen 1:28 to ‘fill the earth’ But could it not be both?
Agricultural society function better that industrialization and urbanization.
Rather, it may be viewed as God’s benevolent act of correction, to keep humankind from remaining in the one location at Babel. This proposed reading might find confirmation in the fact that there is no mention of God’s wrath anywhere in Genesis 11.
After looking at Babel in Genesis we now need to review the material in Acts that pertains to the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit at Pentecost enabled various languages to be spoken by the disciples and understood by the hearers in their mother tongue. The pneumatological promise in Acts 1:8 by Christ was fulfilled. And we see it in all the Book of Acts! They were filled with the power, the ability to witness to all the uttermost parts of the earth. Missions in every language and to every culture!
The major point of contact is the diversity of language. In the Genesis 11 a common language was a symbol of unity around a false centre of idolatry, pride and self-sufficiency. The diversity of language was a symbol for the confusion that results when human beings attempt to go their own way without God.
But now we see the unity of the Creation again in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Gods love for all men
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
« Suddenly there came »Suddenly there came a sound from heaven: The association of the sound of a rushing mighty wind, filling the whole house, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is unusual. But it probably has connection with the fact that in both the Hebrew and Greek languages, the word for spirit (as in Holy Spirit) is the same word for breath or wind (this also happens to be true in Latin). Here, the sound from heaven was the sound of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples. Dave Guzik·
In Genesis 1:1-2, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing over the waters of the newly created earth.·
In Genesis 2:7, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing life into newly created man.
This single line tells us much about how the God moves.· Suddenly: Sometimes God moves suddenly.· Sound: It was real, though it could not be touched; it came by the ears.· From heaven: It wasn’t of earth; not created or manipulated or made here.·
Mighty: Full of force, coming with great power.There appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them:
These divided tongues, as of fire, appearing over each one, were also unusual. It probably should be connected with John the Baptist’s prophecy that Jesus would baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).i. The idea behind the picture of fire is usually purification, as a refiner uses fire to make pure gold; or fire can burn away what is temporary, leaving only what will last. This is an excellent illustration of the principle that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not just for abstract power, but for purity.
In certain places in the Old Testament, God showed His special pleasure with a sacrifice by lighting the fire for it Himself – that is, fire from heaven came down and consumed the sacrifice. The experience of the followers of Jesus on Pentecost is another example of God sending fire from heaven to show His pleasure and power, but this time, it descended upon living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).
The Holy Spirit sat upon each of them. “The word ‘sat’ has a marked force in the New Testament. It carries the idea of a completed preparation, and a certain permanence of position and condition.” (Pierson)iv. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit rested on God’s people only on certain people and at certain times.
The holy spirit was sent by God who is The Holy Spirit but only on condition that these people where right with God and would leave them when they sinned. As in the story of King Saul.
1Sa 10:11And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
1Sa 11:6And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
1Sa 15:26And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
1Sa 16:14But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him
Now Jesus paid for all of our sins and gave us the gift of the Holy spirit after the cross.
Colossians 1:20 “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
So now on this day of Pentecost only 50 days after Jesus poured out His blood for us and ten days of waiting after He took His place and sat down in Heaven He sent the Promise of all the ages…..Christ to dwell in us. Not on us but in us! In every one who believes in Jesus and askes.
Jhn 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
This gift is not ever going to leave you whether you sin or not! This Spirit is Christ who will comfort and guide you into all truth. This Spirit will live and make itself home in you. It will correct you when you sin and encourage growth. God gave us His son to save us not condemn us. He gave His son to live in us not because we don’t sin but because we need Him to stop sinning. It is a gift we need and it is given not because we deserve it but because we need it and ask for it. It is given as the gift of the holy spirit. It is a gift because it is not earned but given by God’s mercy and grace. So if you do not have it ask!!! You need it
.Luk 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Luk 11:10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Luk 11:11 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? “
Luk 11:12 “Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Luk 11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
I have almost posted a film that was propaganda for a cult, And the end it anti-Christ. I am very disturbed in the Spirit to see what is going on and I have to sound the alarm. Remember te words of Jesus? Do you even know them? Do you even care? Or are you still trying to proetect yourselves? You know if you know Jesus as a friend you will be all right. You are saved. But if He is your friend do you even care what He said? Or is a military coup going to bring you freedom?
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Many ministries like the New Apostolic Revival and the Eastern Lightning are cults and say they are for Christ but not. Many are teaching news of the day instead of the Good news of Eternity. And many like them including the Prophecy club are worrying you with war and the end of the world. Same old trick from Satan. But they are the ones that will deceive and take your peace. They are designed to take you away from the true Christ.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Sometimes it is better nopt to get caught up in the middle of a war and hate your enemies. Sometime it is wise to flee for another day as the early Christians did when they listen to Jesus and left Jerusalem before the Roman Jewish war started. Those that stayed and fought for their false leaders ended killing each other and burning in 70AD. I see trouble on the horizon even in the USA.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2Jo 1:7
For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the anti-christ.
The Bible never teaches there is a man coming called the “Anti Christ” But the spirit of Anti-Christ has a lot to say about him. The spirit of against or replacing Christ has been with us during Pauls time and since the Garden. He is Satan. His spirit will ultimately work some day ( and know one can predict when, so stop trying and start living for Christ!!) He is called “the son of iniquity’ by the apostle Paul and the beast in Revelation but never “the Anti-Christ” And the deceiver would have you distracted and pay attention to those predicting the arrival of the “Anti-Christ” when they are just replacing the Good news of Christ with this garbage because they are speaking by the spirit of the Anti-Christ. A smooth trick. But Beware do not be deceived. In times of turmoil many fall for this false savoir complex.
There is a way to test the spirits
Study the word of truth in the scripture to know the truth
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Be more knoble. Be a Berean and search the scripture/ Do not be deceived by false prophets and false pastors! Religion starts all the wars. But Jesus starts Peace, not violence.
And I see civil war and violence on the horizon. Do not follow the war drums to your slaughter, I plead!
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
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.
I challenge you to love your enemies as Christ. We are are own worst enemy and self destruct without Gods way and the Way is Jesus not another “just” war. The way to destroy your enemies is to love them. We are not here to kill Gods images. But the devil is.
So here I posted this film. It grabbed me because it showed the Christians being persecuted in Communist China. But that was to pull me in and then once you are sold on their message the lead you to a false savior…a Chinese woman who is God. And if you believe that you do not know Christ at all.
Same thing is going on amongst those that think they are Christians in the good Ole USA but they are deceived and soon you will see. This is a great plan to finish off what the Dems started with the Rep Kabosh. You will see order come down with an iron fist an try to eliminate the Christians revolution with concentration camps for insurgents. You cannot win this war to save you skin. Why? Because you already are saved, remember the words of Jesus. You have already won the war. So please I implore, do not jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. Let your self be roasted a little bit so you become more tastey , tried and a sweet recipe of God. We win only by peace and being good. Not hating any person who God created in His image. We are here to save the world, not just our denomination or our club. To hell with fraternity all men are our brothers good and bad. Do you think you are really that good? Without God you are nothing but evil.
Eastern lightening plays the sympathy card so well and then give you an anti-Christ Yang Xiangbin (a woman moved to NYC)
There is pincher movement. The old Hegelian thesis, antithesis and synthesis for those who do not know the Word of God and Jesus. Those who do not care enough to study the words of God from the Word of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. But sides are controlled by the “love of money” which is the root of all evil. Bother sides are controlled by the same spirit of Anti Christ that Paul battled. And Jesus himself and the early church. Both side are formed by the hater of Jesus who would reject His heavenly eternal kingdom and try to build an earthly fake kingdom for themselves.
They have controlled the left and the right. The Communist movement and the Zionist movement. This is the spirit of Anti- Chirst that has been working for a long time.. Paul called it “the mystery of iniquity that already works” Many chose either The Marxist way and the Capitalist way because they have lost their way. Both philosophies come from the Anti Christ spirit! Jesus is the only way and there are many false saviors and cults arising as Jesus warned there would be when people are desperate.
Now there are false prophets getting ready for the civil war Like Ahn. In the USA.
And this is how Satan will destroy those you say they are Christian but have no idea ore care what Jesus taught.
Sad! But the day persecution of the real Christian Is coming but those willing to sacrifice love for the world will lose! Those willing to sacrifice themselves for love and for the heavenly Kingdom will be more than conquerors. They will be protected and happy until it is their time to come home. The others will fight and be miserable and waste every God given until the die anyways. Those that will take up the sword to kill thire brother on either side are going to be the losers. No matter if they are convinced that their brothers are their enemies and the seeds of the Serpent, they are deceived! They do not know Jesus and they do not know real self less love. That is God. That is eternal life. And this is where they find Joy.
Beware and try all the spirits but first the Bible and not someone else’s revelation. Because you cannot have revelation without the scripture in the Holy scriptures. IF you do not study the Bible with the help of the Guide to all truth which is the gift of the holy spirit you will be deceived and fall for all the earthly promises of a anti-christ cult. Study the word and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit TODAY. And stop following men. We have the Lord Jesus Christ and He is real, more real than the air we breath.
So we need the power of they received in Acts. The power of the holy spirit that came upon them all through the book of Acts was offered to all the believers and even the Gentiles in chapter 10! This holy spirit is the witness, that testifies, manifest, shows the evidence that Christ is really here with us and in us today.
Luke wrote the account of Jesus ministry from His birth to His death and resurrection from death! And then Luke continues in the book of Acts to show how the Risen Christ ascended but continues to live in His new Body which is us the assembly of believers from all ends of the earth.
Here is the account Luke gave of the ascension of Jesus to Heaven.
Act 1:9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
What things?
He commanded them not to leaver Jerusalem
Wait (there) for the promise of the Holy Spirit
They heard this promise from Jesus as it was recorded in John 14-16)
This was the “Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost, Pnuma Hagion,
He told them it was the baptism not of water but Holy Spirit (Pnuema Hagion) in not many days (Pentecost)
The disciples asked Him if He would restore Israel at this time and He did not give them the answer the wanted (a restored earthly Israel)
Instead He promised the potential power of the Holy spirit to build His kingdom of Israel unto the furthest corners of the earth.
These final instructions were key to the continuity of the ministry of Christ from heaven
When they received the Holy spirit on Pentecost they knew by experience that God was in them and they were in God. But before Luke gives the details of the day of Pentecost he gives us the detail of how Jesus ascended.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
He was lifted up as they watched. He was lifted up from the earth and welcomed to heaven in a cloud. Away from their sight.
1. No one knows the hour or day
The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would come and he replied, “I don’t know” (see Matt 24:36). Evidently the disciples had a hard time accepting this, because after he rose from the dead they asked him again. In other words, “I still don’t know and it’s none of your business.” The timing of the Lord’s coming is the Father’s business. Paul wrote of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ “which God will bring about in his own time” (1 Tim 6:15).
Clouds have always been as symbol and cannot be literal clouds. The clouds are mentioned to be where God lives in Heaven. And Angels arrive with the coming of Jesus Christ. That makes sense to me. The angels are ministering spirits and guard for Christ and His Body (US) And Clouds are where God symbolically lives in Heaven.
There is a confusion about he “comings of Christ” and so much bad teaching we have heard about it for 2000 years. He is not coming soon but “quickly” He will come announced but His return to earth may be 2022 or 20, 022 AD we do not know and even Jesus doesn’t know the time. It is when God say to Him”GO”
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father
Every coming is a going. When we come to a place we have left from another. We are confused about the “comings” in the scripture because we forget is Jesus coming to earth or coming to the Father in heaven? IS He going to heaven or is He going to the earth.
Interesing how the vision given about the Messiah way back in Genesis spoke of an exchange between Heaven and Earth.
Gen 28:12
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
This ladder is Jesus. This ladder is the bridge bringing Heaven to Earth.
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Clouds are not literal and must be understood as figures and symbols of a greater reality than H2O vapor.
These were symbols of the presence of God on a mountain in the first encounter of Moses and God Deut 4:11. When Lucifer wanted to ascend to take Gods place, Gods place was in the clouds Is 14:14. When the disciples saw the transfiguration of Christ they say God and a cloud, because symbolized Gods place in Heaven where He resides. Mat 17:5; Mar 9:7; Luk 9:34-35. And when
And when Christ returns finally to restore the earth he will arrive with his angels and in clouds. We will be taken away from all death to live with Him for ever. Let heaven invade this earth and it will be a new heaven and earth! 1 Thes 4:17
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
So here is the fulfillment of Daniel:
Dan 7:13
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
This verse is translated not so well in my opinion. Looking at the Septuagint it reads
“I viewed in a night vision, look! With the clouds of heaven, the son of man was coming, and unto the Ancient of days (Father) He (Jesus) came, and before Him (God the Father) He (Jesus) was brought.”
Jesus did not come with the clouds but came to the clouds that surround God, the ancient of Days. The clouds are always around God not the Son in the scriptures. As when God appeared to the disciples on the mount at the vision of the transfiguration. Mat 17:5; Mar 9:7; Luk 9:34-35.
And as we see Jesus welcomed home to Father this was the vision of Daniel fulfilled!
To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.
And once Christ was seated in the heavens at the right hand of the “Ancient of days” He began to rule His kingdom from heaven through his faithful disciples on earth until his return. Acts tell us this story as the kingdom started to unfold on earth and will be completed when He returns again with his angelic entourage and clouds of heaven. Let thy kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth as on heaven!
As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them
The disciples were without a clue and ready for more instruction. They were looking to where the last saw their Master disappear…in the sky. But two men in white clothing appeared ….these were angels.
and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”
So instead of wasting time looking at nothing, the obeyed the last word of Jesus on earth…..they went to Jerusalem. And it is a good things they did because the received the promise of the Farther the holy spirit.
So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received thepromiseofthe Holy Spirit from theFather, he has poured out what you both see and hear.
For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that thepromise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is thefatherof us all
The Holy spirit or Christ “living in you” is the promise of the Father and has always been
that this promise God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; today I have fathered you.’
a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty!
The promise and covenant God had to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham was His seed and the promised seed was Christ. This is the promise of the Father not Israel.
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